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A CATALOGUE
OF
THE ROMAN COINS
IN
THE BRITISH MUSEUM
COIN'S
OF THE

R O M A N RE PUBLIC
IN THE
BRITISH MUSEUM
BY
H. A. GRUEBER, F.S.A.
KEEPER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COINS AND MEDALS
IN THREE VOLUMES
WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND 123 PLATES
VOLUME I.
AES RUDE, AES SIGNATUM, AES GRAVE, AND COINAGE OF
ROME FROM B.C. 268
Tºw mustan. Pºt , ºr: # xzºº & .
LONDON :
PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE TRUSTEES
Sold AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM, AND By
LONGMANS & CO., 39 PATERNOSTER Row; BERNARD QUARITCH, 11 GRAFtoN
STREET, NEw BOND STREET, W.; ASHER & CO., 14 BEDFORD STREET, Covent GARDEN ;
HENRY FROWDE, Oxford UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE, AMEN CORNER, E.C.,
AND ROLLIN & FEUARDENT, 66 GREAT Russell STREET, W.C.,
AND 4 RUE DE LOUVOIs, PARIS.
I9IO
[All rights reserved')
I.ONDON :
PRINTED BY WILLIAM OLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,
DUKE STREET, STAMFORD STREET, S.E., AND GREAT WINDMILL STREET, W.
PR EFA CE
THIS Catalogue, which consists of three volumes, describes the
coinages of the Roman Republic and those of the Empire under
Augustus till nearly the close of the first century B.C. The subject
has been dealt with chronologically and geographically.
The work has been divided as follows:—Volume I. contains
descriptions of the coinage of the Roman mint from its institution
to the temporary disappearance of the moneyers' names after
B.C. 37. Volume II. comprises the coins of the same series down
to the limit of our date, B.C. 3. These are followed first by the
issues in Italy outside Rome, and secondly by those connected with
the Provinces. Volume III. consists of Tables of Finds, a Table of
the Cognomina of the various Gentes, Indexes, Plates, &c.
The classification instituted by Count de Salis necessitated
copious notes throughout in justification of the sequence of the
issues. It was also necessary to furnish separate introductory
chapters to the various sections of the coinages which were struck
outside the capital and in the Provinces. The Introduction proper
treats mainly of the coinage of the Roman mint. Descriptions
with illustrations of coins not in the National Collection have been
given, when considered necessary for the classification.
The size of the coins is given in inches and tenths, and the
weight in English Troy grains. Tables for converting grains into
grammes, and inches into millimetres, as well as into the measures
of Mionnet's scale, are placed at the end of the third volume,
after the Indexes.
H. A. GRUEBER.
BRITISH MUSEUMI,
September, 1910.
‘CONTENTS
VOL. I.
PREFACE .
LIST OF PLATES
CoRRIGENDA
INTRODUCTION:—
§ I. Extent and arrangement of the Roman Republican Coinage.
$ II. The Bronze Coinage
§ III. The Silver Coinage
§ IV. The Gold Coinage . & º
§ V. The Moneyers and their Functions
§ VI. The Names of Moneyers, &c.
§ VII. The Types
§ VIII. Art and Fabric º
$ IX. Epigraphy, Orthography, &c.
§ X. Finds of Coins e º
§ XI. Chronological View of the Coinage
CATALOGUE OF COINS :—
AES RUDE
AES SIGNATUM
AES GRAVE º e e & º
CoINAGE OF ROME FROM B.C. 268; A.U.C. 486
WOL. II.
CoINAGE OF ROME (continued)
ROMANO-CAMPANIAN COINAGE
CoINAGE OF ITALY te
CoINAGE OF THE SOCIAL WAR
CoINAGES OF THE PROVINCES
CornAGE OF SPAIN
CoINAGE OF GAUL
CoINAGE OF THE EAST .
CoINAGE OF SICILY
CoINAGE OF AFRICA
CoINAGE OF CYRENAICA
28O155
PAGIE
ix
xi
xiv
XXXV
lii
lx
lxxvi
. lxxxiv
xcvi
cii
cvii
cxvii
t
11
116
141
317
340
348
378
445
554
566
582
viii CONTENTS
APPENDIX —
CoINAGE OF ROME
CoINAGE OF ITALY
VOL. III.
TABLEs of FINDs of Roman REPUBLICAN SILVER Coins
TABLE OF “Cognom INA’’ on Roman REPUBLICAN CoINs witH THE
NAMES OF THE “GENTES ’’ To WHICH THEY BELONG
INDEXEs:—
I. Names and Titles of Moneyers, Magistrates, &c.
II. Remarkable Inscriptions
III. Types, Symbols of Möneyers, &c.
IV. Symbols as Mint-Marks or Die-marks
V. General Index (including Moneyers, &c.) .
TABLE OF THE RELATIVE WEIGHTs of ENGLISH GRAINS AND FRENCH
GRAMMES .
TABLE FOR CONVERTING ENGLISH INCHES INTO MILLIMETRES AND THE
MEASUREs of MIONNET's SCALE
PLATEs.
PAGE
587
591
60
65
81
89
141
155
234
236
‘XIVII CINV FINOAI IO SH0VNIOO—XICINGIdäV
voivnº KO CINV WOIHIV Jo
‘VoIHIV Io
‘ĀTIOIS IO
‘LSVGH GIHI JIO
“Invº) SIO
‘NIváS IO
“IVM IVIOOS (IHI JIO
‘ĀTVII IO
TownIOC)
HowNIOO
HowNIOO
GłownIOO
HowNIOO
HowNIOO
GIOVNIOO
Głown IOO
‘VIIIonr] Gio GIAvº) SGIV
“Tov RIOO NVINVäWVO-ONVWOH
‘GIWOAI IO
Głown IOO
‘IAvº) SGIV
‘WnJVNOIS SIV
SHJLVT CH HO JLSIT
'IIIXX.O
‘IIXX.O
"IXXO
"YXO
‘YIXO-‘YO
‘YIO-IIIO
'IIO-O
‘YIOX—'IIIAOX
‘IIAOX-'IIIAXXII
‘IIAXXII—'IAXXII
‘AXXI-'AIXXI
'III XXII–IIIA
‘IIA—"A
‘AI—"I
CORRIGENDA
Vol. i., p. 62 (note 3), for M. Julius Silanus read M. Junius Silanus.
,, p. 378 (no. 3061), for scalpum read scalprum.
,, p. 435 (note), for Floreales read Florales.
,, p. 442 (no. 3605), transfer legend to obverse.
Vol. ii., p. 103, line 8 from bottom, for Type II. read Type III.
,, p. 321, line 8 from bottom, for Q. Thermius read Q. Thermus.
,, p. 337 (note), for C. Terentinus Lucanus read C. Terentius Lucanus.
,, p. 340, line 10 from bottom, for unique read rare.
,, p. 368 (note), for aurichalchi read aurichalci.
,, p. 393 (note), for Calland read Caland. -
,, p. 424 (note 1), for Tiberius read Drusus and Tiberius.
INTRODUCTION
§ I.—EXTENT AND ARRANGEMENT OF THE ROMAN REPUBLICAN COINAGE.
THE coinages described in these volumes include those of the Roman world
from their institution under the Republic till nearly the close of the first
century B.C. They are, however, limited to those which were based on the
Roman monetary system. It was necessary to extend the descriptions of the
coins to a date after the close of the Republic in order to include all those of
the Roman mint which bear upon them the names of the moneyers. This
practice of placing the moneyers' names on the money of the Roman mint
was in abeyance from circ. B.C. 36–17, but it was revived by Augustus
for a period of fourteen years (circ. B.C. 16–3). It was then again suspended,
and was not resumed under the Empire. This extension has rendered it
possible to include the various series of gold, silver and bronze coinages of
Roman types and patterns which were struck in the Provinces until that
date. After this time the monetary system of the Provinces appears to have
been considerably modified; but no other actual change took place at the
mint in the Capitol.
The general plan of the work and the various series of coinages which
are described are as follows:—(i.) The coinages of the Toman mint issued in
Rome itself. These date from the earliest issue of the aes rude down to
B.C. 3, and they form one long continuous and consecutive series. (ii.) The
coinages struck outside Rome but within the confines of Italy. These may
be subdivided into three separate and distinct groups—(a) the IRomano-
Campanian coinage; (b) the coinages of Italy, viz. those of the local moneyers
and mints; these are chiefly of a military character; and (c) the coinage
of the Social war issued by the insurgent States; this last was modelled
on the urban coinage. (iii.) The Provincial coinages struck outside Italy
proper; these are subdivided under Spain, Gaul, the East (Greece and Asia
Minor), Sicily, Africa and Cyrenaica. This order of the Provincial money
has been adopted as it best illustrates the general development and the
extension of the Roman monetary system outside Italy. The issues given to
Spain, Gaul, and the East have their origin simultaneously circ. B.C. 82;
but those of Sicily and Africa do not make their appearance until just on
the turn of the second half of the first century, i.e. circ. B.C. 49–47. The
coinage assigned to Cyrenaica is of a still later date (circ, B.C. 31–27).
xii INTRODUCTION
Before discussing the various points in connection with the chronology
Count de of the coinage, and the system of classification as adopted in
Salis, this work, it may be well to give some particulars of its
originator, John Francis William, Count de Salis. From his earliest days
Count de Salis was an enthusiastic numismatist, and an unwearied student
of the Roman branch of numismatics.” He became a collector of coins in
his early youth, more especially of the Roman and Byzantine series, so
that before he had attained the age of thirty he had amassed a very
extensive cabinet, ranging from the earliest specimens of the Republican
period down to the latest Byzantine, the latter including the Merovingian,
Ostrogothic, Vandalic and Visigothic imitations. His collection consisted
of many thousand specimens. His researches, however, soon convinced him
that the general classification till that time applied to the Roman Series
deprived it of nearly all its historical and numismatic importance, and
supplied but a meagre idea of its usefulness as illustrating the gradual rise
and extension of Roman influence inside and outside Italy. Until then the
Republican coins had been classified under the families to which the various
moneyers belonged; the Imperial and Byzantine series were divided up under
the reign of each emperor, and the coins were arranged first under metals and
then in the alphabetical order of the legends on the reverses, without any
regard to their date or locality of issue; whilst the Ostrogothic, Visigothic and
Vandalic coins were in a great measure not separated from the general series.
To classify all these very extensive series in their chronological and
geographical order was the task which Count de Salis set himself to accom-
plish. It was an undertaking so vast that few would have cared to face it.
In order to carry out such a classification Count de Salis soon realized that
it would be necessary to have at his disposal a collection far more extensive
than he could ever hope to bring together, the cost of which would be
almost beyond the means of the richest individual. The idea then struck
him that his object could only be attained by having free access to a large
public collection such as that in the British Museum. With this view, in
August, 1859, he addressed a communication to the Trustees stating his
object fully, and adding that it was his intention to present such coins in his
own collection as might be Wanting in the National Collection, on the
condition of his being afforded all proper facilities for examining the coins
in the Medal Room. He also generously promised to exchange duplicates
in his collection for the benefit of the Museum. By this last condition
Count de Salis meant that he would dispose of his duplicates for such pieces
as might be wanting in the Museum series. This permission was granted by
* Num. Chron., 1872, Proceed., pp. 10 f.
ROMAN REPUBLICAN COINAGE xiii
the Trustees, and Count de Salis at once set about the re-arrangement and
classification of the Roman collection in the British Museum. It is im-
portant to take special note of the date when the permission was given to
Count de Salis, viz., in October, 1859, as he must have made considerable
progress with or nearly completed the classification of the Republican series
before the appearance of Mommsen's Geschichte des römischen Münzwesens,
which was not published till the following year. From this circumstance it
is evident that Count de Salis did not adopt his chronological arrangement
from Mommsen and the Duc de Blacas, but that he worked quite indepen-
dently of them.” If further evidence be needed it will be found in the fact
that before March, 1860, Count de Salis had completed the selection of the
coins required up to that time from his collection.
From October, 1859, till June, 1869, Count de Salis worked almost
daily in the Medal Room. He allowed himself no rest and no relaxation, for
after Museum hours he was generally to be found in the establishments of
the dealers, to whom he gave special instructions to acquire all that was
possible of the series in which he was specially interested, and also to
secure hoards, as it was on their provenance that he was able to establish in
a great measure his geographical system. This was of particular importance
in connection with the coinages of the later Roman Empire, that is, of the
third century A.D., from Gallienus to Diocletian, when mints issuing coins
of Roman types and standard were established in all the more important
provinces in Europe, Asia and Africa. Unfortunately, just at the time when
the Trustees renewed their permission in 1869 to enable Count de Salis to
continue his studies in the Museum, he was seized with an attack of
paralysis, and though he survived till August, 1871, he does not appear
to have again visited the Department of Coins.
The classification originated by Count de Salis has been practically
maintained as he left it; and it is not only a lasting monument of his ex-
tensive and intimate knowledge of history and numismatics, but also an
enduring witness of his surprising acumen in matters of style and fabric,
which, in classifying a series of coins like that of Rome, are of so great
importance when historical evidence fails.
During the ten years which Count de Salis spent in the Medal Room
he not only arranged and classified the Republican series chronologically
and geographically, but he carried out the same system in the Imperial and
Byzantine sections, separating the coins which were struck in Italy from
those which were issued in other parts of the Roman Empire, whether East
or West, arranging these also under mints when possible. The one section
* See Num. Chron., loc. cit.
xiv. INTRODUCTION
which he does not appear to have dealt with in a final form was that of the
imitations of the Byzantine coins, Ostrogothic, Visigothic, Lombardic, &c.,
but even of these the line of classification was clearly noted.
In regard to Count de Salis's classification, there is one circumstance
much to be regretted. It is that, with the exception of a few articles in the
Numismatic Chronicle and in the Revue Numismatique, he did not leave any
documentary evidence of the principles of his classification, nor any indications
of the lines of his study. After his death an opportunity was afforded by his
widow to the Keeper of Coins, Mr. Reginald Stuart Poole, of examining his
papers, but, with the exception of a few notes, most of which are quoted in
the following pages, and the analyses of a few finds, there was nothing to
indicate how or on what principle he had arrived at his conclusions. From
this fragmentary evidence, however, it is apparent that, in the case of the
Tepublican series, he depended mainly on historical and numismatic proof,
and the conclusions to be drawn from finds. When these failed he then
brought to bear on the subject his keen insight, and we might add instinct, in
regard to fabric and style. A better illustration cannot be found in any
series than in that which comprises the Republican coinages struck in Italy
outside the capital, and bearing the names of the moneyers. These coinages
are precisely similar in their chief characteristics to those of the urban mint,
but in very many instances style and fabric are almost the only guides which
enable us to separate them from the main series.
As much information will be found in the body of this work respecting
the classification of each section and period, it is proposed in this Introduction
to deal only with a few of the main subjects, such as the origin and progress
of the bronze, silver and gold coins, the magistrates of the mint or moneyers,
to whom the issue of the coinages was entrusted, their names, the types of
the silver and gold pieces, and a few other points connected with art and
fabric, epigraphy and finds. At the end will be given a general summary,
which will supply a concise view of the various classes and Sections enumer-
ated chronologically.
§ II.--THE BRONZE COINAGE.
When the compilation of this work was begun the chronological
classification of the early aes grave of Rome and Central Italy, as proposed by
Mommsen, was generally admitted to be at that time the most Scientific one.
This classification had already been adopted in the series of Catalogues of
Greek Coins in the British Museum,” and failing a better one it was thought
* See Cat. Gr. Coins, Brit. Mus., Italy.
BRONZE COINAGE XV
advisable to follow it in the present case. It was not until a considerable
portion of this work had been sent to press (about 100 pages), and many of the
plates worked off, that Dr. Haeberlin's Systematik des àltesten rômischen Münz-
wesens, Berlin, 1905, was published. This brochure, however, is only a prelude
to a complete Corpus of the early Roman coinage. It was then too late to
make any change, even if it had been desirable; and, besides that, such a
complete revolution of the general classification of this series as proposed by
Dr. Haeberlin needs much consideration, discussion, and criticism before it can
be generally accepted.” Though perhaps it may be considered a little out of
date, we shall, therefore, have to adhere generally to Mommsen's views, and
shall follow him in our notes, especially in the case of the aes grave. Count de
Salis had not paid any particular attention to this section of the Republican
series. He had in a general way accepted the theory of the semi-libral, quad-
rantal, and sextantal reductions, giving to them the dates B.C. 320–280, 279—
270, and 269—217 respectively. The libral aes grave, as well as the aes
signatum, he considered to have had their origin circ. B.C. 451, thus making
their first issue correspond with the supposed date of the Twelve Tables.
The earliest measure of value in metal throughout Central Italy appears )
to have consisted of lumps of bronze of no fixed weight and
without any official stamp. These varied much in form. Some
are flat and oblong, others are square, whilst many are mere rough shapeless
pieces of metal. A number of specimens found at Cervetri, Ariccia, **-*.
Vicarello, Vulci, and other places, varied considerably in weight, some
exceeding twelve pounds, whilst others descended to under an ounce. Some
of the larger pieces had been broken up into smaller ones. Though
varying so much in form there is a certain uniformity traceable in their
weights, which nevertheless rendered the use of the balance necessary in
commercial transactions. These lumps of metal are not of pure copper,
but contain a small proportion of tin; the proportion of the latter, how-
ever, is small, the analysis showing 93-70 of copper and 6:30 of tin. Others
contained even a less amount of tin.”
In Italy, as with other nations in their first stage of civilization, trade
was carried on by a system of barter, the basis of which was chiefly cattle.
Though the use of metal for the purpose of manufacturing implements and
weapons was known to the inhabitants of Central Italy at a very early date,
it had not been adopted as a gauge of value till long after it circulated freely
Aes Rude.
}
* It is not possible to give here, even in a concise form, the classification and
theories propounded by Dr. Haeberlin. They have been condensed by Mr. G. F. Hill in
Num. Chron., 1907, pp. 107 f., and also in his Historical Roman Coins, pp. 5f.
* Mommsen, Hist. mon, rom., t. i., p. 175; Hultsch, Griech. w. rām. Metrologie,
2nd ed., p. 255.
xvi INTRODUCTION
|
among the neighbouring peoples as a medium of exchange. Central Italy
was still in a primitive state of civilization when the Southern districts had
passed into a far more advanced stage, and were perfectly cognisant of the
use of silver as a medium of exchange, and not unlikely also of gold and
electrum, though the latter may not have been actually in circulation so far
west. That cattle formed the basis of commercial transactions in Italy, and
also that fines were levied in the same manner, we have the evidence of
Festus, who states that one ox was equivalent to ten sheep," and that for
minor offences the delinquent paid two sheep, but for those of a grave nature
the fine could be extended to thirty oxen.”
ſ
*~
This appears to have been the custom to the middle of the fifth century B.C.,
when two laws, known as the lex: Atermia Tarpeia and the lea, Menenia Sestia,
which are given to A.U.C. 300 and 302 (B.C. 454, 452), whilst fixing fines in
oxen and sheep, put at the same time their equivalents in money or metal.
As gold and silver were at this period extremely scarce in Central Italy, and
as copper was plentiful, and as the art of making a regular coin of a specific
weight was then unknown to the Romans, they appear to have used in the
first instance lumps of bronze of no specific form, which passed by weight.
This is the money which is known as aes rude or aes infectum.” These rudely
formed pieces have been found in considerable quantity in votive deposits to
the divinities of fountains, notably at the Source of the Arno, at the base
of Monte Falterona, and, as already mentioned, at Vicarello; * but the
most important of all was at Vulci, the contents of which consisted of
aes rude, rough brick-shaped pieces without any kind of imprint or
design, and quadrilateral pieces, Some broken, stamped with the figure of
an ox and a trident.” These last are known as aes signatum. The
difference between the Vicarello hoard and that of Vulci, is that whilst
in the former there was besides the aes rude, aes Sigmatum and aes grave, a
number of struck pieces of the Romano-Campanian Series, which are of quite
the last years of the fourth cent. B.C., the latter contained only aes rude and
aes signatum, but no aes grave. This would take back the burial of the Vulci
hoard to a date before B.C. 338, to which is now generally assigned the first
issue of the aes grave. The rough brick-shaped pieces without any imprint
1 Festus, de Verb. Sig., s.v. Peculatw8.
* Ib. s.v. Ovibus : Ovibus dwabw8 multabantur apwd antiquos in minoribus crim-
inibus, in majoribus awtem waza bubw8, nec w!tra hunc numerum eaccedebat multatio.
* Ib. s.v. Rodus : Rodus, vel raudus significat rem rudem et imperfectam; Babelon,
Monn. de la rép rom., vol. i., Introd., p. ii.
* P. Marchi, La Stipe tributata alle divinità delle Acque Apollinari, p. 7; Henzen,
Rheinisches Museum für Philologie, 1854, pp. 20 f.
* Mommsen, Hist. mon, rom., t. i., p. 175; Gennarelli, La Mon. prim. dell'Ital,
ant., p. 11.
BRONZE COINAGE xvii
seem, therefore, to be the connecting link between the aes rude and the aes
Sigmatum.
According to the popular tradition, it was Servius Tullius who first
Aes introduced at IRome, not only a system of weights and
Signatum: measures, but also the practice of stamping bronze for circula-
tion;' but this tradition is without any authority, like all those which
mention the silver coinages of the time of the kings (see below, p. xxxvii).
It was the opinion of late Roman writers that the introduction of a coinage "
at Rome did not take place till after the expulsion of the kings, and not
before the Republic had been for some time established. This view must,
however, be controlled by facts, which show that, in spite of the testimony
of some historians, the use of money or metal as a medium of exchange
cannot be put to a date earlier than the period of the Decemvirs.
The first attempts to legalise officially the substitution of metal for
cattle in the case of fines seem to havé been made under the provisions of the
lea, Aternia Tarpeia and the lea, Menenia Sestia, already referred to. Two
years later, A.U.C. 304 (B.C. 450), is the date usually ascribed to the con-
stitution of the Twelve Tables, which ordered that certain penalties should
be paid in money, asses or Sesterces, no mention being made of cattle. Thus
for a broken bone a fine of 300 asses was imposed; for violation of liberty,
25 sesterces; for illegally cutting trees, 25 Sesterces for a single tree, &c.
The primitive custom of barter does not appear to have been quickly relin-
quished, and so further legislation was needed. This was supplied by the lea:
Julia Papiria in B.C. 430, which definitely ordered that payments in bronze
should replace payments in cattle.” As it was in B.C. 454 that three com-
missioners were sent to Greece to make themselves acquainted with Athenian
legislation, it is possible that the Decemvirs may have been chiefly responsible
for this revolutionary measure. The authors of the Twelve Tables imitated,
so far as possible, the example of Solon, who, at the time that he reformed the
coinage of Athens, tariffed at one and five drachms the fines which had been
previously fixed by the Draconian laws at a sheep or an ox.”
The aes signatum,” which has been generally considered to be the earliest'
form of Roman money, consists of oblong, quadrilateral, or brick-shaped pieces
of bronze, with representations of animals—the bull, the pig, the sheep (which
remind us of the ancient custom of barter), the elephant, the Pegasus, &c.;
* Pliny, Hist. Nat., xxxiii. 8, 13: Servius rea, primw8 signavit aes. Antea rudi wsos
Romae Timaeus tradit. Signatum est nota pecudwm, wrºde et pecunia appellata.
* Cicero, de Repub., ii. 35. * Mommsen, Hist, mon, rom., t. i., p. 181.
* This term is a misnomer, as it might be applied to any aes marked with a type.
Its restriction to this class of money is therefore scarcely justifiable, especially as it does
not all belong to the earliest period of the coinage.
xviii INTRODUCTION
of birds and also of various implements—the shield, the anchor, the trident,
&c. Some are of more primitive designs, and these are possibly of earlier
-date. They are always cast, and their usual weight being from five to four
pounds, they have been designated as quincusses and quadrusses. They very
frequently occur in fragments, having been deliberately broken. As they are
without any marks of value, it has been questioned whether these “bricks” were
ever intended for money, but were only issued as a species of raw material,
Lwhich could be used in large fragments.” Most of those pieces which have
representations of animals show that they could only have been executed at a
time of advanced art, and they therefore cannot be assigned to the period of
the Decemvirs. The theory, therefore, that the Roman coinage had its origin
at so early a date meets with little favour amongst more recent numismatists.
Samwer and Bahrfeldt" have suggested that the mention of money in the
Twelve Tables does not relate to actual coinage in any form, and that it
must be taken as meaning bronze by weight, and Dr. Haeberlin * considers
that no Roman money can possibly be assigned to a date earlier than the
'second half of the fourth cent. B.C.
As the development from a primitive state to one more civilized may
have been very gradual in the case of the Romans, it is quite possible that,
between the substitution of the aes signatum in its more advanced state of
design for the aes rude, there was a considerable interval when these blocks
of metal, without or with designs of a very crude form, were accepted in
currency by weight. In the same manner the aes signatum, with its more
artistic designs, must have been issued long after the introduction of the true
bronze money, so that in each case the various series overlapped each other
for a considerable period. Though the designs on these bricks of metal are
often of crude form, there is still an extensive series which shows traces
of a period of high art. “On n'est pas seulement amené à cette conclusion
parce que la forme et le mouvement des animaux y Sont accentués dans le
sentiment de la nature. Mais c’est la liberté de la main, le sentiment des
raccourcis, l’intelligence du relief, qui excluent dans ces pièces énormes
l'idée d'une manière primitive.” “ Moreover some have types which can
only refer to events that occurred after the turn of the fourth century B.C.;
such as the bull,” which has been connected with the conquest of the
Samnites, B.C. 295, and the elephant," with the victories over Pyrrhus, B.C. 275,
which was the first occasion that the Romans had to face that animal in
battle. If these premisses are admitted, there seems to remain some foundation
* Regling, Klio, vol. vi., p. 501.
* Gesch, des àlt, röm. Münzwesens, pp. 20 f. * Systematik, pp. 16.f.
* Fr. Lenormant, in Daremberg et Saglio, Dict, des Ant. grec. et rom., s.v. Ag.
* See vol. i., p. 3, pl. i., ii. * Garrucci, Mon. dell'Ital, ant., pl.xxii. 1a.
BRONZE COINAGE xix
for the tradition that a system of exchange by means of metal (we cannot
call it actual money) may be traced to the period of the Decemvirs.
Though a considerable number of these stamped bricks of metal have
survived to our day, there are but few, if any, which can be assigned to Rome
herself. It would, however, be a natural conclusion that, as the leading power
in Central Italy, she would be likely to put into practice generally a system
of coinage which she had herself originated. The two examples of the aes
signatum, which are included in the descriptions (see below, p. 3) are of the
later period, and could not have been issued till quite the end of the fourth
century B.C. or early in the third. Their attribution to the Roman mint must
also be considered uncertain, especially the second piece with the eagle and
Pegasus, as the legend ROMANONA seems to identify its issue with the
Romano-Campanian coins having a similar legend (vol. ii., pp. 121 f.). Dr.
Haeberlin" has assigned both pieces to Capua, that with the Pegasus to circ.
B.C. 312–286, and that with the bull to circ. B.C. 286–268, connecting this
second type with the conquest of the Samnites in B.C. 290. It is with this
event that we have associated the libral as of Luceria, with the facing head
of Minerva or Bellona, and with the reverse type a bull (vol. ii., p. 145).
After the system of exchange by metal had been established in the
Roman State there was apparently a very long interval before
it actually developed into the form of money such as we
conceive it at the present time. Mommsen " was of opinion that the
introduction of the early quadrilateral and round coinages, aes grave, was
simultaneous, and that both had their origin under the government of the
Decemvirs. For reasons given later, the first issue of the aes grave must be
assigned to a much later date.
This new bronze money, consisting of heavy pieces, circular in shape,"
and lenticular in form, received the name of aes grave,” in contradistinction
to the lighter bronze money, which was issued later. The largest denomina-
tion is the as, which originally weighed a Roman pound of twelve ounces,
hence its name as libralis.” The word as was of ancient Italian origin,
and, as Volusius Maecianus" explained, signified solidum in the sense of
totality. The Sanskrit word ayas, analogous to the Latin aes, bears a like
construction.” It thus designated a piece complete in itself, and hence
it became the unit of the Roman monetary system. The as was divided
Aes Grave.
* Systematik, p. 67. * Hist, mon, rom., t. i., p. 180; iii. 464.
* Festus, de Verb. Sig., s.v. Grave: Grave aes, dictum a pondere, quia deni asses,
8inguli pondo libras, efficiebant denarium, ab hoc ipso numero dictum.
* Varro, de Ling. Lat., v. 169, 182: As erat libra pondw8 : asses librales pondo erant.
* Distributio, $1.
* Mommsen, Hist, mom. rom., t. i., p. 200, note 1.
XX INTRODUCTION
into fractions of six, four, three, two, and one uncia (semis, triens, quadrans,
Sea-tans and uncia”). Each denomination has its separate obverse type and
mark of value, but a general type of a prow of a ship, for the reverse
(see below, p. xxii). The coins are cast and uninscribed. This money was
certainly a great advance on the former system of lumps and bricks of metal,
which till then had been the only medium of exchange; but it was a long
distance off perfection on account of its great weight in the case of large
payments. The use of this heavy bronze coinage was not confined to Rome,
but made its appearance over nearly the whole of Northern and Central
Italy, in Latium and Etruria. Each of these more important centres had
a coinage of its own, but, on account of the absence of legends in many
cases, it is impossible to identify always the several series with the cities
from which they emanated. Some of those without legends have been
attributed with more or less certainty to Tibur, Praeneste, Ardea, Formiae,
Fundi, Fregellae, Alba Fucentis, &c.” The only cities outside these districts
which adopted the aes grave on the libral system were Luceria and Venusia
in Apulia. The coinage of Luceria is unique in its character.” After the
capture of that city by Rome in B.C. 314, it issued an autonomous coinage of
aes grave, and it continued to exercise the privilege, as there are later issues
of the triental and sextantal systems which take us down to about the
beginning of the second Punic war. These coins are of bronze only.
Concurrent with this coinage, there is another one of Luceria, also based on
the Roman standard, having, with few exceptions, types similar to those of
the silver and bronze money issued at the Roman mint, but distinguished
throughout by the initial letter 1 (vol. ii., pp. 145–148, 179–187). This
coinage survived the autonomous money, and Luceria as a mint thus appears
to have remained in operation till about the close of the second Punic war,
issuing two series of coins—an autonomous one under the control of the
city, and a military one under the direction of the Roman generals, both
adjusted to the standards in use at the Roman mint.
All the ancient writers agree in fixing the Roman pound of 12
weight of ounces at 288 scruples.* As the scruple weighed 17.56 grs.
the AB. (1:137 gramm.), this would produce a pound of the Attic standard
of 5057 grs. Troy (327:45 gramm.). This appears to have been the original
weight of the as, since Varro says, as erat libra pondits. As, however, with
* In this series, and also in those of the reductions of the bronze, we shall limit the
list of denominations to such as were actually issued for circulation.
* Head, Hist. Num. (1887), pp. 17, 21–22.
* Grueber, in Corolla Numismatica (1906), pp. 115 f.
* Varro, de Re rustica, i. 10: Scriptula cclaw.aviii, quantum as antiquos moster
ante bellum Punicum pendebat.
BRONZE COINAGE xxi
one exception, none of the specimens which are now known come up to that
weight, the majority being under 10 ounces, Mommsen was of opinion that
the as was originally issued on a standard of 10 ounces to the pound." It
is in this pound of 10 ounces that Dr. Haeberlin has recognised the “Ogan”
pound of 4210 grs. (272-87 gramm.).” From the data which we possess it
would seem that both Mommsen and Dr. Haeberlin have placed the original
standard too low; and that, at least at the point of departure, the as may
have been in reality one of 12 ounces. In a few years, however, it fell to
11 ounces, and thence gradually from 10 ounces at the beginning of the
third century B.C. to under 7 ounces. That this was the case seems to be
proved by finds. The as which exceeds the true weight is that in the
Olivieri collection at Pesaro. It weighs 6095 grs. (390-30 gramm.), about
14 ounces. The exceptional weight of this coin was probably due to a
blunder of the workman who cast it. The evidence of the Vicarello hoard
is not a sure criterion of weight, as it contained so many pieces of compara-
tively late date, i.e. struck coins, which must be put towards the end of the
fourth century B.C. That of Cervetri furnishes a much better example, as it
comprised only coins which were cast, and therefore of an earlier date.
Besides a certain number of bronze coins of Latium of the libral standard,
this hoard comprised no less than 1575 specimens of the libral as and 130
of the semis. Of these 1575 asses, D'Ailly weighed 591, selecting them at
hazard. The result showed that no less than 206 pieces weighed over 10
ounces, the heaviest being 11% ounces.” In the same hoard were others which
weighed as little as 5 ounces. What was the cause of this gradual decline !
Was it intentional on the part of the Senate to secure a profit, or was it
merely accidental 2 In the case of bronze money, more especially in that of
pieces of large diameter, which are cast, there is always a tendency to fall
in weight and size. So long as the coin bore the mark of its current
value it would be accepted at that valuation, and unless there were
reasons to bring into service the use of the balance, the intrinsic value
would not be taken into account. The Senate, therefore, though quite aware
of the diminishing weight of the coinage, may not have deemed it necessary
to intervene, and may have allowed matters to take their inevitable
course. On the other hand, this diminution in size and weight may
have been to some degree accidental, and due to the process used in
producing the coins. When the original moulds were made in which the
coins were to be cast, the first pieces produced may have been of the
full standard. When subsequent castings were made the new moulds
* Hist, mon, rom., t. i., pp. 206, 209. * Systematik, pp. 18 f.
* Mon, rom., vol. i., pp. 56 f.
xxii INTRODUCTION
*-
l
were probably made from existing coins. This is what is called a sur-
Thoulage. In each instance that this process was repeated there would
be a gradual shrinkage in the metal, which at first would be imperceptible,
but which, if extended over a period of nearly half a century, would show a
great difference from the point of departure to that of its ultimate arrival.
In considering the weight and standard of these bronze coins, it would
Seem that we must draw our conclusions more from the heavier specimens
existing, and not, as Mommsen and Dr. Haeberlin have done, from the
average weight of a large number. It is therefore quite possible that at
the outset the as was of the full weight of the Roman pound; and as in
the Tables of the Decemvirs the nummus sestertius and the as are equiva-
lent terms of value, the ratio of silver and bronze would be at 1:250, which
was that existing at the time in Sicily.”
The reverse type of all the bronze coins is uniform throughout. It
Types of consists of the representation of a ship's prow ; but the
the Aes obverse of each denomination varies, which enables us to
Grave. identify it at sight. On the as is the head of Janus; on the
semis that of Jupiter; on the triens that of Minerva; on the quadrans that
of Hercules; on the Seatams that of Mercury; and on the uncia that of
Roma. On the three larger denominations we have representations of the
three principal divinities of the Roman pantheon. Hercules is the personifica-
tion of physical force, and Mercury of commerce; whilst the uncia supplies
the personification of the city whence the coins were issued. The selection
of Janus and Jupiter for the two principal pieces was quite in accordance
with the positions which those divinities held in Roman mythology. Janus
was the founder or beginner of all things, and so takes the first place on
the coinage. It was after him that Numa, in his regulation of the Roman
year, called the first month Januarius. He protected the beginning of all
occupations and actions, whether public or private. Hence, if a civil or
military undertaking did not succeed, it was attributed to some fault in
the manner of beginning it, and not to the divinity. It was Jupiter who,
by augury, Sanctioned every undertaking; but its beginning depended on the
blessing of Janus. The type was therefore a fitting one for the principal
coin of Rome's first money.
What, however, was the precise signification of the reverse type of
the prow, which practically remained unaltered throughout the Republic 2
Ancient writers saw in the type of the as the tradition of the arrival of Janus
in Rome, where he was greeted by Saturn, who had preceded him from Latium.”
* Mommsen, Hist. mom. rom., t. i., p. 236.
* Eckhel, Doct. num, vet., t. v., p. 14.
T}RONZE COINAGE xxiii
This interpretation is too fanciful for modern critics, and Mommsen therefore
Suggested that it was the symbol of the ancient naval power of the state
to which the Decemvirs sought to give an impetus.* Lenormant and de
Witte,” Samwer and Bahrfeldt,” and later still Dr. Haeberlin,“ have shown
very clearly that, from artistic grounds, this new money cannot be placed at
such an early date. The arrangement of the hair of Janus, the massive beard,
the form of the mouth and the chin; the wreath of Jupiter; the helmet of
Minerva; the lion's skin on the head of Hercules, and the winged petasus
of Mercury possess qualities of execution which connect these types with
Greek coins of the fine period. The type of the prow also is not archaic in
design, nor does it reveal any subsequent sign of advance in style from an
archaic to a mature art, such as would have been the case had the coinage been
produced before the art was fully developed." Samwer and Bahrfeldt" have
further shown that the prow of the vessel of that particular form does not occur
on Greek coins—from whence the Romans may have derived their model—
till the second half of the fourth century B.C. It is evident, however, that
this type had some historical reference, the memory of which Rome desired to
perpetuate. It was in B.C. 338 that two great events took place, which were
fraught with the utmost importance for the future of Rome, as they established
not only her power on land, but also extended her influence at sea. The first
was the termination of the Great Latin war, which brought about the dissolu-
tion of the Latin League, and which laid the foundation of the supremacy of
Rome in Central Italy. The second was the taking of Antium, the most
important and strongest city of the Volscians, and the capture or destruction
of her ships of war, the beaks of which were brought to Rome by Caius
Maenius, and set up in the Forum as a record of one of the greatest achieve-
ments of Roman arms at that time." Owing to constant struggles on land her
fleet had fallen into neglect, and Rome had been compelled to submit to
harsh treaties imposed by Carthage and Tarentum. The victory over Antium
brought with it fresh naval energy, and the ships captured served as a nucleus
for re-establishing the naval power of Rome. To the Latin war we would
therefore trace the origin of the head of Janus on the as, and to the capture"
of Antium, the prow for the general reverse of all the coins.” It is therefore
* It is to the time of the Decemvirs that Mommsen attributed this coinage, see
above, p. xix. * Élite des monuments céramographiques, t. i., Introd., p. xxx.
* Gesch. des tilt, röm. Miinzwesens, pp. 33 f. * Systematik, p. 19.
* See Hill, Historical Roman Coins, pp. 3 f. * Op. cit., pp. 36 f.
* Pliny, Hist. Nat., xxxiv. 5, 11: In suggestu rostra devictis Antiatibus fiaserat
(C. Maenius) anno wrbis ccc.ca/vi.
* Babelon (Monn. de la rép. rom., vol. i., Introd., p. vii.) has confused the capture
of Antium in B.C. 468 by T. Quinctius Capitolinus with that in B.C. 338 by Caius Maeuius.
It was on the later occasion that the beaks of the vessels were brought to Rome.
xxiv INTRODUCTION
to B.C. 338, or shortly after, that we have attributed the first issue of the
libral coinage of Rome. This is about the date assigned to it by Dr. Haeberlin.'
One of the most difficult problems in connection with the Roman
Triental monetary system is the reduction in weight of the early bronze
Series. money. There was, as already remarked, a perceptible diminu-
tion in the weight of the as and its divisions from its institution. The
diminution was at first very gradual, and it probably had no ill effect on the
current value of the coins, which would pass at their face value. This
process of reduction was not absolutely continuous, and there are epochs
in the coinage when radical changes appear to have been effected, both in
the standard of the money and in the increase or lessening of the denomi-
nations. Such changes could only have been effected under special laws and
decrees of the Senate. On account of the silence of ancient writers these
changes have given rise to the most varied theories. D'Ailly,” who had
procured a large number of weights of coins from every available source, held
that there were marked diminutions in the weights of the coins at certain
intervals, and that the libral as descended at first to one of six ounces (Semi-
libral), and after a long interval to one of three ounces (quadrantal), and
finally, in B.C. 268, when a silver coinage was first struck at Rome, to one of
two ounces (sea-tamtal). Samwer and Bahrfeldt “ have not accepted either a
semi-libral or a quadrantal reduction, but hold that by a natural process the
decline of the as was perfectly gradual from its institution to the time of the
war of Pyrrhus, when it reached the low level of three ounces. The way was
thus prepared for a legal reduction of the as to two ounces (Seatantal) in B.C.
268. It is at this point that Samwer and Bahrfeldt and D'Ailly meet. Opposed
to both these theories is that proposed by Mommsen,” which was based on a
critical examination, not only of the Roman coinage proper, but also of those
of the surrounding districts, which were subject to Rome, and which had
adopted the Roman bronze system. Mommsen held that Rome preserved
for a long time the as of the nominal weight of a pound, but weighing
effectively from nine to ten ounces, and that after an interval it suddenly
fell to less than a half, to one of four ounces; i.e. to a triental standard,
the reduced as being equal in weight to the old triens. He notes that a
similar reduction occurred in the bronze money of various cities of Umbria
and Apulia (Luceria and Venusia), but that those of Latium, Cisalpine Gaul
and Picenum apparently adhered for a time to the old system of the
libral as. After discussing at considerable length the various opinions of
*T***-*-- ------------------
* Systematik, p. 18. * Mon. Tom., vol. i., p. 6.
* Gesch. des àlt. rôm. Münzwesems, pp. 48 f. *
* Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., pp. 1 f.
*
BRONZE COINAGE XXV
Varro, Verrius Flaccus and Pliny, who all agree that the libral as was
abolished during the Punic war, by which must be understood the first
Punic war, Mommsen concludes with the remark, “Nous pouvons done
considérer comme un fait acquis à l'histoire que la fabrication de l'as libral
dura jusque vers 490 A.U.C.” (B.C. 264)." Subsequently Mommsen some-
what modified his view and assigned the introduction of the triental Series
to B.C. 268.” This seems a much more probable date, as the disappearance
of the libral as, and its substitution by one of four ounces, would then
coincide with the establishment of the first silver coinage in B.C. 268, and
we may safely conclude that the act of the Senate which decreed this great
innovation effected also a reform in the bronze money by reducing its
weight. This change did not cause any variation in the ratio of silver and
bronze, for the scruple of silver, which was the weight of the Sestertius, was
now valued at 2% asses, and not as before at one as.”
When the Romans reduced the standard of the bronze coinage, several new
denominations of higher value than the as were introduced in order to replace
the heavier pieces of the aes grave which had been demonetised. These were
the decussis of 10 asses, the tripondius or tressis of 3 asses, and the dupondius of
2 asses. In the libral series the uncia was the lowest denomination, but two of
less degree were now introduced, the semuncia and the quarter-uncia. This
reduction in the sizes of the coins rendered possible another important innova-
tion. Hitherto all the denominations of the aes grave from the as to the uncia
had been cast and bore no legends. For the lesser denominations dies could now
be used for their production, so that the sextans, uncia, Semuncia, and quarter-
uncia are thenceforward always struck. The earlier triens and quadrans were
cast, but as they fell in weight and size dies were also used for their manufacture.
The pieces of higher value, from the decussis to the semis, were still too large
to be produced by means of dies, and so continued to be cast. No change
was made in the type of the reverse of the new denominations, it being
always the prow of a ship; but on the obverses of the decussis and the
tripondius the head of Roma was depicted, and on the dupondius that of
* Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., p. 14. * Op. cit., t. iii., p. 468.
* The most recent view on this intricate subject is that advanced by Dr. Haeberlin
(Systematik, pp. 39 f.). It has already been mentioned that Dr. Haeberlin considers
that, for the libral series, the Romans adopted the Oscan pound of 4210 grs. (272.87
gramm.), and not the Attic pound of 5057 grs. (327:45 gramm.); but in B.c. 286, in
order to facilitate the exchange of the urban aes grave with the Romano-Campanian
silver at 120:1, the as was reduced by one-half. This semi-libral as was thus made the
equivalent of one silver scruple; and as, little by little, the silver scruple displaced the
bronze as, that coin and its divisions began to sink in weight, and finally gave way, in
B.C. 268, to one of two ounces (sea:tantal). In order to preserve the ratio between bronze
and silver, the Attic pound was then adopted instead of the Oscan pound.
f
xxvi INTRODUCTION
Minerva; whilst the semuncia supplied the head of Mercury, and the obverse
type of the quarter-uncia was the same as that of the uncia. In order that
there should be no confusion between these new coins and the sextans and
uncia, the marks of value were omitted. Still another innovation was the
Tnscribing of the name of RoNAA on the reverses of all the struck pieces, but
vthose which were cast were still without any legend. The weights of the
coins in the National Collection quite confirm the classification initiated by
Mommsen. The heaviest as of the triental series is just one third that of
the heaviest libral as (16450 and 4552-0 grs.), and the highest and lowest
denominations all show the same proportionate weights.
In dealing with the aes grave we had occasion to mention the artistic
merit of the designs on most of the denominations. It was one of the chief
reasons for assigning their first issue to the middle of the fourth century B.C.
When the reduction to the triental standard took place, every trace of artistic
merit disappeared on the cast pieces. They seem to have been made in the
most careless manner.” The head of Roma on the decussis and the tripondius
is crude in form, and the face is executed without any attempt at expression.
The head of Minerva on the dupondius is far inferior in style to that on the
triens of the aes grave series. In the case of the as, semis and triens, the
heads on the obverses are so miserably executed that on Some specimens they
are scarcely recognisable. This crudeness in execution and design shows that
very little care was exercised in the production of these cast pieces, and their
rarity also proves that their issue was of very short duration as compared with
that of the aes grave. These remarks do not apply to the struck pieces, the
dies for which were engraved with considerable skill and artistic feeling.
The large numbers of these struck pieces which have come down to us clearly
indicate that in currency they were more popular than the heavier cast ones.
We have now to consider what was the next stage in the reduction in
sextantal weight of the bronze money. Did it fall gradually from four
Series: ounces to one ounce as ordered by the lea, Flaminia minus solvendi
in B.C. 217,” or was there an intermediate stage 2 Festus (de Verb. sig., s.v.
Grave) says: Grave aes, dictum a pondere, quia deni asses, singuli pondo libras,
efficiebant denarium, ab hoc ipso numero dictum. Sed bello Punico populus
Romanus pressus aere alieno ea singulis assibus librariis senos fecit, qui
tantum dem valerent ;-and again (s.v. Sextantarii): Seactantarii asses in usu,
esse coeperunt ea eo tempore, quod propter bellum Punicum Secundum, quod
cum Hannibale gestum est, decreverunt patres, ut ea; assibus, qui tum eramt
librarii, fierent Seattamtarii. Pliny’ endorsed this view when he wrote:
Librale autem pondus aeris imminutum est bello Punico primo, cum impensis
* See Pl. viii.-x. * See below, p. xxviii. * Hist. Nat., xxxiii. 3, 13.
BRONZE COINAGE xxvii
*CSpublica non sufficerel, constitutumque ut asses sectantario pondere feriremtur.
Both these authors state that the libral as was reduced to a sixth ; but
this discrepancy may have been due to the fact that the reduced triental as
represented in style, form and fabrication the heavier one. They, however,
differ on one important point, which is, that whilst Pliny assigns the
sextantal reduction to the first Punic war, Festus gives it to the second
War. There are other discrepancies, which have been pointed out by
Mommsen, who doubted the testimony of these ancient writers, and asserted
that between B.C. 264 and 217 there was no reduction which fixed legally
the as at two ounces, but that it fell gradually from four ounces to the
Weight of one ounce, which it attained on the passing of the lea, Flaminia
(or Fabia). He concludes with the words: Rien ne mous indique l'époque
à laquelle a pu avoir lieu, cette prétendue réduction intermédiaire, et mous
!a réfetons; nous aimons mieuw nous en tenºir à la première hypothese et
admettre que les annalistes, et les compilateurs qui Sont venus après euw, se
Sont trompés."
This somewhat sweeping statement of Mommsen is, however, not con-
firmed by the evidence of the coins themselves, which seem to lend at least
Some corroboration to the statements of Pliny and Festus. It is very certain
that at Some time between B.C. 268 and 217 a radical change occurred in
connection with the mint at Rome, which put an end to the casting of the
bronze money, and which led to the establishing of an as which was struck,
and weighed two ounces, sewtantal. After this happened all the coins
were struck. This necessitated the putting out of circulation the higher
denominations, the decussis, the tripondius (or tressis) and the dupondius,
as at that time no dies could stand the striking of such large pieces. The
reduction in the weight of the coinage had a similar effect on the smallest
denomination, the quarter-uncia, which also disappeared. This was for an
opposite reason, viz. that its reduced size would have made the coin too
Small for public convenience. *r-
As it seems scarcely conceivable that such important changes were only
fortuitous, and a consequence of the coinage falling in weight, we are disposed
to attribute them to some special order of the Senate, when the nation, drained
by the demands of the Punic war, sought to recoup itself by lessening the weight
of the bronze money, as Pliny puts it, cum impensis respublica non sufficeret.
It was a species of state-bankruptcy, and its effect was to destroy the old
relative value between silver and bronze, and to reduce the latter to the condi-
tion of a token-money. In the first instance the libral as was equivalent to a
silver Scruple. This relation was preserved when the triental standard was
* Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., p. 14.
|
xxviii INTRODUCTION
introduced, because the sestertius, which weighed a scruple, was equivalent
to 24, asses. When the bronze as was reduced to two ounces the ratio was
diminished by one half, so that silver and bronze stood at 1: 125 instead of
1:250. The date of this reduction, according to Pliny, was during the first
Punic war. In the following pages we have assigned it to circ. B.C. 240, just
after the war, but it is quite possible that it may have occurred at some time
earlier, not, however, before B.C. 244, as it was in that year that the Latin
colony was founded at Brundusium, and money of the triental standard was
issued there (vol. i., p. 16, note 2). This reduction of the bronze money was
accompanied by a marked variation in the fabric and type of the denarius,
which now fell several grains in weight (see below, p. xl, and vol. i., pp. 14,
28). It was also in this series of coins, silver and bronze, that the earliest
occurrence of moneyers' symbols and names is met with, the latter usually in
monogram.
Other events connected with the introduction of this sextantal money
were the institution of a gold coinage (see below, p. lv, and vol. i., pp. 12, 27),
the establishment of local mints in Italy, and also of a general local coinage
throughout Italy, which was based on the same denominations, metals, types
and standards of weight as those in use at Rome (vol. ii., pp. 141 f.). In con-
nection with the coinage of the local mints, it may be mentioned that Luceria
struck the quincuna of the Sextantal standard (vol. ii., p. 182), a denomina-
tion which is met with in the autonomous money of that city, but which does
not occur at the Roman mint. Several exceptional pieces of this nature are
to be found later in the local issues.
Considerable uncertainty prevails, as we have seen, respecting the
Uncial periods and standards of the bronze coinage in the reductions
Series of the libral as to one of two ounces. This uncertainty
disappears in the case of its two next reductions, that is, to the one ounce
and the half-ounce standards, uncial and Semumcial. In both cases we
have not only legislative and numismatic evidence, but also that of ancient
writers.
The as and its divisions of the sextantal standard preserved their weight
with but slight diminution during their somewhat short issue, and, from the
quantity which exists at the present time, this coinage must have been a very
extensive one. It was, however, destined to share a fate similar to that of
the triental money, as it did not survive the second Punic war. It was in
B.C. 217, in the same year as the battle of Trasimene, and during the con-
sulate of Cn. Servilius and C. Flaminius, when Q. Fabius Maximus was
dictator, that the Senate, being unable to meet the heavy expenses of the war
with Hannibal, decided to reduce the standard of its bronze money to one
half. The law which ordered this reduction is known as the lew Flaminia
BRONZE COINAGE xxix
or Fubia minus solvendi." Not only did this law substitute an uncial as for a
sextantal one, but it also raised the current value of the denarius from ten to
sixteen asses. An exception was, however, made in the case of the soldiers,
whose pay was still computed at ten asses to the denarius. At this period
the yearly stipendium of the Soldier was 1200 asses. For this he continued
to receive 120 denarii, and not 75 only, as he would have done if he had
been placed under the new régime. Later his pay was raised by Julius
Caesar to 3000 asses, but it was then reckoned at the current rate of sixteen
asses to the denarius, so that he received 225 demarii in the year.” The
denarius was at the same time reduced from A3 to ºr of the pound, but no
change was made in its mark of value (see below, p. xli). The financial
result of this operation was to give to the bronze money in its exchange with
silver double its previous value. With this reduction of the denarius the
ratio of silver and bronze now stood at about 1: 112, so that the latter became
still more a token-money.
No change occurred in the types; but as, in introducing the sextantal
standard, the issue of the smallest denomination, the quarter-uncia, was
suspended, so now the semuncia ceased to be struck, but it is still met with
occasionally at some of the local mints, amongst which are those with the
initials T, CA and K-Palio, Canusium and Capua (vol. ii., pp. 205, 207, 209).
At the same time at the Roman mint an attempt was made to revive the
dupondius, but as only three specimens of this coin are at present known,
it does not appear to have been a success.” A still further attempt was made
at the Roman mint at a later date to introduce two fresh denominations, the
dodrans and the bes, but their issue was confined to the coinages of two
moneyers. C. Cassius struck both the dodrans and the bes circ. B.C. 124—
103, but M. Caecilius Metellus the dodrans only, circ. B.C. 94 (vol. i., pp. 153,
154, 177). Exceptional denominations struck at the local mints are the
dextans and quincunx; the former is met with at Luceria (vol. ii., p. 184),
and both at Palio (vol. ii., pp. 203, 204). These new denominations have
each their special mark of value, and, in the case of the Roman mint, special
obverse types; but in the local issues special reverse types were also
supplied.
Throughout its issue, that is until B.C. 88, when a still further reduction
* Pliny (Hist. Nat., xxxiii. 3, 18) says—Postea Hannibale wrgente Q. Fabio Maasimo
dictatore asses wmciales facti, placuitgue denarium sedecim assibw8 permutari . . . in
militari tamen stipendio semper denarius pro decem assibus datw8 est.
* Tacitus, Annal., i. 17.
* The specimen recently acquired by the British Museum (vol. ii., p. 591) was
formerly in the Bignami collection. A second example is in the D'Ailly collection in
the Paris Cabinet (vol. i., p. 47), and another was recently found at Ostia (Riv. Ital.,
1909, p. 11).
XXX INTRODUCTION
occurred, the bronze money preserved with but slight variation its fixity of
type. In this respect it was the antithesis of the silver coinage. The
first occurrence of a change at the Roman mint was about B.C. 124, when
P. Calpurnius placed on the reverse of his semis and quadrans the representa-
tion of a ship surmounted by a Victory (vol. i., p. 141). Only three other
instances occurred at Rome between that date and B.C. 89, viz., in the case of
L. Opeimius, who adopted for the reverse type of his quadrans a club (vol. i.,
p. 173), and of L. Appuleius Saturninus and L. Hostilius Tubulus who figure
on their unciae a wreath (vol. i., p. 220; vol. ii., p. 588, App.). In the local
money the variations occurred more frequently, and they make their appear-
ance at a somewhat earlier date, the first instance noticed being that of Furius
Purpureo, circ. B.C. 196—173, who substituted a female bust (Venus 7) for
that of Roma for the obverse type of his uncia (vol. ii., p. 231). After
B.C. 100 these changes were more frequent. The local mints also occasionally
adopted types some of which are found on their autonomous pieces. These,
however, date back to before the close of the third century B.C.
The output of bronze money from B.C. 217—150 seems to have been
carried out with considerable regularity and in much profusion. The number
of moneyers during that period who struck bronze only exceeds those who
issued silver and bronze, and these last are more numerous than those of
whom we have only silver. There was in consequence an excess of bronze
over silver. About B.C. 150, or shortly after, the issue of the uncial as was
suddenly suspended, and it was not revived till B.C. 91, when it had then
but a limited existence. With the absence of the as, the bronze money fell
into a very disorganized condition. The issues are much less frequent, the
Smaller denominations, the sextans and uncia, are rarely met with, and the
other denominations scarcely ever attain their legal weight. It was then
more than ever a mere token-money. Mommsen has suggested that it is
very possible that to the middle of the sixth century A.U.C. the chief currency
over a great part of Italy consisted of bronze money, but that when it had
lost so much of its intrinsic value it ceased to be received in payment of
large transactions, and in consequence it was put out of circulation by an
increased supply of silver. Since the revival of the as in B.C. 91 coincided
with the outbreak of the Social war, it would appear that the Senate made
one more attempt to re-establish its currency both inside and outside Rome.
The disasters which befell the armies of Rome during the first year's
Semuncial campaign of the Social war resulted in the passing of two
Series important laws. The first was the lea, Julia de civitate, pro-
posed by the consul L. Julius Caesar, B.C. 90, which granted the right of
* Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 72.
BRONZE COIN AGE xxxi
citizenship to those States which had remained faithful to Rome. It was
followed in the next year by the lex Plautia Papiria de civitate sociis danda,
promoted by the tribunes M. Plautius Silvanus and C. Papirius Carbo, which
extended, under conditions, the franchise to all Italy. One of the effects of
this centralization of Roman rule appears to have been the suppression of all
the local mints and all the Roman issues outside Rome. In the same year,
B.C. 89, a third law was promulgated, which was connected with the regulation
of the coinage, and which was also proposed by the tribune Carbo. It is known
as the lea, Papiria Semunciaria. It had for its object the modification of the
standard of the bronze coinage, and the inauguration of the as of the half-ounce
weight, i.e. semwmcial." This is the monetary regulation of the law which ancient
texts have noted, but it embraced further provisions as it re-instituted the issue
of the sestertius, which had been in abeyance since the introduction of the
victoriatus in B.C. 229, if not even before that date. This is proved by the
coins themselves, for those struck by the moneyers D. Junius Silanus and
L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, who first issued the as of the reduced standard,
stamped their sestertii with the letters E. L. T. (ea lege Papiria), showing
their authority for putting this piece again into currency. For the same
reason some of the bronze coins issued at the same time are inscribed
L. T. D. A. T (lege Papiria de aere publico). These last are without
moneyers' names. It is interesting to notice that this new money was
adopted under precisely the same circumstances as the reduction of the as
to the sextantal and uncial standards, that is, at a time of a great crisis,
which compelled the Senate to lower the intrinsic but not the current value
of its money.”
The introduction of this new standard brought with it no modification in
the denominations, which still consisted of the as and its divisions to the uncia,
and only an occasional modification in the types. C. Vibius PanSa on his as
gives a triple prow instead of a single one (vol. i., p. 295). On the obverse
of the as of C. Marcius Censorinus are the heads of the moneyer's reputed
ancestors, Numa Pompilius and Ancus Marcius, and on the reverse, a prow
and a galley or a building of two arches with the figure of Victory and a prow
(vol. i., pp. 305, 306). L. Rubrius Dossenus placed an altar between the
* Pliny, Hist. Nat., xxxiii. 3, 13: Moa, lege Papiria Semwmciarii asses facti.
* Head (Hist. Num. (1887), p. 17) remarks that “this was merely a legal authoriza-
tion of a custom which de facto had prevailed for some years before that date, if not in
Rome itself, at any rate in some of the Confederate towns.” Amongst these were
Brundusium and Uxentum in Calabria, Copia in Lucania, and Vibo Valentia and Petelia
in Bruttium. It would appear, however, that, in lowering the standard of their bronze
coins, these cities were only keeping apace with what was happening at Rome. The
re-introduction of the uncial as at its full weight in B.C. 91 shows that Rome had not
actually abandoned that standard.
xxxii INTRODUCTION
heads of Janus, or substituted for that of Janus the conjoined heads of
Hercules and Mercury, with the reverse type, a temple and a ship's prow,
&c. (vol. i., pp. 312, 313). As in the case of previous reductions, some of the
coins are without moneyers' names, whilst others bear only a symbol.
This change in the bronze standard was accompanied by great activity
at the mint, and the coinage in silver of L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, which is
attributed to B.C. 88, was the largest and most varied that had hitherto been
issued. The variety of mint-marks consisting of symbols, numbers, letters
and fractional signs shows that in the course of his year's office several
hundreds of separate dies must have been made. This large supply was
required not only to meet the requirements of Italy in general, but also the
demands of the war which was about to be carried on in the East against
Mithradates of Pontus. This activity at the mint, however, only extended
over a few years so far as the bronze money was concerned, as its issue came
to an abrupt termination circ. B.C. 82 (vol. i., p. 359).
It is difficult to assign a reason for this sudden collapse, but it is possible
that it may have been caused originally by the lea: Valeria de aére alieno
which was proposed by the consul L. Valerius Flaccus in B.C. 86, and which
authorized the reduction of debts to one quarter of their original amount,
This happened in the following manner. Besides the as struck at this time,
which in currency was of the value of one-sixteenth of the denarius, there were
two other asses of account. In wholesale commerce the reckoning was still
made on the basis of the libral as, or its equivalent the sestertius of silver, whilst
in retail transactions, and for the payment of the soldiery, the as was of the
value of one-tenth of the denarius. The lea: Valeria suppressed the libral as
and substituted for it the as of the value of one-sixteenth of the denarius. By
this action the Government and also private individuals obtained a rebate of
seventy-five per cent. on all their debts." It was the first time since the
establishment of the Republic that any attempt had been made to change
the unit of value of the coinage.” It threatened absolute bankruptcy; and
when Sulla returned to Rome in B.C. 82 one of his first acts was to repeal
the lea: Valeria. As the cessation of the issue of the bronze money is
to be assigned to this date, it would appear that the sudden return to the
old system of computation brought with it a good deal of disorganization,
which resulted in the suspension of the bronze coinage. This at first may
have been intended to be only temporary, but it proved more lasting, and
practically extended over half a century. In B.C. 45–44 an effort was made
* Well. Paterc., ii. 23: In hujus (Marii cos. vii) locum suffectus Valerius Flaccus,
turpissimae legis auctor, qua creditoribus quadrantem solvi jusserat.
* Mommsen, Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 75.
BRONZE COINAGE xxxiii
at Rome by the praefects L. Munatius Plancus, C. Clovius and Q. Oppius to
resuscitate the as (vol. i., pp. 538, 539, 541), but it was evidently a failure,
and it was not until B.C. 15, by which time Augustus had been for some years
at the head of affairs, that another venture was attempted which was to
prove more effective and lasting.
Though there was an almost complete absence of the production of
bronze money at the Roman mint during this long period, several attempts
were made to inaugurate it in the Provinces west and east on the Roman
standard." In Spain, Cnaeus and Sextus Pompey struck the as of the uncial
standard of the former types, head of Janus and prow of vessel, a curious
return to a standard which had long been abandoned at Rome (vol. ii., pp.
367, 371–373). Some years later, B.C. 23–22, P. Carisius commemorated the
building of Emerita on asses which bear on the obverse a portrait of Augustus
and on the reverse a bird’s-eye view of the city (vol. ii., p. 377). In Gaul,
Octavius struck sestertii, circ. B.C. 38, with his own portrait and that of
Julius Caesar (vol. ii., pp. 412 f.); and in the East, besides the minor issues of
L. Sempronius Atratinus B.C. 39 (vol. ii., p. 501), of C. Sosius at Zacynthus,
on several occasions from B.C. 38–31 (vol. ii., p. 504), of P. Canidius Crassus
B.C. 31 (vol. ii., p. 532), and of C. Proculeius, B.C. 31 (vol. ii., p. 533), there is
a large series of coins of the praefecti classis of Mark Antony, B.C. 36–35
(vol. ii., pp. 510 f.). It was on the standard of these naval coins of Antony
that the future bronze money of Rome appears to have been partially based
(vol. ii., p. 45).
For some years before the resumption of the issues of bronze money at
Quarter- the Roman mint in B.C. 15, the coinage of Rome had entered
ounce upon an entirely new phase. In B.C. 36, soon after the battle
* of Naulochus, the custom of placing the names of the moneyers
On the coins was suspended, and from that date inclusive the money both
of gold and silver struck at Rome bears only the name or titles of Octavius.
In B.C. 29 he is styled Imperator and from B.C. 27 Augustus. The types too
are exclusively personal to him. About B.C. 16, for some reason which has
not been satisfactorily explained, the names of the moneyers re-appeared,
and they are met with yearly till nearly the end of the century (B.C. 3).
They are then again excluded, this time never to be revived so long as the
Empire lasted. As the bronze money now issued bears the names of the
lmoneyers, it could not have been resumed before B.C. 16, and from numismatic
evidence as well as historical, its revival is assigned to the following year.
* Bahrfeldt, Die Miinz. der Flottenpräfecten des Marc. Ant., Num. Zeit., 1905, pp. 9 f.
Provinz. Kupferprägung aw8 dem Ende der röm. Rep., Journ. Internat., 1908, pp. 215 f.;
Die letzten Kupferprägungen writer der röm. Repub., Nunu. Zeit., 1909, pp. 67 f.
xxxiv. INTRODUCTION
Another important point in connection with this new money is the circum-
stance that, though the Senate had transferred its control of the silver and
gold issues to the Emperor, it retained its right over the coinage of the baser
metal, as is shown by the use of the formula EX S. C. (ea, senatus consulto),
which is borne by all the denominations.
Unlike any which preceded it, this new coinage was based on a double
standard of weight : Semuncial, as established by the lea, Papiria, and
quarter-uncial. Coins of the first are struck in pure copper; those of the
latter are of a mixed metal consisting of about 76.5 per cent. of copper and
23.5 per cent. of zinc." This composite metal is known as orichalcum. The
denominations are the sestertius, dupondius, as, and quadrans. The first two
are of orichalcum, but the last two are of copper.” As the weight of the as
was the same as that of the dupondius, it must be presumed that in currency
orichalcum was reckoned at double the value of pure copper. Intrinsically
this difference did not exist; but as this coinage was only a token-money, such
a distinction had no commercial disadvantages. The same happens at the
present time when copper or bronze and nickel are employed in the same
coinage.
The quarter-ounce standard, as adopted at Rome, seems to have had its
origin to a great extent in the money of the praefecti classis of Antony, which
has just been mentioned. This coinage was based entirely on the quarter-
ounce standard, all the denominations, sestertius, tressis, dupondius, as, Semis
and sextans, being of orichalcum (vol. ii., p. 512). In this instance each
denomination bears its mark of value, which precludes any uncertainty as
to what it represented in currency. This light standard appears to have
been generally adopted in the various Provinces of the Roman state during
the time of the triumvirate. The coins of Sosius struck at Zacynthus,
those of Proculeius of Cephallenia and those of Crassus, which are also
assigned to the East, are all of Orichalcum or mixed metal, as proved by
recent analyses, and they are of the quarter-ounce standard (vol. ii., pp. 504,
532, 533). The same standard appears also to have been adopted in
Cyrenaica.” The institution of orichalcum and the quarter-ounce standard
in the Provinces, therefore, preceded their adoption at the Roman mint, but in
this case they were limited to the two highest denominations, the sestertius
and the dupondius, the as and the quadrans being of copper. This new
coinage proved a success, and was found so convenient for general purposes
* Num. Chron. 1904, p. 244.
* Pliny, Hist. Nat., xxxiv. 2, 2: (Aes Cordubense) a Liviano cadmean maarime sorbet
et aurichalci bonitatem imitatur in 8estertiis dupondiariisque, Cyprio Suo assibus contentis.
* Müller, Num. de l’anc, Afr., vol. i., p. 170.
SILVER COINAGE XXXV
that it practically remained in force unchanged for nearly two centuries and
a half.
In order that it should be absolutely distinguishable from what had
previously existed, all the old types were abandoned. The great naval
victories of Augustus at Naulochus and Actium had quite eclipsed that of
Antium, which had been almost exclusively commemorated on the coinage,
and as the types of the gold and silver money were imperial in character, an
attempt was made to assimilate to them those of the pieces of the baser metals.
Each denomination was supplied at least with a distinct obverse type, so that
it could be easily recognized by this feature if not always by its size (vol. ii.,
p. 45). In the absence of marks of value, which were excluded on all the
coins, this was a necessity, and the more so since the size and weight of the
dupondius and the as were practically the same. Certain regulations relating
to the duties of the moneyers were also laid down, and on the whole strict
observance was paid to them. The moneyers who struck gold and silver coins
did not issue those of the baser metals, and those who struck the sestertius,
the dupondius and the as did not issue the quadrans, and vice versá. There
were, however, two exceptions. Besides the gold and silver coins of M. San-
quinius and P. Licinius Stolo, there are also bronze and copper pieces, consist-
ing of the sestertius, the dupondius and the as (vol. ii., pp. 78–82); and of
Q. Aelius L. f. Lamia there is a separate and joint issue, the former consisting
of the Sestertius, the dupondius and the as ; the latter, which he shared with
his colleagues Silius and Annius, of the quadrans only (vol. ii., pp. 86–88).
From the evidence of the asses, which record the chief pontificate of
Augustus, of the joint issues of the moneyers, and of changes in the types, it
is possible to establish a sequence, though intermittent, of the bronze and
copper money from B.C. 15–3. After that date this money entered into a
new phase as regards its types, but not its standards, its control, however,
still resting with the Senate.
§ III.--THE SILVER COINAGE.
After the defeat of Pyrrhus at Beneventum, B.C. 275, the surrender or
capture of Tarentum and Rhegium, the submission of the Samnites,
Lucanians and Bruttians, and the establishment of her control in Campania,
Rome was the undisputed mistress of Italy. She had brought into her
alliance more or less directly all the neighbouring States. The maintenance
of peace and order in Italy, the making of war or peace with foreign powers,
were matters which Rome took entirely into her hands. It is not therefore
a surprise that, in order still further to consolidate her power, she con-
sidered this a favourable moment for establishing within her own capital a
f
xxxvi * INTRODUCTION
silver currency which would circulate throughout nearly the whole of Italy.
Hitherto her supplies of coins in this metal had come from Capua, but the
delegation of such a prerogative was no longer compatible with her present
dignified position. A mint was therefore established at Rome, and in order
to make it the more effective the cities which had coined silver money were
deprived of this right. Exceptions were made in the case of Naples, Tarentum
and Rhegium. These so far had not lost their independence.
The attribution of the issue of the first silver coins at Rome to shortly
silver after the victories over Pyrrhus rests mainly on the authority
coinage of two writers, whose testimony cannot be lightly esteemed.
* They are Livy and Pliny.
Livy (lib. iv. 60) relates that when in A.U.C. 349 (B.C. 403) the Senate
had ordered that the soldiers should receive state pay the aes grave was
transported to the aerarium in wagons—quia nondum argentum signatum
erat. The same writer (Epit. xv.) further tells us, Picentibus victis paa, data
est. Coloniae deductae, Ariminum in Piceno, Beneventum in Samnio. Tune
primum populus Romanus argento uti coepit. Umbri et Salentini victi in
deditionem accepti Sumt. The foundation of the colony at Ariminum and the
peace with the Picentes occurred in B.C. 268, and the defeat of the Umbrians
and Salentines in B.C. 267. This would be four years after the surrender of
Tarentum, and four years before the outbreak of the first Punic war.
Pliny in turn practically confirms this statement of Livy, though
differing in one year. He states (Hist. Nat., xxxiii. 3, 13), Populus Romanus
me argento quidem signato ante Pyrrhum regem devictum usus est; and again
in the same chapter, Argentum sigmatum anno urbis coccla:a::cy, Q. Ogulnio,
C. Fabio cos., quinque annis ante primum Punicum bellum, et placuit denarium
pro decem libris aeris valere, quinarium pro quinque, sestertium pro dupondio
ac semisse. The difference of one year for the establishment of a silver
currency between Livy and Pliny is scarcely appreciable, for it may well
have been that the coinage was ordered in B.C. 269, but was not actually put
into circulation before B.C. 268. The latter is the date which has been
accepted by Mommsen.” T
Precise as these statements of Livy and Pliny seem to be, they cannot,
however, be accepted in their entirety, for although Rome did not actually
strike any silver coinage in the capital before B.C. 269 or 268, it must not
be inferred either that she was not acquainted with the silver money of
Etruria, Magna Graecia, or Sicily, or that she was without any supplies from
a more immediate source. There is ample historical and numismatic evidence
* See ROMANO-CAMPANIAN CornAGE, vol. ii., pp. 116 f.
* Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., p. 28.
SILVER COINAGE xxxvii
to the contrary, though some of the statements of earlier writers must be
accepted with caution.
It is on the evidence of Varro," nummum argenteum flatum primum
Alleged “ Servio Tullio dicunt, that the Duc de Luynes” has attributed
Nummi of two silver coins to the period of the Kings. One of these is
*Y* now in the National Collection, the other in the Paris Cabinet.”
Tullius.
They are:—
1. Obv. GKARANE. V. Sow to right with four pigs: rev. vine-branch
with grapes; wt. 170.5 grs. (11:05 gramm.).
2. Obv. KVPI. Sow to right, beneath a tree, whose branches cover her,
suckling her young: rev. PO NAA (across the field); club downwards above
lion's skin; wt. 1612 grs. (10:45 gramm.).
The first piece was purchased in Rome by the father of the Duc de
Blacas, whose collection is now in the British Museum. The second piece
was obtained about the same time also in Rome by the Comte de Rayneval,
from whom it passed to the Duc de Luynes, and by him was presented to the
French Cabinet.
The Duc de Luynes cited other ancient writers in support of his attribu-
tion, amongst whom were Festus and Dionysius of Halicarnassus. He identified
the legend G) KANANE. V with VALENTIA, the name borne by Rome before
the arrival of Romulus,” and POMA KVPI (Pópa kvpatów) with Roma Curi-
tium as applying to the Sabini Quirites, who had established themselves on
the Quirinal and formed part of the Roman nation or Quirites. The Duc
de Luynes therefore decided that these coins represented the nummi of
Servius Tullius, and that their issue preceded the introduction of the
bronze money which had been assigned to his reign. This view was also
shared by the owner of the coin, the Duc de Blacas, and by D'Ailly.”
Mommsen" could not accept this verdict, and, after examining the question
carefully, he decided that the coins are modern forgeries. He condemned
them for several reasons: (1) epigraphically, because the diphthong G) K for
V does not occur before the time of Polybius; that P for R, the ligature NT,
and even A, are not met with on ancient coins; (2) numismatically, since
both pieces bear a design on both sides, which is characteristic of coins of a
* Annalis ap. Charisius, Instit. Gramm., I., p. 105, ed. Keil.
* Rev. Num., 1859, pp. 322 f., pl. xiv., nos. 1, 2.
* There is a third piece of the same class in the Berlin collection. It has on the
obv., sow and four pigs; above, GPOHNA; and on the rev., vine-branch with grapes :
wt. 90°5 grs. (5:35 gramm.). Von Sallet condemned it as an undoubted forgery (Zeit...f.
Num., 1878, p. 243).
* Festus, de Verb. Sig., s.v. Roman. * Mon. Tom., vol. i., p. 11.
* Röm. Münzwesen, p. 858; Hist, mon, rom., t. i., pp. 250 f.
xxxviii INTRODUCTION
much later date; (3) and historically, because the expressions Ova Navreua and
Pága kvpitów are based on uncertain traditions and are of a late period. Since
the Blacas coin has been in the British Museum it has often been critically
examined, and it has been generally condemned as a forgery probably of the
eighteenth century. The peculiar surface of the obverse, which has all the
appearance of a cast, or of having been struck from a cast die, the crude style
of the design, which shows no trace of antiquity, and the smoothness and
lenticular form of the edge, so general in modern forgeries, leave no question
that it is the work of an unskilful engraver, who may have had some
archaeological knowledge, or in his deceit may have had the help of one
not unacquainted with the early history of Rome. For these reasons the
specimen in the British Museum has not been described and figured in this
Catalogue.
It is therefore to a period later than that of the Kings that we must
First coinage look for the introduction of a silver currency in the Roman
of Silver monetary system, though it may not actually have been struck
in the capital. Before, however, discussing this question it will be best to
state of what denominations the new coinage consisted, which Livy and Pliny
say was first issued in B.C. 269 or 268. These were:—
1. The Nummus demarius, with the mark of value X (= 10 asses).
2. The Wummus quinarius, with the mark of value V (= 5 asses).
3. The Wummus sestertius, with the mark of value IIS (= 2% asses).
Though varying in size and value all these denominations have the same
types, viz., obv., Head of Roma; rev., the Dioscuri on horseback.
The sestertius weighed one scruple (17.56 grs.), the quinarius two
scruples, and the denarius four scruples, so that the denarius was worth two
quinarii or four sestertii. As the Roman pound contained 288 scruples,” the
first denarius was struck at As of the pound, and further, inasmuch as the scruple
of silver and the pound of bronze, i.e. the as libralis, were equivalents in value,”
so one scruple of silver, i.e. the sestertius, was equal to 2% asses of the
triental standard, which standard was adopted for the bronze coinage when
the mintage of silver was instituted at Rome (see above, p. xxiv). The bronze
and silver coinages of Rome were thus brought into direct relationship
with each other, and a decimal system based on the silver, and a duodecimal
one based on the bronze, were established, the denarius equalling 10 asses,
* Varro, de Re rustica, i. 10.
* In the Twelve Tables the fines, which were assessed at 25, 150, and 300 asses, could
be paid in an equal number of sestertii. This system of reckoning by sestertii or libral
asses continued in practice till quite a late date (Mommsen, Hist, mon, rom., t. ii.,
pp. 32–34).
SILVER COIN AGE xxxix
and the smallest piece of bronze, the uncia, being the 120th part of the
denarius.
Whence did Rome obtain the scruple standard 2 Mommsen was of
Origin of opinion that the first silver Roman money had its origin, with
Scruple slight differences, in the monetary system of Tarentum and
* Syracuse, the unit of which was the litra of 13.5 grs., or to of the
Attic stater of 1350 grs. It was this standard which prevailed in the South :
of Italy, and also at first in Etruria.” In the course of time and circum-
stances this standard was reduced, so that at Tarentum and other cities the
stater fell to 123–120 grs. after B.C. 450, and later still further. In Campania
the so-called Phocaean-Campanian standard was adopted, which consisted of
didrachms weighing originally 128 grs, but which, by the middle of the fourth
century B.C., had fallen to about 117 grs. maximum. This was the standard
in use in that district when Rome established a mint at Capua for the issue
of silver coins circ. B.C. 335 (vol. ii., pp. 117 f.). The coins first struck were
those with the legend ROMANO, and the variety of the types is a witness to
the abundance of silver in the country. The chief objection to this standard
was that there was at first no definite rate of exchange between these
local silver coins and the urban series of aes grave. The difficulty of
communication, and the absence of regulations in commercial transactions
between the two districts, are the only means of explaining the extraordinary
fact that Rome should have issued two series of coins which bore pe—manifest
relation to each other. It was probably one of the consequences of so many
systems of coinage prevailing at that time in Central and Southern Italy.”
To obviate this difficulty, about B.C. 312 the reduced Phocaean standard was
replaced by the scruple standard, and the didrachm henceforward minted at
Capua, which contained six scruples of silver, descended from 117 to 105 grs.
The coins of this group bear the name of Rome in the nominative case,
Rolv A, as is seen on the earliest struck pieces issued in that city. As the
scruple of silver and the pound of bronze were of equivalent value, the silver
coinage of Capua and the bronze money of IRome were now brought into
relation at the ratio of 1:250. When, therefore, Rome introduced, in
B.C. 268, a silver coinage which was also based on the scruple standard, she
was only transferring to her own mint a system with which she had long
since been acquainted. This standard had also before that date been
generally adopted in Etruria, Central Italy, Tarentum, &c., so that the Roman
coins passed in currency side by side with those of these and other districts.
* Hist, mon, rom., t. i., p. 235. * Head, Hist. Num. (1887), p. 11.
* Fr. Lenormant, in Daremberg et Saglio, Dict, des Antiq. grec. et rom., s.v.
Denarius.
xl INTRODUCTION
In order to simplify still further her coinage, the denarius was struck of the
weight of four scruples, which was equivalent to ten asses of the triental
standard. This had the advantage of establishing a decimal rate of exchange
between silver and bronze, which had long been in use in Etruria, where the
silver coins were marked with the values XX, X, A (5), II/\ (2) and I, the
numbers indicating the corresponding values in litrae of bronze. Tome,
therefore, may have borrowed from Etruria the nomenclature, the divisions
of the coin, and the marks of value for her silver money."
It was probably at this time that the mint of the Republic was established
Mint on the on Mons Capitolinus, in the temple of Juno Moneta (the
Capitol. “Adviser,” the “Averter of Evil”). The name of the goddess is
first mentioned in connection with the victory over the Aurunci in B.C. 345,
when L. Furius Camillus invoked her aid and vowed a temple to her which
he erected in the following year on the site where the house of M. Manlius
Capitolinus had stood, the spot at which he had heard the Gauls escalading
the fortress.”
Arce quoque in summa Junoni templa Monetae
Ea voto memorant facta, Camille, two."
The care of the money was therefore placed under the special protection
of a divinity, whose portrait was not infrequently represented on the coinage."
It was from the epithet Moneta that the officers in charge of the mint received
the title of Triumviri or Tresviri Monetales, or Monetarii. At a later date
Moneta was applied to the actual coined money.
The silver coinage did not long maintain its full standard of weight. The
change successes in Sicily in the early part of the first Punic war, and
in the the brilliant naval victory off Mylae by the consul C. Duilius,
* brought with them a large booty of silver; but this was more
than counterbalanced in the latter part of the war by the enormous outlay in
the military and maritime expeditions, which produced a financial crisis. It
was in consequence of this that, as we have seen,” the as of four ounces was
reduced to one of two ounces (sea-tanţal). At the same time there is a notice-
able diminution in the weight of the silver coins, especially in the denarius,
* Mommsen, Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 27.
* Livy, lib. vi. 20; vii. 28. Suidas (s.v. Movira) says that the Romans being in want
of money in the war against Pyrrhus, obtained it by following the counsel of Juno Moneta,
in gratitude to whom they established their mint in her temple (Marquardt, Röm. Staats-
verwaltung, ed. 1884, vol. ii., p. 11, note 6). Hill (Historical Roman Coins, p. 8), how-
ever, thinks that the Roman mint was from the first attached to the temple on the
Capitol, and that Moneta gave rather than owed its name to the goddess. Assmann
(Klio, vol. vi., pp. 477 f.) has suggested that the Latin word Moneta is a corruption of the
Punic machanath (“camp ’’), a legend inscribed on the Carthaginian coins struck in
Sicily in the fourth century, which had a wide circulation in the Western Mediterranean.
* Ovid, Fasti, vi. 183, 184. * See above, p. xxvii.
SILVER COINAGE xli
which fell below its prescribed standard of weight. This circumstance was
accompanied by a slight variation in the type, more especially in connection
with that of the obverse, the head of Roma being in much lower relief and more
spread, and of somewhat careless execution (pl. xii., nos. 4, 5; pl.xiii., nos. 1-5).
It is evident that the making of the dies had passed into the hands of another
set of engravers, who were wanting in skill in their art. Samwer and Bahr-
feldt' think that it was at this time that the denarius fell from 25 to sº of the
Roman pound, but the individual specimens rather suggest that the general
decrease in weight was not so great at this time.
The disasters of the second Punic war had a still more baneful effect on
the coinage in general, for, in order to meet its expenses, the Senate again
reduced its standard, this time of the silver as well as of the bronze. The
lea: Flaminia,” which substituted the uncial as for one of two ounces, reduced
at the same time the denarius, so that from that time it was issued at sºr of
the pound, and not as formerly at 3. Instead of containing 4 scruples of
silver, it was lowered to 3% scruples, and in weight from 70.5 grs. to 60-4 grs.”
At the same time, as we have seen, its current value was raised from 10 to 16
asses; but as the pay of the soldiers was still to be reckoned at the former
rate of 10 asses to the denarius no change was at first made in its mark of
value. This did not happen till the bronze money had fallen into a still
further disorganized condition, and when the individual pieces did not repre-
sent half their nominal value in weight. It is about B.C. 140 that the
numerals XVI appear for a short time only. A little later, circ. B.C. 125,
another form of value for the denarius, 3%, was introduced.* This was not an
equivalent of XVI, but only X differentiated as a denominational mark (vol. i.,
p. 118). It is a remarkable circumstance that the authorities are silent on this
important change in the weight of the denarius. Silver was now substituted L^
for bronze in all commercial regulations, and in consequence this new law
constituted a fresh depreciation of 373 per cent.
The lea, Papiria of B.C. 89, which substituted a bronze coinage of the
half-ounce standard (semuncial) for that of one ounce, did not affect the silver.
On the contrary, it might be inferred from the large output of silver coins by
the two moneyers D. Junius Silanus and L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, who held
office in B.C. 88 (vol. i., pp. 244 f.), and from the revival of the sestertius, that
the effect of this law was to restore the standard of the silver, which had
suffered some debasement during the Social war.
* Gesch. des àlt. röm. Münzwesens, p. 11. * See above, p. xxviii.
* Mommsen, Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 77.
* This form survived the others. It was first omitted on the denarii of T. Cloulius,
B.C. 101; occurs very rarely from B.C. 91–86, and disappears after B.C. 76 (vol. i., pp. 165,
189,241).
xlii INTRODUCTION
It was only at two periods during the time of the Republic that serious
Debasement attempts were made by the government to debase its silver
of the money, and it was only done under great financial pressure.
* In B.C. 217 the low Flaminia, when it reduced the weight of
the silver and bronze coinages, authorised the government to include in every
issue a certain number of plated coins (nummi mieti). These were pieces
having the core of copper with an outer covering of silver. It was a
fiduciary money which was imposed on the public, and which was protected
legally. How far the government availed itself of this right we do not
know, since the number of mummi miaºti which have come down to us is
very limited.
The next attempt was in B.C. 91, when the tribune of the people,
M. Livius IDrusus, promoted a law which authorized that one-eighth of each
issue should consist of coins of debased metal.” This was just before the Social
war, the stress and strain of which furnished an excuse for further increasing
the base money, so that at the time of Cinna the value of the currency
was so uncertain that no one knew of what he was possessed.” In
B C. 84 measures were taken to remedy this serious crisis, and the praetor,
M. Marius Gratidianus, instituted bureaux of verification, suppressed the
forced currency of these base metal pieces, and ordered the public ehest to
withdraw them from circulation, and to replace them by denarii of good alloy.
The public was grateful, and Gratidianus received almost divine honours,
full length statues being erected to him in every quarter of the city.” He,
however, paid for this act with his life, for he was put to death by Sulla, who
re-established by edict the forced currency of plated coins, mixed with a
certain proportion of money of good standard. This would appear to have
been the purport of the lea, Cornelia de falsis.” It is probable that this false
money did not remain long in circulation, for after the death of Sulla there was
a decided improvement in the silver coinage, not only in the purity of its metal,
but also in its general fabric, which may be said not to have been relaxed
during the remaining period of the Republic. Caesar, true to his popular
policy, did not debase the coinage, and the only later instance met with
before the establishment of the Empire is in the legionary money of Antony of
* Zonaras (Annal., viii. 26) relates that the Romans, after the battle of Trasimene,
refused the presents of Hiero of Syracuse, and adds: kaitep Šv dxpmuarig óvres, &ore rô
dpyvpoov vöpitopia, dutyès kai kaðapöv yuápºevov trpórepov, XaAkó Trpoopičai.
* Pliny, Hist. Nat., xxxiii. 3, 13: Livius Drusus in tribunatu plebei octavam partem
aeris argento miscuit.
* Cicero, de Officiis, iii. 20, 80. * Pliny, Hist. Nat., xxxiii. 9, 46.
* Julius Paulus (Sentent, recept., v. 25, 1): Lege Cornelia testamentaria tenetwr qui
vultu principum signatam monetam, praeter adulterinam, reprobaverit.
SILVER COINAGE xliii
B.C. 32—31, which was issued under very exceptional circumstances, and which
was a “money of necessity” in its most literal sense (vol. ii., p. 527, note 3).
The first denarii have for types on the obverse a female head wearing a
Early type helmet with visor, and ornamented at the sides with two wings
Of the and with a crest terminating in a gryphon's head. On the
* reverse are the Dioscuri on horseback, galloping to right, their
lances at charge, their mantles floating, and their caps surmounted by two
stars, emblematic of morning and evening. The female head is that of the
Dea Roma, the Tyche or Genius who presided over the welfare of the city."
It has been identified as of Minerva (vol. i., p. 15, note); but the circum-
stances under which the coinage was instituted, viz., after Rome had become
the sovereign power in Italy, render it more probable that it was intended to
represent the city herself. The position of the goddess at Rome was similar to
that of Pallas at Athens, and in Roman mythology, as the victorious heroine,
she was assimilated in character to Minerva. In selecting this obverse type
for her coins Rome thus followed the example set by Athens, with whose money
she must have been well acquainted. As the early Athenian coins had been
in circulation throughout Greece, so Rome intended that hers should be current
throughout Italy. The type was a composite one, and to a certain extent
Original, since we can trace the winged helmet on the coins of Velia, Thurium
and Metapontum, and the crest of the dragon's head on those issued under
Itoman authority at Capua (pl. lxxiv., nos. 10, 11), which also show a visor of
similar form. This same helmeted head, but without wings, is seen on the
uncia, the dupondius, the tripondius, and the decussis of the bronze money.
The type of the reverse representing the Dioscuri was also up to a
certain point original. On the silver coins of Tarentum the horses are
walking or cantering; on others of Bruttii they are prancing, and the heroes
bear palms; and on bronze coins of Nuceria Alfaterna and Caelia we have
similar representations (Cat. Gr. Coins, Brit. Mus., Italy, pp. 160, 172, 320,
121, 134). The type also is found frequently on coins of Luceria and
Teanum, but these are subsequent to B.C. 268 (vol. ii., pp. 186, 187). The
frequency of this type shows that the cult of these divinities extended
over Italy, but in no city was it more honoured than at Rome, where it was
introduced at a very early date. The Dioscuri were reputed to have assisted
the Romans at the battle of Lake Regillus, in commemoration of which a .
temple was dedicated to them by the dictator A. Postumius Albus and
erected in the Forum. From that time the Equites regarded the twin
divinities as their patrons, and after B.C. 305 they went every year on the
15th July in a magnificent procession on horseback from the temple of Mars
* See Haeberlin, in Corolla Numismatica (1906), pp. 135 f., 146, &c.
xliv INTRODUCTION
through the main streets of the city, across the Forum, and by the ancient
temple of the Dioscuri." On Roman coins the representation of the Tioscuri
differs from any of the examples mentioned. They are shown in their
fighting attitude, a fitting memorial of Tome's recent struggles against
Pyrrhus, and her conquest of Tarentum, Croton and other cities. The whole
type is therefore of a military character, and one plainly illustrating the
position which Rome intended to occupy as the principal State in Italy.
The earliest denarii can be easily distinguished from those which were
subsequently issued, not only by their weight and the absence of any
symbols or marks of the moneyers, but also by their fabric. There is an
absence of that rudeness of execution which is so marked and displeasing to
the eye in the later issues.” The head of Roma is in somewhat high relief, and
the details are carefully and artistically modelled. On the reverse the
horsemen are not dissimilar in style to the quadriga type of the Tomano-
Campanian pieces of the same epoch, but they are lacking in the finish of the
horsemen of Tarentum. As the institution of the coinage at Rome coincides
with the establishment of the mint in the Capitol, it may be inferred that the
artists who executed the dies were obtained from outside, possibly from Capua,
Naples, or even Tarentum, over which districts Rome had so recently extended
her suzerainty. The workmanship of the silver coinage is in curious contrast
to the grotesque rudeness of the cast bronze pieces of the same time. It is
surprising that the same mint should have produced two series of coins so dia-
metrically opposite in style.” This artistic merit was, however, of short dura-
tion, and by the end of the first Punic war, when the standard of the bronze was
reduced, there is a visible deterioration in the fabric of all the coins, which
becomes more marked at the next change of the coinage in B.C. 217. It is by
these variations of style and fabric that the chronology of the issues can be fixed.
º, The denarius preserved for a very long period its obverse type, but with
riºt change occasional slight variations. The first instance was nearly 150
in the obverse years after the institution of the coinage, when the name of
type of the RoMA on the coins of C. Minucius Augurinus was transferred
* to the obverse on account of the elaborate design on the
reverse (vol. i., p. 135). Similar and unimportant variations occur during the
next few years, such as the turning of the head of Roma to the left instead of
to the right, or the placing of it within a wreath. These very slight differences
* The Equites also comprised the class of citizens that represented the business enter-
prise of Rome. The temple of Castor, which was in the region called Janus Medius, the
bourse of Rome, was the favourite shrine for the deposit of money (Mommsen, Hist.
mon. rom., t. ii., p. 29; Macdonald, Coin Types, pp. 183–4).
* Mommsen, Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 20.
* Hill, Historical Roman Coins, p. 34.
SILVER COINAGE xlv.
show how tenacious Rome was in preserving the original design for the obverse
of her money. The first great change came in B.C. 100 in the exceptional
coinage of the quaestors L. Calpurnius Piso and Q. Servilius Caepio, which
was destined to revolutionize in a few years the designs of the state coinage
(vol. i., p. 170). This coinage, as we shall show later on, not only introduced
a new obverse type—the head of Saturn being substituted for that of Roma—
but it was also the starting-point for several other important innovations.
This is a subject which we shall have to discuss at greater length when
we come to deal with the types generally."
The reverse type of the Dioscuri, though it preserved its original form
Change of for a considerable period, was, however, not so lasting as that of
reverse type, the obverse. It was not for some years after the uncial as
was introduced that we meet with Diana (or Luna) or Victory in a biga. .
Mommsen “says that soon after the introduction of the silver coinage, before
the custom of marking the coins with the emblem of the moneyer or
his name, and before the suppression of the quinarius and the reduction
of the denarius, that is, before B.C. 217, we meet with Diana in a biga
sometimes replacing the Dioscuri. This statement of Mommsen, which has
been so often quoted, is, however, against the distinct and unquestionable
evidence of the coins. Already before B.C. 217 we have a large series of issues
of the as of the sextantal standard, with the moneyers' initials and symbols,
with which no denarii of the Diana type can be associated. It was the
Same with the coins struck after B.C. 217, and it is not until the
moneyers' symbols had been almost entirely displaced by their monograms
or initials that we meet with this new type for the first time. Moreover, all
the denarii with Diana are of the reduced standard of sºr of the pound.
Count de Salis has therefore assigned its adoption to circ. B.C. 192 (vol. i.,
pp. 66, 72), a date which is unquestionably supported by numismatic
evidence. That of Victory in a biga did not occur till nearly twenty years
later (vol. i., pp. 87, 91). Further developments of the reverse type, like that
of the obverse, will be dealt with later.
The quinarius, which was first struck at the same time as the denarius,
The B.C. 268, and which is of precisely the same type as that coin,
Quinarius, and only varies in its mark of value on the obverse, V for X, had
a comparatively chequered career throughout its existence under the Republic
and the early Empire. It never at any time occupied the same position as the
denarius, which continued to be, long into imperial times, the chief denomina-
tion in silver. At first the quinarius was issued in considerable quantity,
but it soon fell off in frequency after B.C. 240, when the sextantal bronze
* See below, p. lxxxiv. * Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 182.
xlvi INTRODUCTION
was adopted, and we do not meet with any examples which can be classed
with the urban coinage after the introduction of the victoriatus in B.C. 229
(vol. i., pp. 14, 27, 36). At the local mints it had a somewhat longer existence
as it occurs with the monogram of Corcyra, together with the victoriatus,
which could not have been struck at that mint before B.C. 229 (vol., ii. p. 196).
We find it also at Luceria in connection with the victoriatus, and also at the
mint with the initial O, and at that with the initials NW (vol. ii., pp. 179, 180,
195, 197). After its disappearance, circ. B.C. 229, we have to wait for over a
century for its revival. This was soon after B.C. 104, under the provision of
the lea: Clodia, which, whilst restoring this coin, demonetised the victoriatus
(vol. i., p. 158). The new quinarius was at first given the type of the
victoriatus, which led to its being identified by ancient writers as that coin.”
In order that it should not be mistaken in currency for the victoriatus,
its value was at first denoted by the letter O. (Quinarius), the older form V
(= 5 asses) not being applicable, as it was of the current value of 8 asses.
This interpretation of the letter has, however, been questioned, and it has
been thought to represent the initial of Quaestor (vol. i., p. 164, note 3).
The first moneyers to whom this new quinarius can be assigned are
C. Egnatuleius C. f., circ. B.C. 102 (vol. i., p. 164), and T. Cloulius, circ. B.C. 101
(vol. i., p. 167). It was also issued locally, but not for some years later, circ.
B.C. 90 (see coins of M. Porcius Cato, vol. ii., pp. 304 f.). After B.C. 85, by
which time the quinarius had lost its distinctive types (see coins of Mn.
Fonteius, vol. i., p. 323), its issue was again suspended, not to be resumed
till the arrival of Julius Caesar in Rome, B.C. 49 (vol. i., p. 507). From this
year till B.C. 44 most of the moneyers included it in their coinages; but from
that date it is no longer met with in the issues of the capital during the
century. It survived, however, to a later period in the provincial coinages,
viz., in Spain, B.C. 24–22, in the coinage of P. Carisius (vol. ii., p. 376); in
Gaul, in that of Antony, B.C. 43–42 (vol. ii., pp. 394-396); in the East, in
those of Brutus, B.C. 43–42 (vol. ii., p. 473), of Antony, B.C. 40–39 (vol. ii.,
p. 498), and of Octavius, B.C. 29–27 (vol. ii., pp. 536, 540); in Africa, in
those of M. Porcius Cato, B.C. 47–46 (vol. ii., p. 575), and of Octavius, B.C. 36
(vol. ii., p. 581); and in Cyrenaica, in that of L. Pinarius Scarpus, B.C. 29–27
(vol. ii., p. 586). The extremely sporadic nature of its appearance shows that,
throughout its existence under the Republic and in the early days of the
Empire, the quinarius held no important position in the Roman monetary
system.
* Pliny, Hist. Nat., xxxiii. 3, 13: Is qui nunc victoriatus appellatur lege Clodia per-
cussw8 est. Maecianus, Distributio, § xlv. : Vietoriatus nunc tantwrºdem valet quantum
quinariw8.
SILVER COINAGE xlvii
The Sestertius, or nummus sestertius, was the smallest of the three de-
The nominations of the silver money issued in B.C. 268. It was of
Sestertius, the same types as the denarius and the quinarius, but was dis-
tinguished by its mark of value, IIS or HS. Previous to that date it was
only a money of account and was equivalent in value to the libral as or
pound of bronze. The word nummus, votipºpos, was used in a general sense
to designate all coins of gold and silver, but not of bronze; but at Rome it
was applied more especially to the sestertius, which was usually designated
nummus sestertius.' Varro” supplies us with a clue to the origin of the
word nummus, when he states that it came from Sicily, where, and in
Magna Graecia, the unit of the silver currency was the litra, which was
equivalent to the pound or litra of bronze. This coin, which was ſo of the
Corinthian stater, was also called the vodupuos. It therefore stood in precisely
the same relation to the coinages of Sicily as the sestertius did to that of
Tome. Mommsen “says, “[Le nummus] doit avoir la même valeur que les
mots libella argenti, ou Airpa dipyvpiov, c'est-à-dire exprimer la quantité
d'argent correspondant à uné livre Sicilienne ow italique de cuivre; or cette
valeur se rapproche tellement du Sesterce, qu’il est tout naturel que le nom de
nummus ait été dans la suite appliqué à ce dernier.”
The sestertius was, as we have seen, the quarter of the denarius. It
represented 2% asses of the triental standard, as shown by its mark of value,
IIS. Its course of mintage was not unlike that of the quinarius, but even more
exceptional. As there are none which bear moneyers' symbols or initials, the
precise date of its last issue in its early form is uncertain, but there is every
reason for supposing that, like the quinarius, it was suspended about the time
of the introduction of the victoriatus, if not slightly earlier. We do not meet
with it again until the passing of the lea, Papiria in B.C. 89, when its revival
is noted by the legend E. L. P. (ea lege Papiria), showing under what
authority it made its re-appearance (vol. i., p. 241). This revival was at the
time limited to the issues of only two moneyers, D. Junius Silanus (vol. i.,
p. 250) and L. Calpurnius Piso L. f. Frugi (vol. i., p. 280), both of whom held
office in B.C. 88, the year following the passing of the new law.” The issue
of the sestertius was again in abeyance from that year till B.C. 49, when, like
the quinarius, it was resumed by Julius Caesar. It continued down to
B.C. 44, when, as a silver coin, it was finally suspended at the Roman mint,
* Mommsen, Hist, mon, rom., t. i., p. 237.
* de Ling. Lat., v. 173: In argento nummi; id ab Siculis.
* Hist. mon, rom., t. i., pp. 238,239.
* The coin which Mommsen (Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 418) has identified as the
sestertius and a half is only a quinarius bearing a mint-mark, i.e. the fractional sign
IS (vol. ii., pp. 313, 315).
xlviii INTRODUCTION
only to reappear as a bronze piece, first in the provinces, Gaul and the East
(vol. ii., pp. 412, 510), and later as the chief denomination of the bronze
coinage issued in the capital under Augustus in B.C. 15 (vol. ii., pp. 44, 45).
It is from that time that it takes its position at the head of the bronze
money of the Empire. With its revival in B.C. 88 the old types of the
Sestertius were not continued, and in future, like those of the other silver
coins, the denarius and the quinarius, they varied in the case of each moneyer,
Some types relating to the issuer's family history, others to contemporary
eventS.
Besides the denarius, quinarius and sestertius, the Romans, for a limited
The period, included a fourth silver coin in their monetary system,
Victoriatus, which occupied a somewhat independent position. This was the
victoriatus, which received its name from its reverse type, Victory crowning a
trophy. The obverse shows the laureate head of Jupiter. It was inscribed
with the name of Rolv"A on the reverse, but, unlike the other silver coins,
it was throughout without any mark of value. The weight of this new coin
in its initial stage was three scruples, or three-quarters of the denarius.
Besides the victoriatus, there was also the double-victoriatus and the half-
victoriatus, the latter sometimes bearing its mark of value S on the reverse
(vol. ii., pp. 179, 199). These are of the same types as the victoriatus. Both
these denominations are of great rarity, especially the double-victoriatus, of
which only one specimen is known. It is in the D'Ailly collection in the
Cabinet des Médailles at Paris, and is said to have been found near Tortosa in
Spain, but Count de Salis has noted that it was in the Cazlona hoard (vol. i., .
p. 37, note; vol. ii., p. 591, App.). The half-victoriatus appears only to have
been issued locally, not at Rome (vol. ii., p. 149).
The origin of the victoriatus is somewhat uncertain, and also the date of its
first issue, but this could not have occurred till some time after the institution
of the denarius and its divisions. Pliny says of its origin: Hic nummus ea:
Illyrico advectus mercis loco habebatur. Est autem, signatus Victoria et inde
momen." Though this statement is open to question, it supplies some clue as
to the original purpose of this coin.
During the third century B.C. Illyricum furnished a large silver coinage
struck by the towns of Apollonia and Dyrrhachium, which circulated in all
the markets of the Adriatic, and penetrated into Italy and IRome, where, on
account of the purity of its metal, it was readily accepted in commercial
transactions. This coinage consisted of the silver drachm, probably of Asiatic
Origin, and had for types, obv. cow Suckling calf; rev. Stellate Square. It
* Hist. Nat., xxxiii. 3, 13.
SILVER COIN AGE xlix
weighed about 52 grs., which corresponded exactly to three scruples of the
Roman silver pound, or three-quarters of the denarius."
The foundation of the city of Brundusium in B.C. 244 established the
supremacy of Rome on the east coast of Italy, and when later the Adriatic
Sea was a prey to the Illyrian pirates, urgent appeals were made by the
hard-pressed Greek settlements on the Adriatic to Rome to interfere.
Immediate action was taken, and a Roman fleet, with an army on board,
went to the succour of Apollonia in B.C. 229, and the corsairs were completely
vanquished and their strongholds razed to the ground. The territory of the
sovereigns of Scodra was greatly restricted by the terms imposed by Rome.
Corcyra was taken possession of, and much of the Illyrian and Dalmatian
coasts, together with several Greek cities in that quarter, were practically
reduced under Roman sway or attached to Rome under forms of alliance.
The suppression of Illyrian piracy and this new settlement of territories
brought with them increased commercial relations between Italy and Greece,
and for mutual convenience Rome now issued a coin which would pass in
currency outside Italy with the Illyrian drachm. This was the victoriatus,
and it was given the type of Victory crowning a trophy to record specially
the victory over Teuta, the Illyrian queen, who had given free scope to the
expeditions of her piratical subjects.
Such was the opinion of Borghesi" as to the origin of this coin, which
has been ably developed by Mommsen.” This explanation has not, however,
met with general acceptance.* The discovery of a double victoriatus in
Spain, and the supposed archaistic style of some of the victoriati, led Zobel to
suggest that this coin was not of Illyrian origin, and that it had been in
circulation before the events of B.C. 229. As the weight of the victoriatus,
three scruples, is also that of the Romano-Campanian drachm with head of
Janus and Jupiter in a quadriga, Zobel considered it to be of Campanian
origin, and that it was struck to pass in currency in Italy before it was
made use of for trade purposes outside Italy. He also drew attention to the
similarity of the type of the victoriatus to that of copper coins which were
issued at Capua; and he further remarked that the coincidence of its weight
with the Illyrian drachm was more accidental than intentional.
* These coins are usually assigned to B.C. 229, but there is no reason why they
should not be of a somewhat earlier date, as staters of Corinthian types had ceased to be
issued at Apollonia and Dyrrhachium some time before then (see Head, Hist. Num.
(1887), pp. 265, 266).
* CEuvres compl., t. ii., pp. 283-289. * Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., pp. 85 f.
* Zobel de Zangroniz in Mommsen, op. cit., t. ii., pp. 104-107; Marquardt, Röm.
Staatsverwaltung, ed. 1884, vol. ii., pp. 20 f.; Fr. Lenormant, in Daremberg et Saglio,
Dict, des Antiq. grec. et rom., s.v. Denarius; Samwer and Bahrfeldt, Gesch. des àlt.
röm. Münzwesens, p. 170; Hill, Historical Roman Coins, p. 45.
l INTRODUCTION
In his classification Count de Salis accepted the view expressed by
Borghesi, and he has shown very clearly that it is supported by the evidence
of the coins themselves. There are no victoriati, at least of those struck at
Rome, which can by the moneyers' symbols or initials be associated with the
earlier denarii and the quinarii, and, vice versá, there are no quinarii which in
a similar way can be associated with the victoriati. This seems to show that
the victoriatus was not issued till some time after B.C. 240, when the sextantal
standard was adopted for the bronze money. The evidence at the local mints
is not so conclusive, as we meet with the quinarius associated with the
victoriatus. It is for this reason that we have suggested" that the quinarius
was continued at the local mints after its issue was suspended in the capital.
It may, however, have happened that in some cases the first silver coin struck
locally was the quinarius, which a few years later was followed by the victoriatus.
The local denarii are so exceptional that we are unable to extract any certain
evidence from those pieces. The archaistic form of the legend RoNMA and
style are arguments which cannot well be applied to show the antiquity of the
victoriatus; first, because the form /A was the most common one in the third
century B.C., and that of A did not come into general use till nearly the
middle of the second century B.C.; and secondly, because peculiarity of style.
is not due to any archaism, but to the circumstance that outside Rome the
victoriatus was the principal coin, and was struck at a considerable number
of mints, which would result in great absence of uniformity in this respect.
In classifying the victoriati of local issue, we have divided them up into
several series on account of slight differences in style and type (vol. ii., pp. 178,
179). Most of these varieties are met with on pieces bearing mint-letters.
The evidence of the double-victoriatus as to the antiquity of this coin is also
not to be relied on, as besides being a unique piece it is much worn. It is
therefore not a criterion for assuming that the victoriatus was of such an
early date as Zobel imagined it to be.
The circumstance that the victoriatus was the only silver coin which was
not marked with its value, indicates that it was not a denomination subor-
dinate to the denarius, but a unit by itself, as witnessed by the fact that
its half was marked with the sign S as on the semis.” The large issues
of this denomination at the local mints, as compared with those at the Roman
mint, show that in a measure it was not looked upon in the capital as a regular
coin from the purely Roman point of view, and this would explain Pliny’s re-
mark when he speaks of it as a piece loco mercis. Though it had a commercial
value, it was, however, not considered legal tender, so that “a man who was
* See above, p. xlvi.
* Haeberlin, Zeiß. f. Num., 1907, p. 238.
SILVER COIN AGE li
owed 300 denarii could be compelled to take 600 quinarii or 1200 sestertii,
but not 400 victoriati."
In B.C. 217, when the uncial as was introduced, and the weight of the
denarius fell from As to ºr of the Roman pound, the weight of the victoriatus
was also reduced in proportion from about 53 grs. to 45 grs. This reduction
had no ill effect on its circulation, as the Illyrian drachm appears to have
been similarly lowered in weight, and moreover it was now the equivalent
to the drachm of the Achaean League, which was the coin most widely
current in Peloponnesus. It also served as the prototype for the coinages
of Rhodes, Marseilles, and other districts, which were modified to its
standard.”
Though the victoriatus remained in circulation throughout the second
century B.C., its actual issue did not extend to much after B.C. 196 at the Roman
mint, but locally it may have been continued for some years, not, however,
after B.C. 173.” Circ. B.C. 104, or a little later, the lea, Clodia was passed,
which, whilst reinstating the quinarius, demonetised the victoriatus.“ This
new coin, as we have seen, received at first the same type as the victoriatus,
and it was on this account that Varro and later historians of the Empire gave
to the victoriatus the value of the quinarius." The victoriatus now only
existed in an outward form, and in reality the quinarius was reinstated, but
with types of head of Jupiter and Victory placing a wreath on a trophy.
The half-victoriatus had but a very short existence. It is of great rarity,
and was struck locally, not at the Roman mint. It is met with in two
instances only; in one case it is without a mark of value (vol. ii., p. 179),
in the other it has the initials of the city of Vibo Valentia (VB) and the
mark of value S (vol. ii., p. 199). The coin of the united mints of Luceria
and Teanum (vol. ii., p. 186), which has been identified as a half-victoriatus,
was a special one, and therefore would come under a different category.
* Mommsen, Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 87.
* Ib., t. ii., pp. 97 f.
* See vol. i., p. 87; vol. ii., p. 227.
* It is, however, probable that the victoriatus was not at once withdrawn from
circulation, as so many specimens, together with early denarii, occurred in the Maserá.
and Riccia hoards (vol. i., p. 161). Their presence, however, might be accounted for
by the circumstance that the amassing of such large hoards by the owners may have
extended over a considerable period.
* Varro, de Ling. Lat., x. 41; and above, p. xlvi., note 1.
h
lii INTRODUCTION
§ IV.—THE GOLD COINAGE.
The primitive use of gold at Rome was not in the form of coined money
Gold in but of ingots, which circulated by weight. These ingots Were
Ingots kept in the public treasury, the aerarium Saturni, where they
constituted the most valuable part of the reserve." There are no early
records of the amount which the treasury possessed, but it may be presumed
that Rome did not begin to accumulate much bullion, especially gold, before
she had extended her power in Italy, or had taken part in affairs outside
Italy, more especially in Greece. This was not before the beginning of the
second century B.C., when the Roman legions under T. Quinctius Flamininus
defeated the army of the Macedonian monarch, Philip V., at Cynoscephalae,
a victory which was not only the foundation of Rome's influence in the East,
but which brought into her treasury a thousand talents (£244,000). During
the second Punic war in B.C. 209, when it was found necessary to draw on
the state deposits, as a last resort, to meet the pressing needs of the Republic,
it was ascertained that the bullion in gold weighed 4000 pounds.” Later,
gold formed the principal part of the reserve in the aerarium, and in B.C. 157
it amounted to four-fifths of the value of the metal deposited there. Pliny “
also relates that in the consulship of Sextus Julius and L. Aurelius,
seven years before the third Punic war, there were in the public treasury
17,410 pounds of gold and 22,070 pounds of silver in ingots; and later, at
the beginning of the Social war in the consulship of Sextus Julius and
L. Marcius, the reserve amounted to 1,620,831 sesterces in gold. When
Caesar made his first entry into the capital in B.C. 49, he took from the
treasury bars of gold to the number of 15,000, and of silver 30,000, besides
30 millions of sesterces of coined money.
As there was all this gold in the treasury before a regular gold coinage
was introduced at Rome, it could only have circulated in the form of ingots,
which were used in private as well as in public transactions. These ingots
passed by weight, and no attempt appears to have been made to check the
fineness of the metal, as it was admitted as a principle that they should be
of pure gold only. It would seem, however, that Sulla took precautions
against adulteration by passing a law which made it criminal to alloy the
bars of gold.*
* Varro, ap. Nonium, s.v. Lateres, p. 356 (Gerlach and Roth): Nam lateres argentei
atque awrei primum conflati atque in aerarium conditi (see Hultsch, Griech, w, röm.
Metrologie, 2nd ed., p. 267).
* Livy, lib. xxvii. 10. * Pliny, Hist. Nat., xxxiii. 3, 17.
* Digest., xlviii. 10, 9, ed. Mommsen: Qui in aurum vitii quid addiderit, falsi
crimine teneri.
GOLD COINAGE liii
It is also to Pliny that we must turn for information respecting the
First Gold first issue of gold money at the Roman mint : Aureus nummus
Coinage post annos LI percussus est quam argenteus." This was fifty-one
years after the first issue of the silver money, which was in B.C. 268, and
which, therefore, gives the date B.C. 217 for the introduction of gold, the year
in which the lea, Flaminia reduced the weight of the as from two to one
ounce, and when the denarius fell from 's to ºr of the pound. This new
Coinage consisted of three denominations of the current value respectively of
60, 40, and 20 sesterces. They all have for obverse type the head of Mars,
and for the reverse an eagle standing on a thunderbolt, and below, the legend
RoNWA. Each piece was stamped with its mark of value on the obverse,
viz., N-X = 60, XXXX = 40, and XX = 20. The 60-sestertii piece weighed
three scruples, the 40-sestertii piece two scruples, and the 20-sestertii piece
one scruple.
What was the origin of this scruple standard for the gold money; was
it an innovation, or are we able to find a precedent for it ! These three
questions appear to receive their answer in the silver money which was
instituted in B.C. 268, and which was modelled on the standard of the
Romano-Campanian coinage (see above, p. xxxix). That series contained also
two gold pieces, which were struck circ. B.C. 290, consisting of a stater and a
half-stater, weighing respectively six and three scruples. These coins have
for obverse type the head of Janus, and for reverse the oath-Scene. They are
inscribed with the name of RoNA/A, but are without any marks of value (vol.
ii., pp. 118, 131). Besides these two denominations there exists a third, which
is of precisely the same type, but which weighs four scruples and bears
on the obverse the mark of value XXX, which can only mean that in
currency it represented the value of 30 libral asses. On this computation
the gold piece of 6 scruples would circulate for 45 libral asses, and that
of 3 scruples at 22% asses. The scruple of gold was therefore equivalent
to 7% asses of the full weight of 12 ounces. As, however, Mommsen has
put the libral as at 10 ounces normal and not at 12 ounces, the proportionate
value of gold and bronze would then stand at 1: 1800, of gold and silver at
1 : 10, and of silver and bronze at 1: 180.” The usual proportion of gold and
silver at that time was 1: 12, and that of silver and bronze 1:250. If the
as be reckoned at 12 ounces on the basis of this 4-scruple piece, the ratio
of gold and silver would be 1: 7-20.” From this it would appear that the
* Hist. Nat., xxxiii. 3, 13. The Bamberg MS. gives annos LI, but others annos LII.
The text of the Bamberg MS. is preferable; cf. Hultsch, Griech. w. rôm. Metrologie,
2nd ed., p. 302. * Mommsen, Hist. mon. Tom., t. i., p. 266.
* Fr. Lenormant, in Daremberg et Saglio, Dict, des Antiq. grec. et rom., s.v.
Denarius.
V
liv INTRODUCTION
gold Campanian money was quoted by the Romans far below its real Value,
and the inference to be drawn from this would be that whilst silver was
scarce in the capital gold was plentiful, and that the relative value between
the two metals was much lower than in all the rest of the ancient World, a
circumstance which it would be very difficult to explain. Dr. Haeberlin,"
who is of opinion that when this gold Romano-Campanian coinage was intro-
duced the bronze was reduced to the semi-libral standard, has worked out the
proportionate values of gold and silver at 1:15, and of silver and bronze at
1: 120. This would still leave the relation between gold and bronze at
1 : 1800.
A serious objection to these calculations and conclusions of Mommsen
and Dr. Haeberlin has been raised by those who do not consider that any of
the existing specimens (now four in all) of these gold 30-as pieces are genuine
(vol. ii., p. 131). Long since, Borghesi and D'Ailly condemned the specimen
in the Vatican collection, and Count de Salis held that the one in the National
Collection was also false.” Mommsen based his calculations on the genuine-
ness of these coins, and Dr. Haeberlin * has strongly advocated their authen-
ticity also. The latter's chief ground for arriving at this opinion is that if
they are all false they would be from the same dies; but from enlarged
photographs he has shown that there exist very slight differences between the
specimen in the Vatican collection and those in the British Museum and
Weber collections. The last two are however undoubtedly from the same
dies.*
If these gold XXX-as pieces should be rejected as not genuine, the position
would be much simplified. It might then with some reason be suggested
that there existed in B.C. 290, in Campania, the same rateable value between
gold and silver as was established when the gold money was first struck at
Rome, i.e. that one scruple of gold was equal to twenty scruples of silver.
Both gold issues were struck under similar circumstances—the first after the
struggle between Rome and the Samnites (circ. B.C. 290), the second after the
campaign between Rome and the Carthaginians (circ. B.C. 240).
Pliny’s statement that the first gold Roman coinage was introduced in
B.C. 217, that is, fifty-one years after the institution of the silver money, has
* Zeit. f. Num., 1908, p. 259.
* On the card which lies beneath the specimen in the Museum, Count de Salis has
written false. This has also been the general consensus of opinion since Count de Salis's
time. It is not recorded where the coin was obtained.
* Zeit. f. Num., 1908, p. 254.
* Since Dr. Haeberlin wrote in defence of these coins, the Weber specimen has
passed into his own collection. The fourth specimen is in the Museo Nazionale Romano,
Rome.
GOLD COIN AGE ly
been generally accepted. It is, moreover, the general opinion that this coinage
was not issued at Rome, but that it was Campanian in origin. Neither of
these views was, however, accepted by Count de Salis, who held, first, that
this coinage was of a somewhat earlier date, and secondly, that it was issued
at Rome as well as outside the city, not of necessity at Capua, but by the
local moneyers (vol. ii., pp. 150, 155). The style of these coins shows but little
connection with the Romano-Campanian series. Count de Salis also syn-
chronizes this gold money with the introduction of the bronze of the sextantal
standard, the chief point of connection being found in the moneyers' symbols.
This evidence is not forthcoming in those pieces which are assigned to Rome
as they do not bear any special marks of this nature. It is, however, met
with in the local issues, where the gold pieces bear precisely the same
moneyers' symbols as occur on denarii of early style and weight and in some
cases on the bronze of the sextantal standard. This supplies a date before
B.C. 217. The local gold pieces, like the silver denarii of the same series, are
of much coarser work than those of the capital. With the symbol an anchor
there is the 60-sestertii piece and the denarius (vol. ii., p. 155); with a
spear-head the 60-sestertii piece and the denarius and the quinarius (vol. ii.,
p. 160); the same denomination in gold with a staff may be associated
With the denarius, and the bronze as to the sextans of the sextantal series
(vol. ii., pp. 161, 162); another with a pentagon with the denarius (vol. ii.,
p. 163); and the 20-sestertii piece with an ear of corn with the semis to
the Semuncia, also of the sextantal issue (vol. ii., pp. 163, 165). Dr. Haeberlin'
has questioned the soundness of associating these particular series together as
Some of the symbols mentioned occur again at a later period; but this argu-
ment could be applied with equal force to the later as well as to the earlier
series of symbols. The association of these gold coins with the quinarius and
the bronze of the sextantal standard was in Count de Salis's opinion sufficient
ground for putting them at an earlier date than Pliny assigned to them.
As the smallest gold piece weighed one scruple, and was equivalent in
value to twenty sestertii or twenty scruples of silver, the ratio of gold and
silver would be at 1:20, that is, if we reckon the denarius at its original value
of four scruples. If, however, these gold coins were not struck before B.C. 217,
when the denarius had fallen to g of its original weight, or to sºr of the pound,
the ratio would be 1: 17-143. In either case gold would be over-tariffed,
which is what would be expected whether the coinage was instituted after
the first Punic war or during the progress of the second one. It was of the
nature of fiduciary money or “money of necessity,” which the Senate could
at any time redeem at its current value.
* Zeit. f. Num., 1908, p. 269.
lvi INTRODUCTION
There was an interval of two centuries before any attempt was made to
The resume a gold coinage at Rome or even in Italy under direct
Aureus. Roman influence. The next occasion was in B.C. 49 on the arrival
of Julius Caesar after his Gallic wars, when he seized the public treasure in
the temple of Saturn, and issued gold and silver money for distribution
amongst his legions. This new gold coinage consisted at first of one
denomination only, the aureus," which does not appear to have been
based on the scruple standard, but was a division of the Roman pound.
Pliny,” in continuing his account of the gold coinage says: Postea placuit
denarios xxxx sigmari ex auri libris, paulatimgue principes imminuere pondus,
et movissime Wero ad xxxxv. This gold piece was of the value of twenty-five
silver denarii.” It was not, however, new to the Romans, for at intervals it
had made its appearance in the Provinces under exceptional circumstances.
There are two coins which must be excluded from this series, but of
which mention should be made. The first is the gold piece of T. Quinctius
Flamininus, the conqueror of Philip V. of Macedon at Cynoscephalae, B.C. 197.
It bears on the obverse a portrait of Flamininus himself, and on the reverse
Victory holding a wreath and a palm, and the legend T. OVINCTI." The re-
verse is a copy of the stater of Alexander the Great and his successors. It is
also of the weight of that piece. This coin may have been struck by a Greek
city during the sojourn of Flamininus in Peloponnesus, perhaps on the
occasion of the great Convention at Corinth, when the Romans proclaimed the
freedom and independence of Greece; * or it may have been struck by order
of Flamininus himself, who pretended to be the successor of the monarch
whom he had deprived of the greater part of his dominions. It is a purely
Greek coin in spite of the legend being in Latin.”
* The unit of the Roman gold money was called the nummus awrew8, the demarius
aureus, or more generally the aureus. The term nummus aureus was used by Pliny
(Hist. Nat., xxxiii. 3, 13) in describing the first gold money issued at Rome, and Cicero
(Philipp., xii. 8, 20) applies it to the gold coin current in his time. The expression
denarius awrew8 was used in contradistinction to denarius argenteus (Petronius, Sati-
rae, 33: Pro calculis enim albis ac nigris aureos argenteosque habebat denarios).
Mommsen (Hist. mon, rom., t. iii., p. 20) cites, in connection with this subject, the
passage in Periplus Pont. Eux., $8,49: §nváptov Xpwoodv re kai dpyvpoov.
* Hist. Nat., xxxiii. 3, 13.
* Zonaras, Annal.., x. 36: 85uavrat be trapū ‘Popaiots ai etkoot kai révre 8paxual
xpvoroúv vépitopia Év.
* Only three specimens of this coin appear to be known, viz., in the Paris, Berlin
and Athens cabinets. The Berlin example weighs 132 grs. (8:55 gramm.), and that in
Paris 1312 grs. (8:50 gramm.); see Zeit. f. Num., 1885, p. 2, pl. vii. 2, and Babelon,
Monn. de la rép. rom., vol. ii., p. 391.
* Head, Hist. Num. (1887), p. 205.
* Mommsen, Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., p. 116; Babelon, op. cit., vol. ii., p. 390.
GOLD COINAGE lvii
The other coin is that which bears the name of Mimius Ieius, who acted
as chief of the embassy which the Confederates in the winter of B.C. 89/8
sent to Mithradates of Pontus (vol. ii., p. 334). In this case also the type
was copied from a local coin, and its weight was that of the gold money
current in the Pontic king's dominions.
The first gold money which can be assigned to the Provinces is that of
parly Sulla, his proquaestor L. Manlius, and his quaestor A. Manlius.
Provincial It belongs to the period of the close of the great Mithradatic
* war (B.C. 82–81), and was intended for distribution amongst
the legions who had won for Sulla his numerous battles. These coins have
been identified as the lucullia referred to by Pliny and other writers” (vol. ii.,
pp. 459-463).
The next piece in point of date is the rare aureus of Cn. Cornelius
Lentulus Marcellinus which is assigned to Spain (vol. ii., p. 360). This
was also an exceptional piece, and it probably commemorates the close of
the Sertorian war, B.C. 72. It is to a somewhat later period that the aurei of
Pompey the Great, representing him in a triumphal quadriga, are to be attri-
buted (vol. ii., p. 464). The date of these last coins and also their provenance
are somewhat uncertain. The reverse type is precisely similar to that of the
aurei of Sulla. They also record a triumph, and for various reasons they are
assigned to the close of the third Mithradatic war, B.C. 61. This attribution is,
however, not generally accepted. The gold coins of Sulla would thus mark the
first defeat of the Pontic king, and those of Pompey, his last, and also his
death.
These issues of Sulla, Lentulus and Pompey were exceptional. They
Aurei of were of a strictly military character, were issued in virtue of the
the Roman imperium invested in those who struck them or for whom they
IMint, were struck, and were independent of the Roman mint. The
gold coins of Julius Caesar of B.C. 49 belong to precisely the same class of money,
though they were issued in Rome. They were, in the first instance, intended
specially for the army, and their types indicate their purpose (vol. i., p. 505).
The position, however, was a novel one, for Caesar thereby exercised within the
walls of Rome the right of striking money in gold and silver which strictly he
was only entitled to put in force when outside the gates.” The chief import-
ance, however, which attaches itself to this coinage is that it was the true origin
of Roman money in gold, for from that date almost year by year and century
by century there was a succession of issues which extended to the fall of the
* As details have been given of these and other gold Provincial coins struck before
B.C. 49, with their descriptions, it is only necessary to refer to them here in a general
way.
* Macdonald, Coin Types, p. 179.
lviii INTRODUCTION
|
Roman Empire. It was now no longer necessary in ordinary commercial
transactions to bring into use ingots of gold. At first the supply of these
coins may have been limited, but in a few years it became equal to the de-
mand, as is clearly shown by the numbers which are extant at the present time.
Caesar having thus usurped the authority of striking gold money at
Rome did not relinquish it during the rest of his life. He, however, only
exercised it on special occasions, and on two of these he delegated his
assumed right to one of the chief officers of the city, the praefectus. This
was on the occasion of his triumphs in B.C. 46 and 45 (vol. i., pp. 525, 537).
These praefecti were Aulus Hirtius and L. Munatius Plancus, the former
issuing the aureus, the latter the half-aureus' (quinarius aureus) as well as
the aureus. This important innovation on the part of Julius Caesar had
the effect not only of introducing gold into the Roman monetary system,
but it served to suppress any distinction which may have hitherto existed
between the military coinages of the Provinces and those issued at the mint
in the Capitol.”
The Senate in its adulation, far from resenting this encroachment on
its privileges, not only by decree conferred on the dictator the exclusive
right of coining gold money, but also ordered that his portrait should be
stamped on the coinage. This order could only have applied to the silver
money, the Senate by its own action not having any control over the gold, and
bronze was not then being struck. Scarcely, however, had Caesar fallen under
the daggers of the assassins when the Senate determined to repossess itself of
its prescribed rights, and in order to proclaim publicly its action the praefecti,
L. Cestius and C. Norbanus, were commanded to strike gold money and to
place upon it the legend S. C. (Senatus consulto), as demonstrating that it
was issued with due legality and officially * (vol. i., p. 552). Early in B.C. 43
the Senate proceeded one step further, and the coining of gold was now
associated with that of the silver, and was placed under the charge of the
regular monetarii of the mint. The effect of this decree was the definite
admission of gold specie into the urban coinage, which the monetarii
fabricated under the direct control of the Senate.” From this time till
B.C. 37 inclusive the aureus is met with year by year, but always bearing the
name of a moneyer. At first its coinage was entrusted to one member of the
Quatuorvirate, but from B.C. 38 each issue comprised gold as well as silver.
* The half-aureus was rarely struck during the first century B.C. Down to B.C. 3 it
occurs only once more at the Roman mint, circ. B.C. 24–20 (vol. ii., pp. 20, 21), and
occasionally in Gaul, B.C. 11–9 and B.C. 8–6 (vol. ii., pp. 433, 435, 442).
* Mommsen, Hist, mon, rom., t. iii., p. 3.
* Cicero, Philipp., vii. 1, 1.
* Fr. Lenormant, La Mon. dans l’Ant., vol. ii., p. 340.
GOLD COINAGE lix
Even when the portraits of the triumvirs were figured on the gold urban
coinage, the moneyers' names were still retained, a sign that at that time the
Senate was determined to adhere strictly to its right and to put a bar on all
attempts at encroachment.
The treasure found at Brescello in 1714 gives some idea of the large
amount of gold money issued during this and a little later period. It con-
tained 80,000 pieces of only 32 varieties. The coins were those of the
moneyers C. Clodius, L. Mussidius, L. Livineius, P. Clodius, C. Vibius and
Q. Voconius (B.C. 44–37); and of the generals and others, Julius Caesar,
A. Hirtius, L. Plancus, L. Cestius, C. Norbanus, Brutus, Cassius, Cornuſicius,
Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus, Sextus Pompey, Antony and Octavius."
The example set by Julius Caesar at Rome * and the subsequent action
Later of the Senate were speedily followed in the Provinces, for as
Provincial soon as the triumvirate was formed in B.C. 43 Antony struck
* gold in Gaul, and later in the East. Octavius did the same
when he took over the government of Gaul two years later. It was, how-
ever, not under any express authority of the Senate that the gold money was
issued in the Provinces, but it was only an extension of the imperium with
which the generals or commanders in the field had been invested, and which
was subsequently assumed as a right. It is only in this manner that the
action of Brutus and Cassius, of Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus and Q. Labienus
can be accounted for if not justified. The introduction too of portraiture on
these coins was an act of imperialism not altogether compatible with the
democratic views or Republican principles professed by those who chose this
form of illustration for their money.
After the battle of Naulochus, when Octavius was invested with the
Gold coins right of coinage at Rome (vol. ii., pp. 1 f.), the gold, like the
of Octavius. silver, was struck in his name only, and the restoration of the
moneyers' names in B.C. 16 left the situation unchanged as the coinage
continued even then to be practically of an imperial character. As in the
earlier period between B.C. 43–37, only a certain number of the moneyers
struck gold as well as silver.
It is not quite certain on what standard the aureus was based when it
The standard was introduced by Sulla into the Roman monetary system.
of weight. As Pliny states that this coin was first tariffed at forty to the
* Montfaucon, Antiq. eagliq., Suppl., t. iii., pp. 137 f.; Mommsen, Hist. mon, rom.,
t. iii., p. 26. *
* He struck only one gold piece in the Provinces. It is that with obv. sacrificial
axe and simpulum and the legend CAESAR DICT, and with rev. one-handled jug and
lituus; below, ITER. On account of its rude fabric this coin is assigned to the East
(vol. ii., p. 470).
ºf Q.
lx INTRODUCTION
pound, and that it subsequently fell to forty-two, it might be inferred that this
system of computing the gold was adopted on its inauguration. The coins
which were tariffed at forty to the pound were chiefly those struck during
the triumvirate. The heaviest pieces of Sulla weigh from 170–169 grs. each,
which would be equivalent to ten scruples, so that, with the denarius at #4 of
the pound, the ratio of gold and silver would be at 1:9, the aureus being
reckoned at twenty-five denarii. The result would be about the same if we
assume from its weight that the aureus of Sulla was struck at 3% of the
pound. The gradual decline in its weight makes it, however, impossible for
the scruple standard to have been adhered to, even if it had been adopted in
the first instance. The weight of this coin, which varied considerably, appears
in a great measure to have been subject to the supply of metal (vol. ii., p. 344).
The following table represents its proportions at various times when reduced
to fractions of the pound.
Normal weight. Maximum weight."
Coins of Sulla . e . ºo of the pound 168-6 grs. 169-8 grs.
33 Pompey" . 3's 52 140°5 , 137.8 ,
35 Caesar tº 3's 25 133-9 , 133-1 , .
33 , (B.C. 46–44), alo , 25 126-7 , 124°6 ,,
55 Triumvirs . £o 35 126'7", 126-0 ,
35 Augustus . • * * 35 120-7 , 122°5 ,
On this basis, if throughout the aureus was of the current value of 25
denarii, the ratio of gold and silver would be: under Sulla, 1:9; under
Pompey, 1:10%; under Julius Caesar, at first, 1:11}}; later, 1:12; under
the triumvirate, 1:12; and under Augustus, 1: 12}. This standard was
preserved till the reign of Nero, when, as Pliny relates, the aureus was
reduced to 4's of the pound.
§ W.—THE MONEYERS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS.
This subject in relation to the mint at Rome, and also in connection
with the coinages outside the capital, in Italy and in the Provinces, has been
so fully dealt with by Mommsen,” Fr. Lenormant * and Babelon " that it
might seem almost superfluous to do more than to refer to it in a very
* The maximum weights are those of coins in the National Collection.
* The aureus of Cn. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus, which is attributed to Spain
B.C. 72 (vol. ii., p. 360), weighs only 121.5 grs., that is, at #4 of the pound. It is for this
reason that it is supposed by some to belong to a post-Caesarian period.
* Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., pp. 41 f. * La Mom. dans l'Ant., vol. iii., pp. 145f.
* Monn. de la rép. rom., Introd., pp. xxxii. f.
MONEYERS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS lxi
general manner, as we shall be only traversing the same ground and
reiterating unavoidably much that has already been said. Count de Salis's
classification of the coins, however, shows that he held somewhat different
views, more especially in reference to the early association of these officers
of the mint with the localities in which they performed their duties.
The right of coinage at Rome, as elsewhere, was vested in the State.
The consuls The people assembled in the Comitia decreed all matters
and the connected with the money, its metal, its types, and its weight.
* It then devolved on the Senate to see that these decrees were
duly carried out, and to appoint proper officers for the purpose. There
is no record who these officers were in the first instance, but the duty no
doubt rested with the chief magistrates, i.e. the consuls, who, in virtue of
their imperium, exercised authority over the executive. In them would be
invested the general control, viz., the time when the coinage should be issued,
its extent, its standard of weight and the denominations." Though the
consuls might have been able to delegate their authority, yet this would not
relieve them of their responsibility. This authority being of a purely public
character did not carry with it any semblance of a private nature, which
would justify the consuls inscribing their names on the coinage. For this
reason there is a Gomplete absence of private marks on the coinage in its
initial stages, and in consequence on the early bronze we meet with only
representations of the tutelary divinities of Rome on one face, and the prow
of a vessel on the other.
In the development of their liberties the Romans strove consistently to
The limit and suppress, so far as possible, the authority of the
Magistratus first magistrates within the city, more especially in matters
* relating to the finances of the State, and some of their functions
were assigned to various bodies of lower rank, who were responsible for
the due administration of certain sections of the government. In this
manner the administration was by degrees spread over a wide area of different
offices, which were directly responsible to the Senate, and the Senate in turn
was responsible to the people. Thus a time came when the duties connected
with the striking and issuing of the coinage were no longer entrusted to the
Consuls but to special magistrates, who exercised their powers under the
direct mandate of the Senate.
The magistrates who performed these duties at various epochs of the
Classes of Republic may be divided into three classes.
Moneyers (i.) The ordinary moneyers, who had charge of the mint at
distinguished. Tome, or were specially delegated by the Senate to exercise
* Mommsen, Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., p. 42.
lxii INTRODUCTION
similar duties outside the capital at various centres, or in certain districts, but
within the confines of Italy. --
(ii.) The special moneyers, such as quaestors, aediles, praefects, &c., who
likewise, but under special circumstances, were invested by the Senate with
authority to strike coins in their names inside the capital, under conditions
and restrictions similar to those imposed on the ordinary moneyers.
(iii.) The military moneyers, who were attached to armies in the field, more
especially in the Provinces. These were quaestors, legates and praefects, who
were acting under the orders of the generals in command.
Eirst of all we will consider the status, office and duties of the ordinary
Ordinary moneyers.
IMoneyers. These magistrates were those who at a later period of the
Republic were designated on their coinages by the official title tresviri aere,
argento, auro flando, feriundo, which was abbreviated on the coins and in-
scriptions into IIIVIRI. A. A. A. F. F., or in the more familiar form, tresviri
monetales, so named after the temple of Juno Moneta, within the precincts of
which they exercised their duties. The verb flare in juxtaposition to ferire
relates to the preparation and manufacture of the blank or flan, which was
cast in a mould and adjusted to its proper size and weight before being subject
to the operation of the dies. The verb ferire would also imply that the office
was not created until dies were brought into use for the manufacture of the
coins. When the money was struck, it was the duty of the moneyer to hand
it over to the quaestors of the city, who acted as public treasurers, and who
then used it for state purposes, the payment of the army, of the officers of the
state, of contracts, &c., and for distribution amongst the people for bullion
received.”
The precise date of the establishment of this magistracy in its final and
Institution complete form is uncertain. It was probably one of gradual
of the development. Pomponius” says: Constituti Sunt eodem tempore
* et quattuorviri qui curam viarum agerent, et triumviri monetales
aeris, argenti, auri flatores, et triumviri capitales, qui carceris custodiam
haberent. This supplies a clue to the date of the institution of the moneyers,
as Livy “states that the triumviri capitales were first appointed circ, B.C. 289.
As at that date no gold or silver money was being issued, Eckhel" has
suggested that either Pomponius spoke “proleptically” in adding both the
finer metals, gold and silver, or that he referred to some law the execution of
which had been deferred. It should, however, be noticed that Pomponius
* Babelon, Monn. de la rép, rom., Introd., p. xxxiii.
* Digest., i. 2, 2, 30 (ed. Mommsen). * *
* Epit., lib. xi. * Doct. num, vet., b. v., p. 61.
MONEYERS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS lxiii
only used the word flatores, and he says nothing about the striking of coins.
In B.C. 289 the process of casting was alone in use for minting the bronze
coinage, and the same process was also employed for the manufacture of gold
and silver into ingots. The evidence of Pomponius must not therefore be
rejected on that ground.
The earliest inscription which mentions the triumvirate of the mint is the
eulogy of C. Claudius Pulcher, who was consul B.C. 92 with M. Perperna." In
this inscription it is stated that Pulcher was quaestor, a triumvir of the
mint, curule aedile, judex, &c. The office of triumvir is placed after that of
quaestor, which would have been contrary to the cursus honorum, the former
being one of the minor offices of the State. Another peculiar circumstance
connected with this appointment is that the only coins which bear the name
of C. (Claudius) Pulcher cannot, from the evidence of finds, fabric, and style,
be put to a date before B.C. 92 (vol. i., pp. 198, 199). If Pulcher struck these
coins he could only have done so as a special officer; but the coins do not
reveal this. Moreover, he could not then have done so as a triumvir of the mint.
It is, however, possible that the consul of B.C. 92 may have been at one time
an officer of the mint, but did not strike money in his own name As we
shall show later this was more frequently the case than otherwise. Cicero”
speaks of this magistracy as a regularly constituted body, and it is therefore
Quite possible that at his time, or even before, the moneyers had already been
included in the magistratus minores, who formed the vigintisewviri.
This body was constituted as follows “:—
IIIVIRI (or llllVIRI) capitales.
IIIVIRI (or III IVIRI) aere, argento, auro flando, feriumdo.
Ill IVIRI viis in urbe purgandis.
IIVIRI viis extra urbem purgandis.
XVIRI litibus judicandis.
6. IIII praefecti Capuam Cunas.
:
The office of triumvir of the mint was one which could be held by a
patrician or a plebeian at the age of 27. It was, like other minor offices,
the first stepping-stone to those of a higher grade, for which a regular cursus
honorum was established, but not always adhered to.” The coins afford
* Orelli, Inscr. Lat. coll., t. i., no. 569; C. I. L., i.,” p. 200.
* de Leg., iii., 3, 6.
* Mommsen, Röm. Staatsrecht, vol. ii., p. 592, 3rd ed., 1887.
* The order, at least from the sixth century A.U.C., was: 1. Vigintisexviri; 2. Quaes-
tor; 3. Tribunus plebis; 4. Aedilis; 5. Censor; 6. Magister Equitum; 7. Praetor;
8. Interrex; 9. Consul; 10. Dictator (Mommsen, op. cit., vol. i., pp. 562, 563). The
application of the cursus has made it necessary to suggest many new identifications
of the moneyers in the pages of this work.
lxiv. INTRODUCTION
many instances of the moneyers rising to higher offices in the course of a few
years, especially to that of quaestor."
The scanty records supplied by ancient documents, whether literary
or lapidary, show how little information is to be gleaned from them
relative to the administration of the mint. Even this information, slight
as it is, is not always confirmed by the coins. Before turning to them
for any elucidation they may afford, we will quote Mommsen's view respect-
ing the first appearance of moneyers' marks or initials. He says” “it was
towards the end of the last Punic war, when the Republic was drifting towards
an oligarchy, that the moneyers began to mark their money, at first with
a symbol or distinctive sign, then with the names of their families indi-
cated by a monogram. Their own names did not appear till later, and even
then they were concealed under the form of an initial or an abbreviation.”
The evidence of the coins themselves shows, according to Count de Salis's
classification, that this statement must be somewhat modified. There are no
indications on the earliest issues of the silver money, nor on the bronze coins
of the triental standard, as to what was the organization of the mint, which
was established in B.C. 268 or about that time. As soon, however, as it passed
into the second stage, that is, when the bronze money was reduced to the Sex-
tantal standard, there are signs, in the form of symbols or initials, of an
attempt to identify the officers of the mint with their coinages. These soon
increased in frequency and with such rapidity that before the coinage reached
its third stage, through the enactment of the lea: Flaminia or Fabia, we have
quite a considerable number of symbols, if not many forms of initials. As such
a practice evidently took some time to develop, and as such a safeguard may
not at first have been considered necessary, it is quite possible and even
probable that when Rome instituted her new silver money, she at the same
time constituted a regular personnel for the administration of the mint.”
The addition of the symbols or initials finds a parallel in many of the Greek
coinages, more especially in that of Athens, where, however, the appointment
of the magistrates seems to have been made with great regularity.“ This
* Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus was moneyer circ. B.C. 124–103, and censor B.C. 92
(vol. i., pp. 151, 184 f.); L. Memmius Galeria, moneyer circ. B.C. 91; quaestor circ.
B.C. 87 (vol. i., pp. 204, 307); Cn. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus, moneyer circ. B. c. 86;
quaestor to Pompey in Spain circ. B.C. 76–72 (vol. i., p. 309; vol. ii., pp. 358 f.);
Faustus Cornelius Sulla, moneyer circ. B.C. 62; quaestor circ. B.C. 54 (vol. i., pp. 471,
489), and many others.
* Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 43.
* L. Lange (Röm. Alterthümer, vol. i., p. 653) also thought that this was the time
when the first moneyers were appointed, but not necessarily a triumvirate; see also
Darthélemy, Rev. Nu'm., 1847, p. 354.
* Cat. Gr. Coins, Brit. Mus., Attica, Introd., pp. xxxviii. f.
MONEYERS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS lxy
signing of the coins was a guarantee to the public that they were struck in
accordance with the law, as to weight, size, and purity of metal.
Some of the moneyers struck in bronze or silver, whilst of the others
Ilarly indica. there are coins of both metals. In the early period the bronze
tions of a issues predominate largely in number, and those of two metals
** are the least numerous. Except for the weight of the coins or
their fabric, there appear to be no points of connection between the earlier
issues, so that we are quite in the dark as to the frequency or duration of the
magistracy, whether it was annual, biennial, or only periodical. After the turn
of the third century, circ. B.C. 196, instances begin to occur where similarity of
fabric and type seems at least to indicate successive issues. Examples may
be traced in the coinages of L. Plautius Hypsaeus, Tampilus and Aurelius
(vol. i., pp. 70-72); of L. Coilius, Cn. Calpurnius, and Cn. Domitius (vol. i.,
pp. 81-82)." Again, during B.C. 172–151, similar indications are met with
in the issues of M. Atilius Saranus, Q. Marcius Libo and L. Sempronius
Pitio (vol. i., pp. 92-96); of Atilius Saranus, Pinarius Natta and C.
Juventius Talna (vol. i., pp. 99-103); of Publius Sulla, L. Saufeius and
Pinarius Natta (vol. i., pp. 110-112); and of L. Cupiennius, C. Antestius Labeo
and M. Junius Silanus (vol. i., pp. 113-116); and so on throughout Periods
V. and VI., which correspond to the dates B.C. 150-125 and B.C. 124-103. This
is strong evidence that there may have existed early in the second century
B.C. a regular commission for superintending the coinage; but whether it had
actually assumed the form of a yearly triumvirate, or was only appointed
occasionally as the needs of the State required, we are unable to form any
decided opinion from the coins themselves. It is quite possible that the
same conditions prevailed at Rome as so often occurred at the English mint,
where we find officers duly appointed year by year though no issues of coins
took place.
The first actual instance of a triumvirate of the mint at Rome occurs in
IEarliest the coinages of M. Caecilius Metellus, Q. Fabius Maximus and
Triumvirates. C. Serveilius, who held office circ. B.C. 94 (vol. i., pp. 175-180).
Here we have three moneyers all using precisely the same obverse types,
the head of Roma and that of Apollo, but each employing a separate type for
the reverse. There can be no question that this was a triumvirate, for all
the coins are of the same fabric, and the obverse types show the same
peculiarities of treatment of the head of Roma and also of that of Apollo.”
* The points of connection between these groups are fully discussed with the descrip-
tions of the coins.
* The attribution of these issues to separate dates, i.e. the separation of the coins
of different obverse types, as proposed by Mommsen, does not affect the question of a
triumvirate.
lxvi INTRODUCTION
These issues seem to warrant the presumption that such a union of moneyers
had existed even at an earlier date. In fact we have actual proof that this
was so, not, however, in the urban coinage, but in that which Count de
Salis has attributed to local issue. To B.C. 124–103 he has assigned three
groups of coins, which are quite independent of one another, each
bearing the names of three moneyers. These are M. Calidius, Q. Caecilius
Metellus, and Cn. Foulvius (vol. ii., p. 255); C. Fabius, L. Roscius and Q.
Marcius (vol. ii., p. 256); and Q. Curtius, M. Junius Silanus and Cn.
Domitius (vol. ii., pp. 257-261). In the first two groups the coinages are
exclusively joint ones. The names of the three moneyers occur on all
the pieces, but sometimes their order is changed. The only denomination
is the denarius. In the third group two of the moneyers struck a joint
Coinage, and the third a separate one, but the names of all three are united
on the bronze money. Another similar group of moneyers is that met with
at a somewhat later date, B.C. 89, but also in connection with the local money.
In this instance two of the moneyers, C. Poblicius Malleolus and A. Postu-
mius Albinus, strike separately denarii; but they unite with L. Caecilius
Metellus in a joint issue of the denarius, the types of which are assimilated to
those of Malleolus and Albinus (vol. ii., pp. 306–311). The dates assigned to
these coinages coincide with those of similar fabric and style issued contem-
porarily at the Roman mint. These groups of coins are of considerable
importance, first, because they show that an actual triumvirate existed at an
earlier date than is generally supposed," and they also prove that the issues of
the local coinage were subjected to the same régime and constitution as
those of the Capitol.
The most remarkable group of moneyers in the coinage of the Republic
is that which appears to have occurred in B.C. 92, during the censorship of
L. Licinius Crassus and Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus, whose names appear on
the coins in conjunction with those of five moneyers, each of whom strikes the
denarius with the same reverse type, but all slightly differing in that of the
obverse (vol. i., pp. 184-187). It seems impossible to account Satisfactorily
for this exceptional and unique conjunction of moneyers, and it can only be
surmised, as the names of the two censors of the year are inscribed on all, that
a special commission was appointed to meet some extraordinary expenditure.
During the next few years, B.C. 91–89, which cover the period of the
Social war, the output at the mint at Rome was quite phenomenal. At the
urban mint alone, in B.C. 91, there were six ordinary moneyers; in B.C. 90
* Mommsen (Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 47) has assigned the definite establishment of
the triumvirate to some time between B.C. 104–89. This date corresponds with its first
occurrence at Rome, but not locally.
MONEYERS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS lxvii
there were at least five, but the number may have been equal to that of the
previous year, and in B.C. 89 they fall to three. From that date the mint seems
to have returned once more to its normal state, and the ordinary moneyers
varied in number from three to one. Several instances between B.C. 91 and 82
occur of a triumvirate or a duumvirate, but the title of IllWIR is not met with
till circ. B.C. 72," when it occurs on the coins of Mn. Aquillius (vol. i., p. 416).
Between that date and B.C. 49, it is only mentioned eight times. Some of
the coinages, like those of L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi (B.C. 88), L. Julius Bursio
(B.C. 85), L. Papius (B.C. 80), L. Roscius Fabatus (B.C. 70), and C. Calpurnius
Piso L. f. Frugi (B.C. 64), were of such enormous extent that in most cases
they must have involved the manufacture of some hundreds of different dies.
The normal conditions which prevailed at the Roman mint between the
Moneyers Social war and the breaking out of the Civil war, B.C. 49, seem
of the later to throw some light on its constitution in respect of the moneyers
* During that period of thirty-eight years we can count the
names of fifty-nine ordinary moneyers on the coins, which would supply an
average of less than two yearly.” From this it must be concluded either that
the appointment extended over two years, which would be quite unusual for
any public office, and does not seem to have occurred in any others which
comprised the vigintise.cviri, or that it was usual for only one or two
members of the triumvirate to place their names on the coins, in which case
the others, whose names do not appear, would confine their duties to a general
direction only. As Count de Salis has classified the coins year by year from
B.C. 102 onwards, he apparently believed in the annual appointment of the
moneyers; and we have no ground for supposing that there were ever less than
three in each case. There was, however, something, as Mommsen remarks,”
in the organization of this magistracy which we do not precisely know. The
silence of ancient writers increases the difficulty, and we are left to draw our
conclusions from the coins themselves.
The first change which occurred in the personnel of the mint was in
Increase of B.C. 44, when Caesar, having increased the number of officers
Moneyers of the lesser magistracies, augmented that of the moneyers from
*Y* three to four. These styled themselves III IVIRI (quatuorviri).
3.
—s—
* Mommsen (Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 53) puts the first occurrence at B.C. 54. This
is obviously too late.
* We naturally except the special issues by quaestors, aediles, &c. These numbered
thirty-five during that period. They occurred very frequently. In fact the exception
almost became the rule, as it is only in one or two years that we do not meet with these
special issues.
* Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 51.
* Suetonius, Caesar, 41: Minorum magistratuum numerum ampliavit.
lxviii INTRODUCTION
It is, however, only in the first year of their establishment that the whole
body of four struck separate issues in their names. Subsequent to that date
till B.C. 36 the mint reverted to its former condition, the coins year by year
recording the names of only two or three officers. In B.C. 43 the dignity of
the office was enhanced by the Senate conferring on the ordinary moneyers
the right of striking, and placing their names, on the gold money as well as
on the silver. From B.C. 49 till his death Caesar had usurped the right of
issuing gold money (see above, pp. lvii, lviii). Soon after his death the
Senate asserted its authority, and conferred the duty on the ordinary moneyers,
some of whom commemorated the circumstance by inscribing on their money
the legend IIIIVIR A. T. F. (Quatuorvir auro publico feriumdo).”
These reforms were, however, not lasting, for in B.C. 36 the moneyers'
Triumvirate names disappear, and the coinage both of gold and silver Was
of the Mint placed under the authority of Octavius. This privilege or right
* was evidently conferred on Octavius by a decree of the Senate
after or about the time of the battle of Naulochus, as the earliest pieces must
be assigned to B.C. 36. It is somewhat singular that no ancient writer has
mentioned this remarkable change, which at one stroke imperialised the
monetary system of Rome. By this act, moreover, the Senate handed over to
Octavius those rights which a few years before it had been so prompt in
reclaiming. The personnel or staff at the mint seems to have been appointed
as usual, for after a lapse of twenty years, B.C. 16, the old practice of inscribing
the coinage with the moneyers' names was again resumed. Their number
was, however, reduced to three, for they resume their former title of IIIVIRI.
This return to a former custom was accompanied by some reforms, the
most important one being the re-establishment of a bronze currency on a per-
manent basis (see above, pp. xxxiii-xxxv). The coinage of that period reveals
another remarkable circumstance, which is that two sets of moneyers were
as a rule appointed, one by the Emperor to issue gold and silver money, the
other by the Senate to provide bronze. Augustus, therefore, retained his right
over the coinages of the finer metals. According to Count de Salis's classi-
fication, with one exception, that of M. Sanquinius and P. Licinius Stolo, who
struck in gold, silver and bronze (vol. ii., pp. 78-82), the imperial moneyers
and the senatorial ones did not hold office in the same year, but separately
and intermittently, not necessarily alternately. On this computation there
appears to have existed a regular triumvirate from B.C. 16–3, when the
names of the moneyers disappeared as suddenly and as unaccountably as they
reappeared. It is very difficult to account for these revolutionary changes.
Were they due to the revival of the bronze money, or to Augustus's
* Vol. i., pp. 573 f.
MONEYERS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS lxix
contemplated absence from the capital, or to a concession to republicanism
on his part 2 On many occasions Augustus had assumed the rôle of the
abdicator, and had expressed a wish to lay down the imperium and to sur-
render some of the honours which had been so profusely heaped on him
by the Senate, but in each instance he had given way to the popular vote,
which even usually accorded fresh dignities. This is again illustrated on
the coinage, for we find that the moneyers' names disappear for ever after
B.C. 3, as it was in the following year that Augustus received the title of
Pater Patriae, a dignity which was only compatible with full monarchical
power.
The institution of the triumvirate was not, however, abolished, for we
know from inscriptions that this magistracy existed so late as the middle of
the third century of our era, and that the title of triumvir aere, argento, auro
jlando, feriundo was retained.” As, however, the appointment rested with the
Senate, whose powers were limited to the bronze coinage, it is possible that
their duties did not extend beyond the supervision of that section of the
Coinage. The gold and silver money, which was exclusively imperial, was
in the future under the charge of imperial procurators, who bore the title of
curatores or procuratores monetae, an office which was established as early as
the reign of Tiberius and was still in existence at the period of the emperors
of Constantinople.”
The class of moneyers with which we have so far dealt consisted only
Special of members of the magistracy which was instituted to take
*oneyers charge of the regular issues of the State at the mint in the
capital, or under exceptional conditions outside in various districts of Italy.
As this was a regularly constituted body it was not necessary to indicate in
any way, either by special legends or otherwise, the decrees of the Senate
which authorized the exercise of these duties. There was, however, another
class of moneyers who were members of other magistracies, and who were
from time to time specially authorized to exercise similar duties under
exceptional circumstances. In order to distinguish such pieces from the
ordinary currency the delegated authority was indicated by the use of
various formulae, as S. C. (Senatus consulto), EX S. C. (ew senatus consulto),
D. S. S. (de Senatus sententia), T. EX S. C. (publice ea. Senatus consulto),
S. C. D. T. (Senatus consulto de thesauro), &c. From these legends it is
evident that these special coinages were carried out under the immediate
direction of the Senate, and were not subject to a general decree of the
people. The Senate was empowered to act according to its discretion. The
* Fr. Lenormant, La Mon. dans l’Ant., t. iii., pp. 185 f.
* Barthélemy, Rev. Num., 1847, p. 365.
lxx INTRODUCTION
officers in whose names these coins were struck were chiefly quaestors and
Their official curule aediles. Exceptional moneyers were the plebeian aediles,
rank, the praefecti Urbi and praetors. The fact that it was the
quaestors and curule aediles who mainly acted as special moneyers, furnishes
a clue to the purpose of these extraordinary issues.
The quaestores urbani or aerarii were officials subordinate to the consuls,
who had the supreme control of the treasury. The quaestors, however, had
actual charge of the money, whether in coin or in bullion, receiving it from
the consuls and paying it out on their order. They held the keys of the
treasury, which was in the temple of Saturn,” and had charge of all its
contents, including not only coin and bullion, but also the military standards.”
They also collected the taxes, conducted sales of public property, and superin-
tended extraordinary expenditure connected with military affairs and largesses.
The duties of the aediles curules were somewhat varied. Cicero * has
arranged their functions under three heads as curatores urbis, annonae,
ludorumque Sollemnium. As curatores urbis they had charge of the repairing
and cleansing of the streets, roads, public baths, &c.; as curatores annonae,
the general charge of the markets, the superintendence of the sales of cattle
and slaves, the providing of the proper supply of corn, and the furnishing of
it at a reduced rate in case of largesses; and as curatores ludorum, not only
the organizing of the public games, but also the defraying of the necessary
expenditure, which they often had to meet out of their own private resources.
The exercise of the special duties connected with the coinage appears to have
fallen chiefly on these two magistracies, and it is evident that in certain
cases, like that of a special distribution of corn, the expenses were met either
by the quaestors or by the curule aediles.
The aediles plebeii, or plebis, were the subordinate officers of the tribunes.
They were guardians of the temple of Ceres, in which copies of all decrees of
the Senate were preserved, and in consequence their duties were more of a
legal nature than otherwise. Their superintendence of corn supplies, and of
the plebeian and Roman games, seems to have been the result of special
commissions from the Senate or the consuls.” It is probably from this cause
that we meet with their names only once in connection with the special
coinages.”
The coinages of the praefecti Urbi are met with on three occasions only,
* Polybius, Hist, reliq., xxiv. 9. * Livy, lib. iii. 69; iv. 22; vii. 23.
* de Leg., iii. 8, 7. * Pliny, Hist. Nat., xviii. 3, 4; Livy, lib. vi. 42.
* See coins of M. Fannius and L. Critonius (vol. i., pp. 314, 315). The reverse type,
representing the aediles seated on the subsellium with an ear of corn, shows distinctly
that the occasion on which this coinage was issued was a largess connected with the
supply of corn.
MONEYERS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS lxxi
the first two in connection with the triumphs of Caesar, the third when the
Senate asserted its claim to the issue of aurei (vol. i., pp. 525, 537, 552).
The issue of money by a praetor at the Roman mint happened only once.
It was in the case of Q. Antonius Balbus, the circumstances connected with
which being quite exceptional (see below, p. lxxii; vol. i., p. 344).
It is fortunate that we are able, from the evidence of the coins them-
special issues, selves, to ascertain not only the first instance of the occurrence
when first of these extraordinary coins, but also the event which occa-
*** signed their issue. In B.C. 100 L. Appuleius Saturninus, the
tribune, proposed a lea, frumentaria, by virtue of which the State was to sell
corn to the people at a semis and a triens for a modius. This proposal met with
violent opposition from the government, on the ground that it would exhaust
the public treasury. It was, however, carried, and the quaestor, Q. Servilius
Caepio, who was one of the chief opponents of the measure, and his colleague
L. Calpurnius Piso, were ordered by the Senate to meet the requirement of
the largess by a special coinage. The obverse type, the head of Saturn, shows
that the bullion was drawn from the public aerarium, and the reverse depicts
the two quaestors distributing the largess, the nature of which is illustrated
by two ears of corn and the legend ad frumentum emundum (vol. i., pp. 170,
171). This coinage bears the special formula EX S. C. (ea. Senatus consulto).”
The next occasion on which this way of meeting an extraordinary
expenditure was put into force was in B.C. 91. The circumstances were very
similar to those of B.C. 100, as it was in that year that M. Livius Drusus,
also a tribune of the plebs, carried a law for the distribution of corn, or for
its sale under cost price, and for the assignment of lands. The money
supplied for this purpose bears the names of the quaestors Appius Claudius
and Titus Mallius (vol. i., p. 199). This happened just before the commence-
ment of the Social war, B.C. 91–88, during which and the Civil war which
followed, B.C. 88–86 and B.C. 83–82, there was not only a very much
increased output of the regular coinage, but also a continuous series of special
issues, mostly under the control of the quaestors. In the first instance the
money was required to pay the expenses of the war with the Confederates, in
the second it was a case of one party trying to get the better of the other by
bribing the populace.
The most common formulae which distinguished these special issues were,
various as already noted, S - C - or EX S. C., but others were used, as
formulae. TV. (publice); D.A. (publico argento); ARG. TVB. or A. T.V.
(argento publico); or EXA. T.V. (ea argento publico), denoting that there had
* This issue marks other important variations in connection with the coinage (see
below, p. lxxxviii).
lxxii INTRODUCTION
been a special supply of bullion from the treasury. These marks are limited
to the silver only, but others occur on the bronze coins also. Some of those
of the Semuncial standard, issued under the provisions of the lea: Papiria,
have only the legend L. P. D. A. P. (lege Papiria de aere publico), and as they
are without a moneyer's name, they must be reckoned amongst the special
issues (vol. i., p. 282). Of a similar nature are the bronze coins of C. Licinius
Macer with EX S. C. (vol. i., p. 320), and the joint coinage of C. Cassius
and L. Julius Salinator (vol. i., p. 321) with D.S.S. (de sematus sententia).
These last two issues occurred in the same year, B.C. 85.
To the same category may be assigned certain other coinages which are
without any moneyers' names. The first is the denarius of the same type as
the joint-coinage of the moneyers Gargilius, Ogulnius, and Vergilius (vol. i.,
p. 335), which must have been struck in extraordinary abundance, as no less
than 194 specimens occurred in the Monte Codruzzo hoard. Another is that
with the head of Venus on the obverse, and a cornucopiae on the reverse
(vol. i., p. 357), the issue of which seems to coincide with the battle at the
Colline gate B.C. 82, after which there were frequent largesses distributed by
Sulla among the populace. A still more remarkable issue of the same period
is that of Q. Antonius Balbus, who, on his appointment as praetor to Sardinia
in B.C. 82, received permission from the Senate to take the treasure from the
temples, and to turn it into money for the payment of his troops (vol. i.,
pp. 344-347).
After the triumph of Sulla in B.C. 81, the mint at Rome resumed its
special Issues normal condition, but the special issues continued with con-
continued siderable frequency. Between that date and B.C. 50 they
number at least twenty-five, and as many of them record the celebration of
the public games, the majority were probably struck by the curule aediles,
who were allowed by the Senate to issue the money at their own expense.
It was for that reason that the aedileship was only given to the rich citizens,
who were able to subsidise in this manner the public revenues. On the
coins of M. Wolteius (vol. i., pp. 388 f.) the types illustrate nearly all the
principal public games, and the same occurs on those of M. Plaetorius M. f.
Cestianus (vol. i., p. 434). The joint-issue of M. Aemilius Scaurus and
P. Plautius Hypsaeus (vol. i., p. 483), and those of A. Plautius and Cn. Plancius
(vol. i., pp. 490, 491), are of special interest as we know from documentary
evidence the dates of their offices. The same may be said of the quaestor-
ship of Faustus Cornelius Sulla, who commemorates on his coins the principal
events in the life of his father-in-law Pompey the Great, one of which, the
consecration of the temple of Venus Victrix, only happened in the previous
year, B.C. 55 (vol. i., p. 489). These issues are of importance from another
point of view, as from their style and fabric they serve as criteria for the
MONEYERS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS lxxiii
classification of others, the date of which we are unable to determine with
such exactness.
A special interest of this nature attaches itself also to the coinage of P.
Licinius Crassus, with the head of Venus on the obverse and a warrior
standing by the side of his horse on the reverse (vol. i., p. 487). In this
instance we have a coinage which is quite exceptional. In was in B.C. 55
that Crassus came to Rome with a troop of 1000 Gaulish horsemen which he
had enrolled at his own expense for service against the Parthians. In order
either to commemorate this event, or as a means of refunding to Crassus some
of the expense to which he had been put, the Senate sanctioned this special
issue. It would therefore seem that, as in the case of Q. Antonius Balbus,
the Senate could extend the privilege to any one it wished, as it was plobably
in his capacity as a legate that Crassus struck these coins. We have selected
by way of illustration a few only of the more special occasions marked by these
extraordinary issues. The series is far too long to be mentioned in detail.
To continue our account. In B.C. 49 there was great confusion and
tumult in Rome, first on account of the sudden departure of Pompey to the
East, and later in consequence of the arrival of Julius Caesar. The struggle
between these two aspirants for supreme power in the state is clearly
reflected in the coinage of the year. Cn. Nerius, the quaestor under the
Pompeian consuls, L. Cornelius Lentulus Crus and C. Claudius Marcellus
struck coins in their names as well as in his own (vol. i., p. 504). This
was without precedent, as hitherto the names of the consuls had been
entirely excluded from the coinage. Julius Caesar on his entry into Rome
put forth his memorable pieces in gold and silver, and for the remainder of
the year he entrusted further issues to his then close adherents D. Postumius
Albinus and C. Vibius Pansa (vol. i., pp. 507 f.). The coins do not tell us,
nor does history record, in what capacity they exercised this privilege. It
could not have been as ordinary moneyers, as Albinus had served for a con-
siderable period under Caesar in Gaul; and Pansa had been tribune of the
plebs two years before. From that time Caesar did not again interfere with the
working of the mint at Rome, except on the occasion of his triumphs in B.C. 46
and B.C. 45 when he committed the striking of gold money to the praefects
of the city, Aulus Hirtius and L. Munatius Plancus (vol. i., pp. 525, 537). It
is also probable that, in the same capacity, L. Cestianus and C. Norbanus in
the following year, B.C. 44, struck gold money in the name of the Senate, not
to commemorate any particular event, but only to notify to the people that
henceforth the state coinage would consist of gold as well as of silver money.
These were the last to act as special moneyers or as issuers of special
coinages at Rome. All coins struck in the capital henceforward bear only
the names of the ordinary moneyers or, in their absence, that of Octavius, first
lxxiv. INTRODUCTION
as Caesar or Imperator, and later as Augustus. Those who exercised such
duties during the triumvirate in the Provinces, come under a special class,
which we will now proceed to mention.
The military moneyers form quite a separate class. They were not
Military under the direct control of the Senate, but they exercised the
*oneyers, right of issuing money by proxy, that is, under the dele-
gated authority of the supreme general or commander in whose service
they were for the time being. It was the general who, in virtue of his
&mperium, had this right in the first instance, and it was he who delegated
his authority to his quaestor, proquaestor, legate, praefect or other officer
of similar rank. These coins were, moreover, not struck in Italy, but in
the Provinces, and they were therefore of a purely military character. It
is, however, probable that most of the local coinage of Italy belongs to this
class; but it varied in being subject to the immediate control of the Senate.
In that Series, the names of only three quaestors occur, who may have been of
military rank, M. Sergius Silus (vol. ii., p. 269), L. Manlius Torquatus (vol.
ii., p. 270), and Q. Lutatius Cerco (vol. ii., p. 297). The first two inscribed
their coins with the formula EX S. C. (ea, senatus consulto), which shows that
they were issued under senatorial authority; the third, Cerco, struck his
during the Social war, when, no doubt, he was attached to one of the divisions
of the Roman army.
In the introductory chapter to the Provincial coinages (vol. ii., p. 340)
provincial we have discussed at some length their nature. It is there
coinages shown that these Provincial issues consisted of three classes:
* their (1) Those which were struck by the general in the exercise of
issuers, his ‘mperium, which bear his name only; (2) those which bear
his name, and also that of the officer to whom he delegated his authority;
and (3) those which bear only the name of the officer to whom the authority
was delegated. The chief officers to whom this duty was entrusted were
quaestors or proquaestors, and legates or legati pro praetore. We cannot include
in this category the generals or commanders who struck coins under the
triumvirs Antony and Octavius in Spain, Gaul, or the East. Amongst these
may be mentioned P. Carisius in Spain (vol. ii., pp. 374-377); L. Cornelius
Balbus, Q. Salvius Salvidienus Rufus, and M. Vipsanius Agrippa in Gaul (vol.
ii., pp. 406, 407, 410-412); and Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus, L. Munatius
Plancus, and the praefecti classis of Antony, in the East (vol. ii., pp. 494-495,
496-497, 510-520). The positions which these military and naval comman-
ders held would have entitled them, under the existing state of things, to
issue coins; but in doing so they did not fail to acknowledge the authority
of the triumvir under whom they served, by the addition of his name and
usually of his portrait. Each one of the triumvirs considered himself
MONEYERS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS lxxv
paramount in the Provinces under his charge. It was he who directed and
controlled both civil and military affairs. Any successes gained by his
generals were accredited to him, and not to those who actually conducted the
expeditions. It was, therefore, Antony who received the honours due to
Ventidius for his Parthian campaigns; and in Gaul it was Octavius who, as
triumvir, imperator, or Augustus, obtained the rewards for the successes of
Agrippa, Tiberius, Drusus and others.
These Provincial military moneyers occur for the first time simul-
taneously in Spain and in the East. In the former, L. Fabius Hispaniensis
and C. Tarquitius struck coins as quaestors to C. Annius Luscus (vol. ii.,
pp. 352-356), and in the latter, L. Manlius and A. Manlius, who held similar
positions under Sulla (vol. ii., pp. 461–463). In each case the name of the
general in command is given. A little later an exception is met with in
the case of Cn. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus, who served under Pompey
and Metellus in Spain (vol. ii., pp. 358 f.). His name only appears on the
coins; and in omitting those of his principal officers Lentulus may have been
influenced by the rivalry which existed between Metellus and Pompey.
At the outbreak of the Civil war in B.C. 49, when the Provincial issues
were revived, the Pompeian party was particularly active in this respect.
Pompey and his generals had to depend mainly on local issues for the supply
of money, while Caesar, who held the capital, could draw from the mint as
much as he needed. Hence in Spain we find Cn. Calpurnius Piso and Teren-
tius Varro, in their capacity as proquaestors, striking coins for the Pompeian
leaders, Afranius, Petreius and Varro, in their names only, and later, M.
Poblicius as legate and M. Minatius Sabinus as proquaestor to Cnaeus
Pompey, and M. Eppius as legate to Sextus Pompey (vol. ii., pp. 361 f.).
Precisely the same condition prevailed in the East during this period.
Cn. Nerius, the quaestor urbanus, who had followed the consuls L. Cornelius
Lentulus Crus and C. Claudius Marcellus from Rome, issued coins in their
names, but omits his own, only noting his presence by the initial of his office
as quaestor (vol. ii., p. 466). At the same time we have an exceptional case in
the coinage of the praetor C. Coponius, who had been accompanied in his flight
from Italy by the ordinary triumvir of the Roman mint, Q. Sicinius, who now
exercised his vocation in Asia, placing on his coins the formula S. C., an indica-
tion that he and his chief belonged to the Senatorial party (vol. ii., p. 468).
After the death of Caesar, when Brutus and Cassius took possession of
their provinces in Greece and Asia Minor, there is a somewhat remarkable
series of coins bearing their names and those of their quaestors, produaestors
or legates, amongst whom were L. Sestius, C. Flavius Hemicillus, Pedanius
Costa, P. Servilius Casca Longus, L. Plaetorius Cestianus, M. Aquinus,
P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther and M. Servilius (vol. ii., pp. 472 f.).
lxxvi INTRODUCTION
This practice of delegated authority was but little exercised by Antony'
in his Eastern provinces. Like Octavius in Gaul, he reserved the right
either for himself or for those in chief command of his armies or his provinces.
At an early period soon after the battles of Philippi, however, the names of
three quaestores pro praetore occur, viz., M. Barbatius Philippus, M. Cocceius
Nerva and L. Gellius Publicola, whose coinages we are disposed to connect
with Antony's visit to Ephesus in B.C. 41, when he needed money, not so
lauch for the payment of his armies, as to meet the expenses of his own
extravagances (vol. ii., p. 489). If we except the bronze money which
L. Sempronius Atratinus struck in the next year (vol. ii., p. 501), this is the
last occasion on which we meet with the issues of special moneyers in the
East ; for when Octavius, after the battle of Actium, took over the govern-
ment of the districts formerly held by Antony, he assimilated the Eastern
coinage to the contemporary issues at IRome and in Gaul, making it of an
entirely personal character.
The names of special moneyers do not occur on the coinage assigned to
Sicily. With the exception of the denarii of Q. Nasidius (vol. ii., pp. 564,
565), which were not struck till nearly the closing scene of the war at the
battle of Naulochus, the coinage from B.C. 42 was issued solely by Sextus
Pompey. In Africa too we meet with only two instances. These are of the
legates P. Licinius Crassus Junianus and M. Eppius, both of whom served under
Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio (vol. ii., pp. 571-574). The latter figured
a few years later in the same capacity under Sextus Pompey in Spain.
§ VI-THE NAMES OF MONEYERs, &c.
In the preceding chapter we have confined our remarks to the appointment
and duties of the moneyers, ordinary and special, in the capital, in Italy, and
in the Provinces. To these we would now add some particulars of the forms
in which their names and those of others appear on the coins. They vary
considerably at different epochs, and throughout no regular system was adopted.
Jºach moneyer selected whatever form he pleased, varying it to suit his own
fancy, and at the same time adapting it to the exigencies of type and space;
the latter, on such small pieces as the denarius and aureus, being very limited.
The Roman name in full was a very composite one, and was comprised
Primitive of various elements. Varro' and Appian * assert that the
form of Romans originally had only one name—simplicia in Italia
** fuisse nomina . . . quod Romulus et Remus et Faustulus neque
* Ap. Val. Max., Epit. de praenom., 1, where this statement is controverted by a
reference to Rhea Silvia, Silvius Nwmitor, Amwlius Silvius.
* Hist. rom., praef., 13.
NAMES OF MONEYERS lxxvii
praenomen, ullum megue cognomen habuerint. Mommsen has suggested that
these belong to the mythical age, as even at such times double names do
occur, as Titus Tatius, Numa Pompilius, Ancus Marcius, &c. There is,
however, no question that in early times there was greater simplicity of
names, and though single ones occur, it is possible that the early Roman
custom was to have two, the second in the genitive case representing the
father or head of the household, as Marcus Marci, Caecilia Metelli. The
question may, however, be solved in some degree if we consider the distinct
elements of which the Roman nation was originally composed, viz., Sabines,
Latins, and Etruscans.
From the earliest times the Sabines had two names, one, the praenomen,
indicating the individual, as Quintus, Caius, Appius, Lucius, &c.,
the other the gens to which he belonged, and which, like the
IRoman momen gentilicium, terminated in ius or eius, as Tatius, Pompaedius,
Jeius. It also sometimes happened that an individual had two nomina,
gentilicia instead of a praenomen and nomen gentilicium, as Attius Naevius,
Ateius Marius, Minius Ieius, the one indicating the gens of his father, the
other that of his mother. These were interchangeable. A third form was
the addition of a cognomen, when the praenomen was sometimes omitted.
In the names which are given on the coins of the Confederates struck during
the Social war there are examples of all three forms. The names of Quintus
Pompaedius Silo and Gaius Papius Mutilus supply instances of the first and
last forms, and that of Minius Ieius of the second. Minius was probably the
name of the father, as that of the son in full appears to have been Minius
Jeius Minii filius (vol. ii., pp. 329, 330, 334).
The Latins originally may have occasionally used only one name, such
g as Romulus, Remus, and Faustulus, as already mentioned. It
Latin names. tº g
may have been on these that Varro and Appian founded their
assertion. This nation also adopted the system of the Sabines, as composite
names like Geminus Metius, Vitruvius Vaccus and Turnus Herdonius occur
Sabine names.
at an early period.”
The Etruscans, on the other hand, seem to have limited themselves mainly
Etruscan to a single name, examples of which we meet with in Porsenna,
Ila, Iſles, Spurinna, Caecina, Perperna, which may also have given rise
to Varro's statement. The termination na may have been equivalent to the
Sabine or Roman ius; therefore these names would be real nomina gentilicia.”
In their system of names the Romans at first followed the custom of the
Sabines, to which at a later period they added a fourth, agnomen. The order
* Röm. Forschungen, i. 5. * Smith's Dict. of Antiquities, 2nd ed., s.v. Nomen.
* Niebuhr, Röm. Gesch., 5th ed. (Berlin, 1853), p. 214, note 922.
lxxviii INTRODUCTION
of these names was (1) praenomen; (2) nomen; (3) cognomen primum;
(4) cognomen secundum or agnomen.
The momen, the chief one of the four, was that derived from the gens, to
which every Roman belonged. This nomen, or nomen gentili-
cium, generally terminated in ius or eius, as Aurelius, Pompeius,
which at a later period, during the Empire, was changed into aeus, as Annius,
Anneius, and Annaeus, or Appuleius and Appulaeus. The nomen gentilicium
was hereditary.
The praenomen was, as its composition shows, that which preceded the
nomen gentilicium, and which specially characterized the
individual, as Caius, Lucius, Marcus, Sextus, &c. This name
was at first given to boys when they arrived at the age of puberty, that is, at
fourteen, when they assumed the toga virilis, and to girls on their marriage."
At a later time boys received it on the ninth day after their birth, and girls
on the eighth day. This solemnity was called the lustratio, whence the day
received the name of dies lustricus.” The praenomina varied but little under
the Republic, and were limited in number from the time of Sulla, not
exceeding eighteen for patrician families.” Varro says that there were
originally thirty, but fourteen of these had fallen into disuse before his time.
Amongst these were Agrippa, Caesar, Faustus, Hostus, Lar, Opiter, Postumus,
&c. Faustus is, however, met with on coins struck by Faustus Cornelius
Sulla (vol. i., p. 471). The number decreased owing to the custom of certain
patrician families using a few praenomina, usually from four to seven." Also,
among the patricians, some praenomina were restricted to families, as Appius
and Decimus to the Claudii, Kaeso to the Fabii and Quinctilii, or Mamercus
to the Aemilii. The plebeian families did not limit themselves to such an
extent, and in their case greater variety appears, but those who became nobiles
followed the example of the patricians, and likewise restricted their number.
The praenomen given to a boy, the eldest in the family, was usually that of
his father," and often of his grandfather. These may be recognized in
some of the early names on coins, as C. Junius C. f., M. Acilius M. f.,
Cn. Egnatius Cm. f. Cn. n., &c. In some cases it extended to the great-
INomen.
Praenomen.
* Val. Max., Epit. de praenom., 3: Pueris nom privs quam togam virilem, 8wmerent,
pwellis non ante quam nwberent praenomina imponi moris fuisse Q. Scaevola auctor est.
* Macrobius, Sat. i. 16, 36: Est autem, lustricus dies, quo infantes lustrantwr et
momen accipiwnt; see also coins of Caius Caesar (vol. ii., p. 443).
* Marquardt, Privatleben der Römer, ed. 1886, Erst. Theil, Die Familie, p. 11.
* Mommsen, Röm. Forschungen, i., p. 15.
* It is in consequence of Cnaeus Pompey having the same praenomen as his
father, Pompey the Great, that some confusion has arisen in the attribution of their
respective coins (vol. ii., p. 365).
NAMES OF MONEYERS lxxix
grandfather, but not on coins, as C. Octavius C. f. C. n. C. p. (Caius Octavius
Caii filius, Caii nepos, Caii pronepos). The two names, praenomen and
gentilicium, were essential to a Roman, and these were sufficient at any time
to designate him, even when a third or fourth was owned by the individual.
The cognomen, which was the third name in order, was at first applied as a
strictly personal name, and had a meaning as a surname or nick-
name appropriate to the individual." It was general amongst
patrician families, but in the case of those of plebeian origin it was not the
rule. Every Roman citizen besides belonging to a gens was also a member of
a familia.” The word familia originally included only persons who were in
the power of a paterfamilias, such as his sons, daughters, grandchildren, and
even slaves, but later it received a wider significance. These cognomina
Cognomen.
were derived from various circumstances, either from a common ancestor
within the gens, as Fostulus, Lepidus, Lentulus, Metellus, or from the city or
district whence it originally came, as Antiaticus, Sabinus, Siculus, or from
some event in the life of the founder, as Magnus, Maacimus, &c.; or in
connection with his birth or descent, as Geminus, Trigeminus; but by far the
greater number recorded some mental or physical peculiarities, as Brutus, a
man lacking in intelligence; Cicero, one skilled in raising the cicer (a species
of pulse), or with his face marked with warts like the cicer; Crassipes, a
thick-footed man; Pansa or Plancus, one with flat, splay feet; Ahenobarbus
or Sulla, one with a red beard. These names were in most cases hereditary,
and descended to the latest members of a familia, but sometimes they
ceased with the originator. Under the Republic the third name implied
quobilitas.”
The mobiles did not limit themselves to three names, but added occa-
sionally a second or even a third cognomen, which at a later
period was called the agnomen. These also were of varied
origin. They might be honorary distinctions in commemoration of some
memorable military event (cognomen ea: virtute), as Africanus (P. Cornelius
Scipio Africanus), Asiaticus (L. Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus), and among the
Claudii and Metelli, Macedonicus, Dalmaticus, Numidicus, Creticus, &c. They
were also adopted to distinguish one member of a family from another as a
nickname, as P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, L. Cornelius Lentulus Crus,
Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius, Q. Caecilius Metellus Celer, &c.
Agnomen.
* Egbert, Latin Inscrip., p. 92.
* There were, however, exceptions, since the Antonii, Dwilii, Flaminii, Marii,
Memmii, Mummi and Sertorii had no cognomen (Marquardt, Privatleben der Römer,
ed. 1886, p. 13, note 5).
* Ausonius, Idyll., 11, 80: tria nomina nobiliorum. Schol. Juv., v. 127: tanquam.
habeas tria nomina] hoc est tanquam nobilis 8ts (Marquardt, op. cit., p. 15, note 1).
lxxx INTRODUCTION
In the case of adoption, when a member of one gens passed into another,
Adoptive he took the name of his adoptive father, but usually retained
name that of his old gens in a modified form. Thus C. Octavius, after
being adopted by his uncle, the dictator, assumed the name of C. Julius Caesar
Octavianus, and P. Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus was the son of L. Aemilius
Paullus. M. Junius Brutus, on his adoption by his uncle Q. Servilius Caepio,
took the name of Q. Servilius Caepio Brutus, thus retaining his Cognomen.
On his coins he used somewhat indiscriminately his birth-name and that of
his adoption (vol. ii., pp. 471 f.). On the coins other examples occur, as
P. Licinius Crassus Junianus, A. Licinius Nerva Silianus, T. Quinctius
T. f. Crispinus Sulpicianus, &c.
Another form of name was that indicating the tribus to which a person
belonged. The tribus, a territorial classification of the citizens
of Rome for military purposes, had its origin in the Servian
reformation. The number was at first four; but as Rome gradually extended
her territory it was augmented until B.C. 241 (A.U.C. 513), when it reached the
limit of thirty-five, which was never passed. Originally the tribus was attached
to the domicile, but towards the close of the Republic it lost its territorial
value and became only personal and hereditary.” The word denoting the
tribe regularly preceded the cognomen, as P. Cornelius L. f. Quir(ina tribu)
Maximus, or else it sometimes took its place as L. Memmius Gal(eria tribu).
In inscriptions and on coins the names of the tribes are as a rule abbreviated.
We will now turn to the coins themselves and see to what extent and
First names in what manner they illustrate the different ways of repréent-
on coins ing personal names. The development of the name was at
first gradual, and throughout was subject to constant variation. As
Tribal name.
Mommsen has remarked, “the monetary legends have not that Solemn
form used for inscriptions. They are of a more familiar nature and
approach the epistolary style, so that they can be compared with a
signature.” On the early issues of the coinage there is a complete
absence of any personal marks which would serve to identify the coin
with its issuer. It was in the fullest sense a state currency. When the
bronze Goinage was cast it was without any legend, and it is not until the
cast money had ceased to be issued that we first meet with any vestige
of moneyers' marks. They do not occur until the as had passed from the
triental to the Sextantal standard. This, as has been shown, was not till
circ. B.C. 240. It is in the issues of which the sextantal as forms a part that
we first meet with moneyers' marks in the form of symbols. Mommsen &
* Cagnat, Cours élémen. d'Épigraphie Latime, p. 25; Egbert, Latin Inscrip., p. 96.
* Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 172. * Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 171.
NAMES OF MONEYERS lxxxi
l-T
has put their first appearance at circ. B.C. 234, and this date quite agrees with
Count de Salis's classification. Almost immediately after the introduction
of moneyers' symbols we meet with their names, which are given in an
abbreviated form, i.e., by a single letter or by a monogram, or are slightly
extended. The first examples of moneyers' names on coins which
Count de Salis has assigned to the Roman mint give them in a slightly
extended form, viz., the praenomen with the nomen or cognomen, C - Al-
(C. Allius) and C. V& (C. [Terentius] Varro) (vol. i., pp. 34, 35); but on
those of the same period classed to local issue we have a single letter NA
(uncertain), or the monograms Av (Allius), MA (uncertain), or AR (Aurelius)
(vol. ii., pp. 167, 170-172). No definite rule was laid down at the outset,
and this irregularity was preserved throughout the whole coinage, even when
the names were given more completely.
The various forms in which the moneyers' names are represented may
Classification be briefly classed as follows:–
of names. 1. By a single letter, which may be the initial of a nomen
or Cognomen.
2. By a monogram, which may consist of the initials of the praenomen,
nomen or cognomen, or of those of more than one name, as
H (= L. F. D.).
3. By separate letters, or partly so, as TOD (Todillus), OPEI (Opeimius),
SAR (Saranus), NAT (Natta), BA (Balbus). These appear to be
mainly Cognomina.
4. By the praenomen, nomen or cognomen, as FAVSTVS, ANNIVS,
SVFENAS.
5. By the praenomen and nomen, as L. COIL. (L. Coilius), CN . DO
(Ch. Domºtius). Sometimes the nomen may be monogrammatic,
or partly so, as C. A. (C. Allius), or L. SAVE (L. Saufeius).
6. By the praenomen and cognomen, as T. PAETVS (P. [Aelius Paetus),
T. BLAS (P. [Cornelius] Blasio).
7. By the nomen and cognomen, as AV. RV (Aurelius Rufus) or
TETILLIVS. CATITOLINVS. These seem to be the only
instances of this form on coins.
8. By the praenomen, nomen and cognomen, as NM. ATILI. SAR
(M. Atilius Saranus), SEX. TOM. FOSTLVS (Sectus Pompeius
Fostulus).
9. By the praenomen, Cognomen and agnomen, as L. SCID . ASIAG
(L. [Cornelius] Scipio Asiagenus).
10. By the praenomen, nomen, cognomen and agnomen, as T. O.VINCTIVS
CRIST INVS SVLT ICIANVS.
lxxxii INTRODUCTION
11. By the praenomen, nomen and tribal name, as L. MENAMI GAL
(Lucius Memmius Galeria), C. MARIVS C. F. TRO (C. Marius
C. f. Tromentina).
To nos. 5, 6 and 8–11 is sometimes added the patronymic initial, and also
not infrequently that of the grandfather. At first the names occur only on
the reverse.
To return to the gradual development of the moneyers' names, it will
Development be seen from the early pages of this work that down to cin c.
of names. B.C. 197 the symbols far outnumber the names, but after that
date the latter are on the increase, so that before the close of our Period III.
(B.C. 196—173) they entirely displace the former. Occasionally some
moneyers use two symbols, or a symbol and a monogram or initials, as
anchor and O. (vol. i., p. 64), Victory and P (vol. i., p. 65), bull and MO
(vol. i., p. 69), murex and TVR (vol. ii., p. 240), &c. The monograms soon
become fewer, and their place is taken by the praenomen, with the nomen or
cognomen. From B.C. 172 the names are still further extended, and the
occurrence of the praenomen, nomen and cognomen becomes not infrequent,
as on the coinages of M. Atilius Saranus, Q. Marcius Libo and L. Sempronius
Pitio, which are all of the same epoch (vol. i., pp. 92-95). There is, however,
still a strong tendency to retain the single name in an abbreviated form, but
mostly of the cognomen in separate letters, as SAR = Saranus, NAT = Natta,
and FLAVS = Flavus (vol. i., pp. 99, 101, 113). The filiation or patronymic
initial is met with for the first time in the name of C. IVNI - C - F, circ.
B.C. 172 (vol. i., p. 89). The addition of the grandfather's initial to the
patronymic is of a more recent date, circ. B.C. 82, and is first met with in
the case of A. POST. A. F. S. N. ALBIN (vol. i., p. 351). On the coinage of
L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, which may be assigned to a slightly earlier date,
circ. B.C. S8, the grandfather's initial is given without that of the father (vol. i.,
p. 251). This is a solitary instance of that form. The filiation initial occurs
very frequently throughout the whole coinage, but that of the grandfather
is exceptional. From about B.C. 150 the single name, nomen or cognomen,
disappears from general use, but the latter recurs at a later period, even
after B.C. 72, in the case of LIBO, SVFENAS, CALDVS, THILIPTVS, LONGIN,
&c. In the cases of duumvirates or triumvirates a single name may occur, as
TISO (L. Calpurnius Piso) and CAETIO (Q. Servilius Caepio) (vol. i., p. 170);
KALENI (Q. Fufii Caleni) and CORDI (Mucii Cordi) (vol. i., p. 415); or
GAR . OGVL.VER (Gargilius, Ogulnius, Vergilius) (vol. i., p. 333); and on the
small bronze coins of Augustus, for want of space, TVLCHER, TAVRVS,
REGVLVS; LANAIA, SILIVS, ANNIVS, &c. (vol. ii., pp. 75, 88). A remark-
able variety of the monogrammatic form of name is met with on the coinage of
Faustus Cornelius Sulla (B.C. 54), who gives his praenomen only in the sign *K,
NAMES OF MONEYERS lxxxiii
which suppliès a combination of all the letters of FAVSTVS (vol. i., p. 489).
It was a conceit which no other moneyer of his age thought fit to imitate.
After B.C. 49 there was an inclination towards a more uniform system,
and the moneyers usually give their three names: praenomen, nomen and cog-
nomen. Rather notable exceptions are met with in the case of P. Cornelius
Lentulus Marcellinus, who supplies his agnomen only (vol. i., p. 567), and
in that of Petillius Capitolinus (vol. i., p. 571), in whom we have a rare
instance of a nomen and cognomen without the praenomen. The uniformity
noticeable after B.C. 49 was preserved from B.C. 16 onwards, except on the
small bronze pieces already noticed. On his coins of the Roman mint
Octavius describes himself only as CAESAR DIVI F or IMT . CAESAR, and
later as AVGVSTVS or CAESAR AVGVSTVS.
In the Provinces the quaestors, legates and others followed the custom
Names on of the moneyers of Rome and Italy; and of the triumvirs
Frovincial Antony's name is represented in greater variety and irregularity
* than those of his colleagues. The Antonia gens was plebeian,
and had no cognomina, so we get only his praenomen and nomen, but more
often only his nomen, which is occasionally abbreviated into a monogram
formed of the first three letters AT. Octavius usually calls himself C. CAESAR
or CAESAR only, and later CAESAR AVGVSTVS or A /GVSTVS. His earlier
titles are varied by DIVI F or DIVI IVLI F.
Some care appears to have been exercised by Antony and Octavius in
selecting the manner in which their names should be represented, for though
each struck coins with the other's portrait, one in the East, the other in
Gaul, yet each issue gives their names differing in Some respects.
We may add that on all his own coins Julius Caesar gives his cognomen
CAESAR only, and it has already been remarked that Brutus uses both his
birth-name and that which he received by adoption.
From a general view of the list of moneyers given in the Indices it will
be seen that the most common form of representing their names is by the
praenomen, nomen and cognomen. After these in order of frequency come
the praenomen and nomen, the nomen and cognomen, the nomen or cognomen,
and lastly the full four names, praenomen, nomen, Cognomen and agnomen ;
but of this last form there are but few examples. Throughout the smallness
of the coin, together with the design, necessitated the moneyer's name being
given in a very abbreviated form.
The name of the magistrate is usually given in the nominative case;
but there are exceptions when it is found in the genitive. These last, how-
ever, do not number a dozen examples in the whole series.” The latest
* Mommsen, Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 173.
7??,
lxxxiv. INTRODUCTION
occurrence in the genitive case is not connected with the moneyers, but with
Antony. The coins bearing his portrait and that of Cleopatra, which
were struck just before the battle of Actium, give their names in this form
(vol. ii., p. 525). It is only in one instance that we meet with the name of
the moneyer in the dative case. It is that of Mn. Aemilius Lepidus, whose
coins are assigned to local issue (vol. ii., p. 291). Another instance, but not
connected with the moneyers, is to be met with on the coins of L. Pinarius
Scarpus, who, on some struck in Cyrenaica, gives his name in the nominative
case, but those of Antony and Octavius in the dative (vol. ii., pp. 583-585).
The peculiar form MEMIES on the coins of Lucius and Caius Memmius
is not plural, but a provincialism for MEMMIV.S.* As, however, Count de
Salis has assigned their issue to B.C. 87, they are given to the Roman mint
(vol. i., p. 307).
§ VII.--THE TYPES.
When discussing the origin of the bronze coinage, and those of silver
and gold, it was necessary to give some account of the early types of each
class. In the case of the bronze, owing to the many changes in its
standard of weight, the modifications in the types, which were mostly un-
important, were at the same time noted. It will therefore not be necessary
to revert to them, and our remarks will be mainly restricted to tracing in a
general way the development of the types of the silver and gold money,
more especially in connection with the former, as the latter does not make
its appearance at the Roman mint till the middle of the first century B.C.
To avoid repetition our starting-point will be from the time when the
moneyers begin to notify their identity in the form of symbols.
As the subject of the types of the Roman Republican money is one too
classification vast and complicated for us to enter into in any detail, we shall
into groups be compelled to limit ourselves to a very general and perhaps
** superficial view of this interesting feature of the coinage.
Though it is impossible to lay down any hard and fast rule, since certain
characteristics are existent throughout the whole series, the coinage of the
Republic and of the first few years of the Empire, as regards its types, seems
to fall into three chronological groups or periods. The first period will
extend from the introduction of silver and gold at the Roman mint to the
early years of the first century B.C., that is, to about the close of the Social
war B.C. 88. The types of the coinage of this period are mainly mythological,
even when relating to the family history of the moneyer. The record of a
contemporary event, or one of recent occurrence, is quite exceptional. The
Second period will include the coinage from the Social war down to the great
—º-
—r-
* Babelon, Monn. de la rép. rom., vol. ii., p. 216, note 4.
W.
TEIE TYPES lxxxv
Civil war, B.C. 49, between the parties of Pompey and Caesar. During these
years, whilst references to the history of the early ancestors of the moneyers
are still the most numerous, there is a great tendency to depict events of quite
recent or contemporary date, and even some connected with the moneyers
themselves. In the third period, which takes us from the Republic into
the Empire, contemporary events provide most of the subjects for illus-
tration, so that the coinage, more particularly that of the Provinces,
serves as a medallic history of the time. At first the moneyers, so long as
their names appear on the coins, retained their former privilege of personal
record, but from B.C. 16 it was exercised very rarely (vol. ii., p. 44).
The original type of the denarius, head of Roma and the Dioscuri, which
First Period, was also that of the early quinarius and Sestertius, remained
B.C. 268–88, unchanged during the third century B.C. (pl. viii., nos. 1-7).
The only attempt at a modification was not in connection with the actual
type, but in the addition, on the reverse, of symbols or of the initials of the
moneyers. The latter have already been dealt with in the preceding chapter.
Moneyers' What were these symbols; were they merely signs without
symbols any special meaning, or had they some particular significance 2
In connection with Greek coins there is conclusive evidence that some of
the symbols which are met with, more particularly on certain coinages,
such as those of Abdera, Corinth and Athens, are of the nature of hereditary
crests, or of some specially selected device." In the latter case the moneyer
did for himself what in the other was done for him by an ancestor. The
symbols on the Roman coins appear to be of the same character. Some
were family crests, which would be hereditary, and which would account for
their repetition at various intervals, such as the dog (Antestia gens), the
crescent (Sempronia gens), the “dolphin (Afrania gens), the gryphon (Papia
gens), the pentagon, knife, &c. Others, as Victory with wreath, Victory and
spear-head, anchor, trident, rostrum tridens, laurel-wreath, &c., may relate to
great deeds achieved by the moneyers' ancestors; whilst a third series is
of a punning nature, associated with the name of the issuer, as a hammer
(malleolus) in connection with the Poblicia gens, the adze (acísculus) with the
Valeria gens, the fly (musca) with the Sempronia gens, the deformed foot
(crassipes) with the Furia gens, the small bird (todillus) with the Todilia gens,
and the prawn (squilla) with the Licinia gens. It would be easy to cite numerous
other examples, but these are sufficient to show that all these symbols have
Some special meaning or application in connection with the moneyers.”
* Macdonald, Coin Types, p. 53 pass.
* There are two “restorations” by Trajan which illustrate the nature of these
symbols: one with the shield and carnyx is connected with the Decia gens; the other
with a female head, with the Horatia gens (see vol. ii., p. 216).
lxxxvi INTRODUCTION
The first indication of a change in the type of the denarius makes its
Diana or appearance about the beginning of the second Century B.C.,
Victory in when on the reverse Diana or Luna in a biga was substituted
*** for the Dioscuri. This type occurred first circ. B.C. 190* (vol. i.,
pp. 66, 72, pl. xix. 1, 2). About twenty years later, circ. B.C. 170, another type,
that of Victory also in a biga, was introduced (vol. i., pp. 87, 91, pl. xxi. 3).
These two types did not entirely displace that of the Dioscuri, which con-
tinued with considerable frequency. Victory in a biga may have had a general
signification, or, in the first instance, it might have had especial reference to
the victorious progress of the Roman armies at that time, more especially
in the East (vol. ii., p. 242). The same may also be said of the other
type, as Diana was much revered at Rome. Her chief temple, which
was on the slope of the Aventine, was founded by Servius Tullius for
the benefit of the Latins, who assembled there yearly to offer up their
sacrifices. It was also in B.C. 187 that the consul, M. Aemilius Lepidus,
vowed a temple to her during his campaign against the Ligurians, but this
temple was not dedicated for some years later (B.C. 179), which would be too
late to account for her appearance on the coins. A more recent identification
of this group is that of Luna,” and her presence on the coins has been
associated with a reform of the Calendar, which took place in B.C. 191 under
the provisions of the lea. Acilia de intercalatione, which was proposed by the
consul Mn. Acilius Glabrio. Since B.C. 207 the Calendar had fallen into
Some confusion, the principle of intercalation having been given up, appar-
ently a concession to the sun-god Apollo, who was supposed to have been
offended at his annual course being distorted by contamination with the
foreign lunar element.” By the lea, Acilia the intercalary months were
restored, and thus Luna was reinstated in her place in the Calendar. This
circumstance was certainly contemporary with the first appearance of this
type, but it is a question whether it was of sufficient importance to
cause such a radical change in the stereotyped design of the denarius,
and whether it is probable that a contemporary event would thus be
recorded.
The introduction of these two types had broken down the monopoly of
Increase of the Dioscuri, and the moneyers were not slow in availing
reversetypes themselves of this innovation to extend it much further, and to
make it serve their own purpose. Hitherto they had been content to mark
* Mommsen (Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., p. 182) says circ. B.C. 217, that is, at the time of
the reduction of the bronze to the uncial standard. This date, however, seems too early.
* Hill, Historical Roman Coins, p. 58, and vol. ii., p. 227.
* Unger, Zeitrechnung, in Iwan Müller's Handbuch, i.”, pp. 804 f.
THE TYPES lxxxvii
their own identity by the use of symbols or initials only. They now took a
much bolder step, and occasionally ventured to introduce designs which were
personal and which recalled the glory of their families. The earliest ex-
amples are met with soon after B.C. 150 in the coins of C. Renius, who, in
representing Juno Caprotina (vol. i., p. 121), recorded the origin of his family
in the ancient city of Lanuvium. In those of C. Curiatius Trigeminus with
Juno in a quadriga (vol. i., p. 122) we have a type not yet explained; in those
of M. Aurelius Cota with Hercules in a biga of Centaurs (vol. i., p. 128), a
probable reference to the victories of his ancestor of the same name in Spain;
in those of Cn. Gellius with Mars bearing off the goddess Nerio (vol. i.,
p. 129), a record of the Sabine origin of his family; and in those of Sextus
Pompeius Fostulus with the Wolf and Twins (vol. i., p. 131), his family
claiming descent from Faustulus, the royal shepherd of Amulius, who dis-
covered the babes at the foot of the Palatine. These new types with many
others are attributed to circ. B.C. 150—125, and their rapid increase marks
their growing popularity. The new types were, however, of a religious
character, and so far no attempt had been made to secularize them. This
bolder innovation was, however, soon to come, and circ. B.C. 125 C. Minucius
Augurinus depicted on his coins a representation of the bronze monument
which had been erected outside the Porta Trigemina to his ancestor
L. Minucius Augurinus in commemoration of his successful attempt in
B.C. 439 to avert a serious famine by lowering the price of corn to a
maximum of one as per modius (vol. i., p. 135, pl. xxvi. 15). This type was
repeated a few years later by the moneyer's son, Ti. Minucius C. f. Augurinus
(vol. i., p. 148, pl. xxvii. 16). These instances are, however, exceptional, and
for the next twenty-five years the types continue to preserve their religious
character.
The type of the Dioscuri, which had become less frequent when those of
Diana (or Luna) and Victory had been introduced, is but rarely met with after
B.C. 150, and when it does occur it usually has some personal reference
to the moneyer's family. The same may also be said of Victory in a
biga.
At the turn of the century the purely secular types reassert themselves,
and go on increasing in number as we approach the lowest limit of our first
Period. Some instances may be mentioned, as the Macedonian shield on the
coins of M. Caecilius Metellus (vol. i., p. 175, pl. xxix. 19), the horseman on
those of C. Serveilius (vol. i., p. 179, pl. xxx. 4), of M. Sergius Silus and of
L. Manlius Torquatus (vol. ii., pp. 269, 270, pl. xciii. 8-11), the flamen
quirinalis on those of N. Fabius Pictor (vol. i., p. 181, pl. xxx. 6), the scene
representing the voting in the comitium on those of P. Licinius Nerva (vol. ii.,
p. 274, pl. xciii. 15), the oath-Scene on those of Ti. Veturius Barrus (vol. ii.,
2
lxxxviii INTRODUCTION
p. 281, pl. Xciv. 4), and very many others too numerous to mention in
detail."
During the period when these constant changes were taking place in the
reverse type, that of the obverse remained unaltered with but a single excep-
tion. There were, however, certain slight modifications from time to time in
the general appearance or form of the head of Roma, in the expression of
her features, and in the shapes of the helmet and the earring, and in the
arrangement of the hair. These were the ordinary effects of time and change
of moneyers. The head of Roma, which was originally turned to the right,
is, towards the end of the Second century B.C., occasionally turned to the left, or
surrounded by a wreath. These practically constitute the only modifications.
The one exception to the rule occurred in B.C. 100 in the case of the
First changes denarius struck by the quaestors L. Calpurnius Piso and Q.
of obverse Servilius Caepio (vol. i., p. 170, pl. xxix. 12), to which we have
types. already had occasion to refer.” This was quite an epoch-making
Coin, as it marks several departures and innovations. In the first place it is the
earliest piece on which a contemporary event was recorded. It also originated
three somewhat important changes or modifications in the type, viz., a change
of the obverse design, the first occurrence of the formula EX S. C. (ea, senatus
consulto), and the use of a varying symbol to mark the issue of the dies. The
name of RoſwA was also omitted; but this was not the first instance, as it is
absent from the denarii of L. Atilius Nomentanus, issued some years before
(vol. i., p. 125). This earlier omission was more an accident.” As we know the
precise date and occasion when this denarius of the quaestors was struck we are
able to fix with accuracy the origin of these various changes, which in a very
short time became quite general. In spite of this sudden encroachment the head
of Roma still remained the prevailing obverse type. Circ. B.C. 94, however,
three moneyers, M. Caecilius Metellus, Q. Fabius Maximus and C. Serveilius,
who formed a triumvirate of the mint (vol. i., pp. 175 f., pl. xxix. 19—
pl. xxx. 5), each issued two series of denarii, one with the helmeted head
of Roma, the other with the diademed or laureate head of Apollo. The
coinage of the quaestors Piso and Caepio was a special one, that of the
triumvirate just mentioned was an ordinary one, but both gave the signal
for a departure which was quickly taken advantage of by succeeding
moneyers, so that from B.C. 91–89, besides the frequent recurrence of the
head of Roma, we have also those of the Dioscuri, Pietas, Vulcan, the Dei
Penates, Saturn, Mars, Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Hercules, Ceres and Diana.
* We have referred to some of the types on the local coinages as they are only
reflections of those used at the Roman mint.
* See above, p. lxxi.
* It is also omitted on the quinarii of T. Cloulius, B.C. 101 (vol. i., p. 167).
THE TYPES lxxxix
These occurred at the Roman mint, and similar variations will be found on
the local money. The heads were not selected at random, but in most
Cases they bear some relation to the reverse types, or are connected with the
history of the moneyers' families.
During these years, B.C. 100–88, there were no other allusions on the
reverse types to current events, if we except a few which are of doubtful
significance, such as Roma crowned by Victory or a warrior in attitude of
repose (vol. ii., pp. 306, 307, pl.xcvi., 3–7), and some others which were struck
during the Social war, and which are supposed to refer to events connected
with it, and also the coins of the Confederates themselves, which cannot,
however, be said to come quite under the same category.
There is one other point to be mentioned which seems to be more
The legend closely connected with the development of the types than with
R*MA the legends generally. It is the occurrence of the name of
RoNAA. The name of the city is not met with on the cast coins, but it is
inscribed on all those which are struck, whether of gold, silver or bronze, from
B.C. 268. On the silver it continued with the exception just mentioned till the
end of the second century B.C. Its usual place was in the exergue on the
reverse, but occasionally for want of space it was transferred to the obverse.
The first instance is on the coins of C. Minucius Augurinus, circ. B.C. 125
(vol. i., p. 135, pl. xxvi. 15), on which no room was left for it on the reverse,
the whole of the field being occupied by the design and the moneyer's name.
The next occurrence was only a few years later on the denarii of C. Numitorius
(vol. i., p. 141, pl. xxvii. 4), and again on those of Mn. Acilius Balbus, which
were almost contemporary (vol. i., p. 150, pl. xxviii. 1). It was omitted
altogether, as we have seen, on the special issue of the quaestors, Piso and
Caepio (B.C. 100), and on the coins of the quinquevirate of B.C. 92, only one
member, M. Aurelius Scaurus, recorded the name (vol. i., p. 184). From
B.C. 91 its omission became more frequent, and as an indication of the name of
the city it may be said to have ceased at the close of the Social war, and with
the issues of D. Junius Silanus and L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, B.C. 88 (vol. i.,
pp. 244 f.). Its exceptional occurrence after that date seems to connect the
name rather with the type than with the city (see coins of C. Poblicius, vol. i.,
p. 365, and of P. Satrienus, ib. p. 392). It may be laid down as a general rule
that all the denarii bearing the name of RoNAA, when it is not used to
explain the type, must be considered as anterior to the Social war, and those
which do not bear it as subsequent to B.C. 101."
The name of Roma is given on all the struck bronze from B.C. 268, with
the exception of some local coins issued towards the close of this series, and
* Mommsen (Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 166) gives the date at about B.C. 114.
XC INTRODUCTION
even at the local mints which were in operation during the third century B.C.
It was not until the passing of the lex Papiria in B.C. 89 that this custom
tends to fall into disuse.
Macdonald' has suggested that these phenomena may be explained by
connecting them with the more or less gradual cessation of the local issues.
The first issue of the denarius had been the signal for an immediate limita-
tion of the silver-producing mints in Italy. By the end of the second
century B.C. the silver coinage of Rome was in a fair way to become the
silver money of the whole world. The distinctive legend was therefore no
longer so necessary as before. With the copper coinage it was different,
because coins in that metal continued to be struck at many towns in Italy
and Sicily down to B.C. 89, when all these local mints were closed by the
effect of the lea, Plautia Papiria. The need for differentiation was over, and
the inscription on the copper money went the way of that on the silver.
These suggestions may not be without some basis; but it seems possible
to find a more immediate and nearer cause. The omission of the name of
RoNAA and the substitution of the head of some other divinity for that of
Roma on the obverse are distinct characteristics of the coinage of B.C. 91,
which was the year of the tribunate of M. Livius Drusus, who fought so
persistently for the removal of the burdens which oppressed the Allies of
Rome in Italy, who were clamouring for the extension of the franchise. It is
possible that these changes in the types of the coinage, which included the
omission of the name of Roma, may therefore have been due to a discreet
policy of the Senate not to bring too vividly before the Allies the dominant
position which Rome at that time held, and which she was not willing to
relinquish.
Passing on to our second Period, it will be seen that for some time the
Period II, types of the coins retained their earlier characteristics, most of
circ. B.C. the moneyers recording events of somewhat remote times. It
*1–59 is only very gradually, and at first almost imperceptibly, that
we are able to trace any reference to occurrences of a more recent date,
but as with the legends, when once it began it soon developed. In
B.C. 81 there are two types for which no satisfactory explanation in connec-
tion with the family history of the moneyers has been found. One is that
of Hercules and the Nemean lion on the coins of C. Poblicius (vol. i., p. 365,
pl. xli. 1), and Victory in a triga on those of C. Naevius Balbus (vol. i., p. 366,
pl. xli. 2). It is therefore possible that both these types relate to the events
of the preceding year, when Sulla overcame the remnants of the party of
Marius and Cinna at the battle outside the Colline gate. Eckhel” was of
* Coin Types, p. 185. * Doct. num. vet., t. v., p. 212.
THE TYPES xci
opinion that the coins of L. Farsuleius Mensor, with the bust of Libertas on
the obverse, and Roma assisting a togate figure into her car (vol. i., p. 402,
pl. xlii. 18), allude to the passing of the lea: Julia, which granted the
franchise to some of the Italian states. The type, however, may relate to
the recent struggle between the Marian and Sullan parties.
These instances are both doubtful and conjectural; but from B.C. 72 the
Recent or coinage is rich in allusions to recent or contemporary history. '
contemporary So numerous are the instances that we are compelled to confine
events our references to a few only of the more striking examples. One
* of the earliest is that of the coinage of Mn. Aquillius, B.C. 72
(vol. i., p. 416, pl. xliii. 6), which Gommemorates the success of his grandfather,
Mn. Aquillius, in Sicily about thirty years previously, i.e. in B.C. 101. In like
manner C. Coelius Caldus, who was a triumvir of the mint circ. B.C. 61, recalls
the conquests in Spain of his grandfather, and the various public offices filled
by his father and uncle (vol. i., pp. 474, 475, pl. xlvii. 22, 23). M. Nonius
Sufenas in B.C. 63 records the inauguration of the Ludi Victoriae Sullanae by
his father, B.C. 81, and he illustrates the event with a representation of Roma
crowned by Victory and the legend ludos Victoriae primus fecit (vol. i., p. 470,
pl. xlvii. 17); and in the following year Faustus Cornelius Sulla pays a similar
tribute to his father in depicting on the reverse of his coins the submission of
Bocchus, king of Mauretania, and the capture of Jugurtha, king of Numidia,
a device which the elder Sulla had caused to be engraved on his signet-ring
(vol. i., p. 471, pl. xlvii. 18). A few years later, B.C. 54, when Faustus Sulla
was quaestor, he was invested with a special authority to issue coins, probably
to meet the expense of a largess of corn. On these he commemorates the
triumphs of his father-in-law, Pompey the Great, by the representation of
three trophies, his victories in the three Continents by three wreaths and
the head of Hercules, and the dedication of the temple to Venus by Pompey
in B.C. 55 by the bust of that divinity (vol. i., pp. 489, 490, pl. xlviii.
22, 23).
A limited number of the moneyers record events connected with their
own history. Of these we have an example in the coins of M. Aemilius
Scaurus, who commemorated the defeat of the Nabathean Arabs and the
surrender of their king, Aretas. This event occurred in B.C. 62–60, and the
coins were struck only two years later, when, as curule aedile, Scaurus
superintended the public games at Rome (vol. i., p. 483, pl. xlviii. 13, 14).
A perhaps more striking instance is that in connection with the coins of
P. Licinius Crassus, which are assigned to B.C. 55, and to which reference has
already been made (see above, p. lxxiii). Here we appear to have a Con-
temporary type, which commemorates the arrival of Crassus in Rome with
his troop of 1000 Gaulish horsemen which he had raised for service in the
70,
xcii INTRODUCTION
East. On the reverse is shown either himself or one of his troop, and on
the obverse the bust of Venus, a compliment to Julius Caesar, under whom
Crassus had been serving in Gaul (vol. i., p. 487, pl. xlviii. 20).
Of coins recording contemporary events, the most remarkable series
which come within our middle period are those which were issued in the
Provinces, in Spain, Gaul and the East (vol. ii., pp. 352 f., 388 f. and 459 f.).
In Spain C. Annius Luscus and Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius, the proconsuls,
use types personal to themselves, and the quaestor, Cn. Cornelius Lentulus
Marcellinus, illustrates the great deeds of his kinsman Sulla. In Gaul
C. Valerius Flaccus also refers to his victories in that province and in
Spain; and in the East we have the remarkable coins of Sulla recording
his recent victories at Chaeroneia and Orchomenos, his splendid triumph at
Rome, and the honours paid to him by the Senate. It is mainly in fact to
the Provincial coinages, as we shall see later, that we must turn for the record
of contemporary events.
Another form of type is that of a canting or punning character. This
Canting we have already met with in the case of the moneyers'
types, symbols. These types parlants, to which the Romans were
specially partial, and which the nature of the coinage favoured, begin to
show themselves at quite an early period, and they are fairly constant
throughout the whole series, even down to the time of the moneyers who
served under Augustus. One of the earliest instances is that of L. Appuleius
Saturninus, who depicts Saturn in a quadriga (vol. i., p. 216, pl. xxxi. 14).
L. Thorius Balbus gives a bull (vol. i., p. 225, pl. xxxi. 22), C. Vibius Pansa,
the mask of Pan (vol. i., p. 295, pl.xxxvi. 17), L. Lucretius Trio, a crescent
moon, surrounded by seven stars (Septem Triomes) (vol. i., p. 396, pl. xlii. 11),
L. Plaetorius Cestianus, an athlete holding a caestus (vol. i., p. 404, pl. xlii.
20), and Q. Pomponius Musa, representations of Hercules Musagetes and
the nine Muses (vol. i., p. 441 f., pl. xlv. 13–23). Of those which occur
at a later period may be mentioned the calf, witulus, on the coins of Q.
Voconius Vitulus (vol. i., p. 591, pl. lviii. 13-16) and the flower on those of
L. Aquillius Florus (vol. ii., p. 70, pl. lxvii. 2). The character of these allu-
sions is often somewhat far-fetched, and has led to a considerable amount
of misdirected conjecture in the solution of many of the types. Their
prevalence, however, is a strong testimony to the popularity of the
principle.”
The development of the obverse type was not so marked as that of the
Earliest form reverse during the first half of the first century B.C. This was
of Portraiture, due to the fact that this face of the coin was reserved for
* Macdonald, Coin Types, p. 188.
TEIE TYPES xciii
representations of a head or bust. The variations which were introduced
early in the century continued, the old type of the head of Roma having
Quite disappeared. At first the obverse type consisted as before of the bust
of Some divinity, in most cases connected either with the reverse design or
else relating in some way to the personal history of the moneyer. Some of
the moneyers, however, who were members of the patrician families went
one step further and extolled the antiquity of their descent by supplying
imaginary portraits of their supposed ancestors. It is on this account that
We find the head of Tatius on the coins of L. Titurius Sabinus and T. Vettius
Sabinus, who claimed to be of Sabine origin; of Numa Pompilius and Ancus
Marcius on those of the Marcii; of Numa Pompilius on those also of
Cn. Calpurnius Piso, the gens claiming descent from Calpus, the son of
• Numa; of Quirinus (Romulus) on coins of C. Memmius, whose family was
connected with the founder of Rome through the Trojan Menestheus; of
Fontus, the son of Janus, on those of C. Fonteius. The moneyers were,
however, not long content to seek subjects for illustration of so early a
period; but as the reverse types began to lessen the distance of time, so
those of the obverse revealed gradually the same characteristic, and the
moneyers proceeded to figure their less remote ancestors who had won
glory in the service of their country. As early as B.C. 91 Cn. Cornelius
Blasio introduced a portrait of his illustrious ancestor Cornelius Scipio
Africanus the Elder, who was claimed as a kinsman by all branches of the
Cornelia gens, but more especially by the moneyer, whose grandfather had
acted as praetor under Scipio in Sicily (vol. ii., p. 294, pl. Xciv. 16). This
was, however, an exceptional instance, and it is not till some years later that
this family type becomes more frequent. To a somewhat remote period belong
also the representations of the portraits of L. Junius Brutus and C. Servilius
Ahala, on the denarii of Q. Caepio Brutus (vol. i., p. 480, pl. xlviii. 9); of the
tribune Servius Sulpicius Rufus, famous for his relief of Tusculum, on those
of his descendant L. Servius Rufus (vol. i., p. 566, pl. lv. 15); of M. Claudius
Marcellus, the most illustrious of the Marcelli, who was consul five times,
on those of P. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus (vol. i., p. 567, pl. lv. 16), and
many others. Of a more recent date are the portraits of C. Coelius Caldus,
Q. Pompeius Rufus, Sulla, C. Antius Restio, Aulus Postumius Albinus,
L. Livineius Regulus, and Quintus Arrius, which are figured by their own sons
or grandsons, but amongst all these types no allusion is made to a living
Person who was contemporary with the issue of the coin. These are historical
memorials and do not affect to be true portraiture." The only exceptions
to the general rule, if indeed they can be termed exceptions, are the
* Babelon, Monn, de la rép, rom., Introd., p. xlviii.
xciv INTRODUCTION
representations of Sulla and Pompey in their triumphal chariots (pl. cx. 5-10,
13), but these do not directly concern portraiture, as they commemorated an
actual event as much as an individual.
From B.C. 50 we may be said to enter on a new phase of the Roman
Period III., coinage, especially in connection with its types. It is a time
after B.C. 50, which witnessed the revival of the Provincial coinages, West
and East, in a more complete and lasting form than previously. The types of
these Provincial coins are mainly records of contemporary events, as we have
shown in dealing with these issues under their respective Provinces. They
form a pictorial history which carries us over a period of nearly twenty years,
during which time the fate of the State practically hung in the balance. In
the West the coins assigned to Spain, Sicily and Africa are records of the
long struggle between the Pompeians and Caesarians. In Gaul they relate -
to the triumvirate and the later campaigns of Augustus, and in the East we
have an almost complete record of all the important events from the battle
of Pharsalus to the decisive action at Actium, and later of the exploits of
Octavius, first as Imperator and then as Augustus. The scene in the East
closes with the restoration of the Parthian standards and the conquest of
Armenia. It is only occasionally and on the earlier pieces of this extensive
series that the moneyers refer to events connected either with themselves or
with their family history.
At the Roman mint much the same happened. On his arrival in B.C. 49
Caesar struck coins illustrating in their types his recent campaigns in Gaul
(pl. xlix. 12-16), and so did the special moneyers of that year, D. Postumius
Albinus Brutus and C. Vibius Pansa (vol. i., pp. 507 f, pl. xlix. 17; pl. l. 6),
both of whom, however, combine with these types others of a personal
nature. The moneyers followed the former usage, but intermixed with
their personal types those recording contemporary events. The triumphs
of Caesar in B.C. 46–45 are commemorated on the ordinary as well
as on the special issues, but none relate directly to the death of the
Dictator.
The most important innovation of this time was the introduction of
Introduction portraiture of living persons. We have shown how portraiture,
of true like the moneyers' names and like the types, had gradually
*** developed during the previous thirty years by the representation
first of personages of the mythical age, by imaginary portraits of remote
ancestors of the moneyers, and lastly by those of their grandfathers and
fathers. The sanctity of the obverse type had at length been secularized
like that of the reverse, and it needed only one step further to bring the
designs on both faces of the coin into line. This step was accomplished by
the Senate itself, when in B.C. 44 it ordered that the portrait and effigy of
THE TYPES XCV
Caesar should be placed on the coinage.” Caesar was now to occupy a place
which hitherto had been reserved for divinities or for the great heroes of the
past (pl. liv. 4-21).”
What may have been the actual intention at this time of the Senate in
granting this exceptional honour to Caesar is a little uncertain. Is it to be
considered as a mark of royalty, of divinity, or of perpetual imperatorship 2
Dion Cassius (loc. cit.) in enumerating the honours which the Senate had
heaped upon the Dictator divides them into three groups: (i) those which
assured to him in perpetuity the military imperatorship and the title of
Dictator, and the honours of a triumph; (ii) those which conferred on him the
censorship for life and the inviolability of the tribunitian power; and (iii) those
which invested him with the outward signs of royalty which had not hitherto
been accorded to any Roman citizen. As the right of placing his effigy on
the coinage was included in the first group of honours and not in the last,
it was a formal recognition of his position as the chief personage in the
State, not in the sense so much of Saat?ews as of Imperator and Dictator.”
This seems to explain itself by the fact that within a few months after the
death of Caesar the veiled head of Antony, in his capacity of augur, was
placed on the coins (vol. i., p. 550, pl. liv. 23). It may be presumed that
this could only have been done under a special order of the Senate, which
could not have been intended to confer on Antony any regal or divine
distinction, but only to demonstrate that he also was capable of taking
over the guidance of public affairs at a critical moment. Within a few
months of receiving this honour Antony was declared the enemy of the
Republic.
As soon as the triumvirate was formed Antony revived the honour that
had been bestowed on him, and struck in Gaul a series of coins bearing not
only his own portrait, but also those of his colleagues, Lepidus and Octavius.
This happened within a few months of both Antony and Octavius assuming
the title of Imperator. Henceforward the obverse types of the coinages of
the triumvirs struck in their respective provinces show their portraits. This
policy was not confined to those who undertook the task of avenging the dead
Caesar, and who might be regarded to some extent as his political heirs;
but it was participated in also by those of the Republican party who had,
directly or indirectly, compassed his death, amongst whom were Sextus
Tºompey, Labienus, and even Brutus himself.”
Dion Cassius, xliv. 4.
Macdonald, Coin Types, p. 193.
Fr. Lenormant, La Mon. dans l’Ant., vol. ii., p. 330.
Macdonald, Coin Types, p. 194.
4.32I
xcvi INTRODUCTION
After the death of Caesar the types of the coins of the Roman mint
resumed their former characteristics as records of the family
history of the moneyers, and it was not until B.C. 39, according
to Count de Salis's view, that public recognition of the power of the
triumvirs was recorded on the coinage of the Roman mint in the form of
their portraits. Even these were exceptional. The increasing influence of
Octavius in Italy, more especially at Rome, is nowhere more vividly illus-
trated than on the coinage of the capital. Within two years his portrait
alone is retained, those of his colleagues being excluded, and in the year of
the battle of Naulochus all signs of republicanism disappear from the state
money, and the types, both obverse and reverse, are devoted to the sole
honour and glorification of Octavius, even to the exclusion of all reference to
the moneyers by name or type.
When for a short period from B.C. 16 the names of the moneyers recur,
the coinage retains its imperial character, and the types recall the great
deeds of the Emperor. Now and then a moneyer would make an attempt to
individualize his types, but it is evident from their rare occurrence that he
was allowed but little scope in that direction.
In the preceding pages our remarks on the types have been mainly
confined to the coinages of the Roman mint, and to those which were issued
outside Rome but in Italy. The types of the Provincial coins, which mostly
refer to contemporary and local events, have been somewhat fully dealt with
in the chapter on each series, to which we must refer the reader.
Latest types.
§ VIII.-ART AND FABRIC.
As Count de Salis has in a great measure based his classification of the
Toman Republican coinage, more especially that of the early period, on style
and fabric, a few remarks on this subject may not be considered superfluous.
In a work like the present it would be out of place to supply a treatise
on the elements of Roman art, as it was displayed during the three centuries
preceding the Christian era, or to discuss its merits or demerits. That at an
early period the Romans were not in themselves artists nor showed any
original idea of art is quite admissible, but that they were devoid of any
appreciation of art, and were indifferent to its effect and charm, would be
making an assertion which it would not be possible to substantiate. We
have only to turn to ancient authors who supply abundant evidence to the
contrary.
The art which Rome practised was, however, not original. Its chief
IEarly sources were Etruscan and Greek. It began with the former
Roman art, but soon passed into the latter; not to any great extent, how-
ART AND FABRIC xcvii
ever, till Rome had come into close touch with the treasures of Greece and
the luxuries of the East. Though in Italy her neighbours were Greeks, who
produced some of the finest objects of antiquity, both glyptic and numismatic,
which have descended to us, Rome does not seem to have been influenced by
these, or else in the fourth century of her existence she would not have pro-
duced such a clumsy medium of exchange as her aes grave, and forced its
adoption on her colonies and on those districts over which she exercised a
species of suzerainty. It was to Greek influence outside Italy that Roman
art owes its origin, and opportunities were not wanting to encourage this taste.
Pliny’ in mentioning the high prices paid for silver plate, and how
Caius Gracchus possessed some silver dolphins, for which he paid at the rate
of 5000 sesterces per pound, and how Lucius Crassus, the orator, had paid for
two goblets, chased by the hand of the artist Mentor, 100,000 sesterces, adds,
“it was the conquest of Asia that first introduced luxury into Italy, for we
find that Lucius Scipio in his triumphal procession exhibited one thousand
four hundred pounds' weight of chased silver, with golden vessels, the weight
of which amounted to one thousand five hundred pounds. This took place in
the year from the foundation of the City, 565 (= B.C. 189).” Only five years
later the censor, M. Porcius Cato, bitterly inveighed against the prevailing
taste of the Romans for Greek art, and he denounced the Syracusan statues
brought to Rome, and expressed forcibly his contempt of those who admired
the artistic productions of Corinth and Athens in preference to the homely
clay decorations of the Roman temples.”
When the successful generals returned from Greece, they brought with
them vast quantities of statues to grace their triumphs and the City. On the
first day of the triumph of Aemilius Paullus, for his conquest of Macedon,
there were exhibited the images, paintings and colossal statues taken from
the enemy, and conveyed in two hundred and fifty chariots.” Pliny also
relates that Mummius, on his return from Achaia, filled the City with statues,
“he who at his death was destined not to leave his daughter a dowry.”
When Sulla, too, returned from the East, he brought with him the spoils of
Greece, which included gold and silver vessels, numerous statues, and other
works of art, and so did Pompey at a slightly later date." Towards the end of
the Republic the flow of importation continued even on a larger scale, so that
Bome became a store-city of artistic objects of all classes.
The Greek character of Roman art at the time of Augustus was
* Hist. Nat., xxxiii. 11, 53.
* Mrs. A. Strong, Roman Sculpture, pp. 26 f.; Livy, lib. xxxiv. 4, 4.
* Plutarch, Aemilius Paullus, 32. * Hist. Nat., xxxiv. 7, 17.
* Pliny, Hist. Nat., xxxiii. 1, 5.
xcviii INTRODUCTION
therefore not a sudden apparition, but a growth, which had long been
fostered and encouraged by the presence of works of art then existing in
the capital.
We may now turn to the coins and see if they illustrate this growth of
art in Italy. We have already remarked (see above, p. xliv) that the silver
coins which were first struck in Rome in B.C. 268, exhibit in their style and
execution an amount of artistic skill which would not be looked for in those
who had made the moulds for the aes grave." To account for this it has
been suggested that in the manufacture of the dies Rome had enlisted the
services of artists from other cities which for centuries had issued money
in silver, of fine workmanship; amongst them being Capua, Naples and
Tarentum. The head of Roma is in high relief and carefully modelled; the
features, though failing in the anatomical lines, are well outlined, and the round
helmet with its triple visor and gryphon-shaped crest, fits in well with the cir-
cumference of the coin (pl. viii. 1-7). The reverse type is rather a contrast
to that of the obverse; for here the artist has somewhat failed. The horses are
not real; their action displays a certain amount of vigour, but it is absolutely
wanting in life, and it is unnatural. If we compare this design with the
horsemen on the then current coins of Tarentum, the difference of execution is
at once apparent. It was these early Roman types which were at first copied
by the local moneyers, and in their reproductions the crudeness of design is
accentuated (pl. lxxviii.-lxxxi.). The local artists were probably Romans, and
their coins may serve as typical examples of Roman art at that time.
The standard of execution exhibited on these early pieces was not long.
maintained, and by the time that we reach the second stage of the coinage of
our first period (circ. B.C. 240), when the bronze money was reduced to the
sextantal standard, there was a visible falling-off in the artistic merit of the
silver money (pl. xii. 4-8; xiii. 1-5). It is very possible that at this time
the foreign artists had left the city, or had died, and the making of the dies
was now entrusted to native workmen. There was, however, soon a revival,
and we get fair copies of the originals; but they are in lower relief, and the
form of the head of Roma undergoes a material change. The features are
straighter but still retain some expression; the helmet passes into one with
the visor peaked, and the hair, which at first was thick and spread, is carefully
arranged in three or four symmetrical locks (pl. xiii. 6-11). The reverse
does not undergo any distinctive change. *
After B.C. 200 for the next 50 years, i.e. to circ. B.C. 150, there is but
slight change in the fabric and style of the silver coins. The head of Roma
* We shall base our observations on the denarius principally, as the issues of the
other pieces were of too sporadic a nature.
ART AND FABRIC xcix
loses its realistic character and assumes a more pseudo-archaistic one. The
variations are so slight that, were it not for certain small changes in the form
of the earring, the arrangement of the hair of Roma, and the development of
the moneyers' names, it would be almost impossible to arrange the issues
chronologically (pl. xiv.-xxv.)." In this respect the money of Rome may be
compared with that of Athens in its later stage. At first marked variations
in style, more especially in connection with the head of Athene on the
obverse, render it possible to classify the Athenian coins in various periods;
but when it assumed a more stereotyped form, i.e. after B.C. 200, a chronological
classification of the coinage would be almost impossible, were it not for the
magistrates' names and symbols, which are additional to the reverse type of
the owl. The introduction of new types on the reverse of the Roman denarius
did not evoke much additional skill; but yet the workmanship is on the
whole pleasing, and it cannot be said that the coinage does not possess some
artistic merit.
The next period of fifty years, B.C. 150–100, is one of a gradual decline,
Decline of and by the close of the second century B.C. Roman art, so
Art. far as it is illustrated by the coins, passed into a much lower
level.” The head of Roma begins after B.C. 150 to lose its symmetry of
form; it gradually becomes less realistic, and continually shows a coarse-
ness of design which sometimes reaches almost a caricature (pl. xxv.-xxix.).
It is in low relief, and usually more spread, so that it covers nearly the
whole of the field of the coin. The letters of the legend, which had till
then been neatly and carefully engraved, show a certain amount of
carelessness of execution, being larger and often irregularly placed. The
pictorial nature of the reverse types is often marred by severity of outline.
All the engraver seemed desirous of effecting was to supply a picture or
Scene, the minute details and finish of which he did not consider worth
careful treatment, or they were beyond his skill of execution. Examples
may be seen in the coins of Sextus I’ompeius Fostulus (vol. i., p. 131,
pl. xxvi. 6), and on those of C. Minucius Augurinus (vol. i., p. 135, pl. xxvi.
15); of P. Calpurnius (vol. i., p. 140, pl. xxvii. 3); and of Q. Caecilius
Metellus (vol. i., p. 156, pl. xxviii. 18).
At the beginning of the first century B.C. the Roman coinage enters
Revival of on a somewhat new phase as regards fabric and style. At first
Art. the types show the same lack of artistic merit; but soon a
change sets in, which is specially noticeable in the issues of the moneyers,
* We shall notice these minor changes a little more in detail in chapter xi. on the
chronological view of the coinage (see below, p. cxvii. f.).
* This degradation is much more marked on the local issues (see pl.xcii.).
G INTRODUCTION
M. Caecilius Metellus, Q. Fabius Maximus and C. Serveilius (vol. i., pp. 175 f.,
pl. xxix. 19-20; pl. xxx. 1, 2, 4, 5). These moneyers issued two series
of coins; one with a peculiar-shaped head of Roma in high relief, the features
rigid and unrealistic, which was copied from previous coinages of the time
(pl. xxix. 13, 14, 16-18); the other with the head of Apollo in high relief,
his hair arranged in thick conventional locks. This second type is rather
characteristic of later issues; but the two series are so unequal in point of
execution that, were it not for the similarity of the reverse types, they might
be considered to be of different epochs.”
As the types, both obverse and reverse, now show such constant
variation, it is not easy to follow up the differences in style; but from about
B.C. 91 to circ. B.C. 70 more attention was paid to detail in the designs than
previously. The fabric also varies considerably, and is very irregular. Some
of the types, more especially those of the obverse, are in low relief, as seen
on the coins of Mn. Fonteius (vol. i., p. 192, pl. xxx. 16), of L. Sentius (vol. i.,
p. 227, pl. xxxii. 2), of C. Marcius Censorinus (vol. i., p. 301, pl. xxxvii. 10),
and of L. Julius Bursio (vol. i., p. 324, pl. xxxviii. 16). Others are in
mezzo-rilievo; for example, those of M. Herennius (vol. i., p. 195, pl. XXX.
19), of L. Memmius Galeria (vol. i., p. 204, pl. xxxi. 5), of C. Fabius (vol. i.,
p. 222, pl. xxxi. 19), and of C. Vibius C. f. Pansa (vol. i., p. 289, pl.xxxvi.
6); whilst others are in high relief, as those of L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi
(vol. i., p. 251, pla. xxxiii., xxxiv.), of C. Mamilius Limetanus (vol. i., p. 343,
pl. xl. 9), and of C. Norbanus (vol. i., p. 347, pl. xl. 12). A fourth series shows
a considerable want of skill on the part of the die-engravers. This is
specially noticeable in the issues of C. Coilius Caldus (vol. i., p. 212,
pl. xxxi. 12), of L. Thorius Balbus (vol. i., p. 225, pl.xxxi. 22), and of D. Junius
Silanus (vol. i., p. 244, pl. xxxii. 14). It would be easy to give many more
examples in illustration, but from those mentioned it will be seen that these
differences in fabric were quite irregular, and that no particular style was
peculiar to one period or to one series of issues. From the point of view of
fabric the coins are, therefore, of little help in following up the sequence of the
issues, and again were it not that at this particular time we have the evidence
of finds, certain changes in the standard of the bronze money, the re-issue of
the as of the uncial standard, and the suspension of the bronze currency, it
would have been almost impossible to evolve a chronological classification
from this mass of material.”
* This was the opinion of Mommsen; see vol. i., p. 176, note.
* A notable feature of the coinage of this time was the serration of the edge of the
denarius. Particulars of this process and its duration will be found in vol. i., pp. 159,
411.
ART AND FABRIC ci
The period of fine art as applicable to the Republican coins may be said
Period of to extend from circ. B.C. 70–50. The denarius of this time
fine style arrived at a point of finish and execution which is quite
exceptional. It would almost appear as if an entirely new set of die-
engravers were employed at Rome, who vied with each other in the ex-
cellence of workmanship. Whether they were imported from Greece there
is no direct evidence, but it was about this time that there existed more
intimate relations with the East on account of the war with Mithradates of
Pontus. Pliny’ tells us of the numerous treasures of the East which Pompey
displayed at his third triumph in B.C. 61. These consisted of golden statues of
Minerva, Mars and Apollo, a jewelled portrait of himself, thirty-three crowns
adorned with pearls, a square mountain of gold with stags and lions upon it,
and vases and cups and all kinds of eating utensils in murrhine. The display
of all these fine works no doubt engendered an artistic feeling, which to some
degree is reflected in the coinage. More attention was now devoted to
minute finish and detail, and to the delicate rendering of the obverse type,
more especially of the female head. Amongst the more remarkable instances
are the coins of M. Plaetorius Cestianus (vol. i., p. 436, pl. xlv. 1-4), with the
bust of Ceres showing her head ornamented with the flower of the poppy, her
hair confined within a silken bag, and curled over the forehead; of Q. Pom-
ponius Musa (vol. i., p. 442, pl. xlv. 14-23), with the laureate head of Apollo,
with loose locks of hair gracefully arranged above the forehead and orna-
mented at the side with a species of jewel; and of Faustus, the son of Sulla
(vol. i., p. 471, pl. xlvii. 18), with the elaborately designed bust of Diana,
having profuse jewelry in her hair and about her neck, and delicate drapery
Over her shoulders. Of all the coins in the Republican series none
excel these and a few of the later issues of Q. Cassius (head of Vesta), of
P. Licinius Crassus (bust of Venus), and of C. Memmius (head of Ceres).
In the earlier part of this period some of the coins show the high relief of the
obverse type, a marked characteristic of the preceding series. This may be
said to have reached a climax in the coinage of C. Calpurnius Piso Frugi,
with the head of Apollo (vol. i., pp. 450 f., pl. xlvi. 13–24; pl. xlvii. 1-15).
Here it quite abruptly ceases, and from that time the obverse type is in
mezzo-rilievo. It has been suggested (vol. i., p. 451) that this almost sudden
cessation of the high relief may have been due to two causes: either as rendering
the coin more convenient for currency and less liable to detrition, or to save
labour in the actual striking of it. A piece with the design in high relief
would, in the process of striking, require double the number of blows necessary
for one in low relief.
(
* Hist. Nat., xxxvii. 2, 6.
cii INTRODUCTION
This improvement in the artistic nature of the coins was fairly preserved
during the time that the moneyers retained their names on the coins, that is,
till B.C. 37. At first a somewhat lower relief was introduced, and in Con-
sequence the character of the design lost some of its force. In the case of the
female head, we get the same highly decorative form, but the chief character-
istic of the coinage from B.C. 44 is portraiture of living persons, and we may
point to these likenesses as exhibiting the best examples of artistic skill
which the die-engravers could put forth. The portraits of Julius Caesar and
subsequently those of the triumvirs are full of expression and true to life.
These portraits compare very favourably with the early ones found on the
coins of Macedon and Egypt, in spite of their being often in low relief In
that of Julius Caesar there is a decided attempt to treat the head from an
anatomical point of view, and in all cases a true likeness was arrived at and
obtained. The same can also be said of the truly artistic pieces struck by
Octavius from B.C. 36, first as Imperator and later as Augustus. Some of the
earlier pieces, those on which Octavius is given the titles of “Caesar Divi f.”
and “Imp. Caesar’’ (pl. lix.-lx.), are not inferior in technique to the gem-
engravers' productions of that period. The uniformity of style of these coins
and of those of the early Empire seems to point to the fact that the die-
engravers at Rome were native artists, and were not imported from Greece or
elsewhere.
It was at this time, but more especially during the years of the trium-
virate, that the coins of Roman types and standard were struck in the
Provinces. In dealing with those of Gaul and the East we have remarked on
their chief characteristics of fabric and style, more especially in connection
with portraiture; in the one case it is in high relief, in the other it is in low
relief. On comparison it will be seen that, in the case of the coins struck in
Spain, Sicily and Africa, there is an individuality of style which marks each
series. The differences are not easy to describe, and to do so would be rather
outside our subject. These characteristics can best be judged by examining
the plates of illustrations.
§ IX. —EPIGRAPHY, ORTHOGRAPHY, &c.
The question of Epigraphy and Orthography in connection with the early
Roman coinage has been so fully and ably discussed and explained by
Mommsen that any remarks which may here be offered will add but little
that is new. The few points which will be noticed are mostly those which
bear upon the chronology of the coinage.
* Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., pp. 187 f.
EPIGRAPHY AND ORTHOGRAPHY ciii
The letter A shows more variations in the early stage of the coinage
than any other one of the alphabet. This was probably due
to its form, which lent itself to variation. This concerned,
however, only one stroke out of the three of which it is composed. The
various forms are A, A, A, A, A and A. On the early coinage the first
three forms are the most usual, and continue so till the end of the third
century B.C. A is also the only one which is met with on the first gold issue.
These variations occur mostly in the inscription Roma. In the moneyers'
names and monograms A and A are the more frequent, as C. A., CVX-, VAO, W,
&c. From circ. B.C. 196 A, A and A are almost exclusively used in Roma, but
there is soon a tendency to give preference to A, and by the time that the
middle of the century is reached it has quite superseded all the other forms.
It is interesting to follow the variations of this letter, which, from a chrono-
logical view in connection with the coinage, are of some importance.” At
a later period during the triumvirate and early Empire A for A not infrequently
occurs; but this is only a provincialism, and is mostly limited to the coinages
of Antony and Octavius (as Caesar and Augustus) struck in the East. The
Greek form. A has no chronological interest. It is met with occasionally at
an early stage of the coinage. The same moneyer sometimes uses A or A
indiscriminately, as SAR or SAR (vol. i., p. 99), C. AL or C. KL (vol. i., p. 102),
A or Å (vol. ii., p. 232), and later, GAR or GAR (vol. i., pp. 333-334), and at
a still later date in the East it is used by Mark Antony on his cistophori
(vol. ii., pp. 502, 503).
G, with the line of differentiation rising perpendicularly from the right-
hand corner, and terminating in a head scarcely perceptible, preserves its
form without variation till quite the end of the Republic, except for an occa-
sional C, which is only the result of carelessness of the die-engraver. On the
coinage of Antony in the East, more especially the legionary pieces, it
assumes various forms, as G, G, G, 9 and C (vol. ii., pp. 527 f.). Some of these
cursive forms found their way into Italy, and they are occasionally seen
on pieces of the Roman mint during the early years of Augustus (vol. ii.,
pp. 20, 25, 30, 31, 35, 36).
l, prolonged above the line to indicate a long I, dates from about the time
of Sulla, when it represented to some extent the more ancient El (see below).
Though not unusual in inscriptions, it occurs only twice on coins previous to
the Empire, viz. on denarii with the name of M. Calidius (vol. ii., p. 255), and
on those of P. Accoleius Lariscolus (vol. i., p. 569). Under the Empire it is
seen not infrequently on the bronze coins of the moneyers in CIVIS and DIVl
Letters.
* Mommsen (Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 188) did not quite agree on this point, for he
remarks, “la forme A ne peut servir à fixer la date des monnaies.”
civ INTRODUCTION
(vol. ii., p. 57, pass.), and on denarii of Augustus of a slightly earlier date
struck in the East (vol. ii., pp. 549, 550).
k in the legends is only placed before A, as in the names Kalenus
(vol. i., p. 415) and Palikanus, who was a moneyer of the time of Caesar
(vol. i., p. 517). It not infrequently occurs as a mint-mark (vol. i., p. 221),
in the latter case sometimes in conjunction with the vowels A, E, I, O, V
(vol. i., p. 330). k with the transverse lines short belongs to the period of the
Republic and early Empire. After the first century A.D. it is found with one
or both transverse lines lengthened."
The archaic form V is practically the only one met with on the coins of
the third century B.C., and of the early part of the next one. It occurs on
the coins of Luceria (vol. ii., pp. 179 f.), and also in monograms, as C. A.
(vol. i., p. 34), T (vol. i., p. 65), VA, (vol. i., p. 69), H2, together with H.
(vol. i., p. 70). After B.C. 172 L is occasionally substituted for V, when we
have C. Al (vol. i., p. 102), C.T.R. LVC (vol. i., p. 103), and T. BLAS (vol. i.,
p. 104). It becomes more frequent during B.C. 150–125, and by the end of
the century has entirely superseded the older form.
O in the early period is very much smaller than the other letters, as
with the Greek alphabet. From the time of Sulla it is, however, made equal
in size, and when the smaller one occurs it is only an accident.
T' with the square top is essentially early. At the beginning of the
second century B.C. it is modified into T, but the two forms run concurrently
down to the middle of that century, when the archaic one disappears. If it
is met with after that date it has no chronological significance. The closed
P is abnormal, and is due in most cases to careless or crude workmanship on
the part of the die-engravers, as in the case of the aurei struck at the
triumphs of Julius Caesar in B.C. 46 by A. Hirtius (vol. i., p. 526, no. 4054),
and in B.C. 45 by L. Munatius Plancus (vol. i., p. 537, no. 4118), and on the
bronze coins of the same time of C. Clovius and Q. Oppius (vol. i., pp. 539, 541),
and also on the provincial issues of Antony in the East (vol. ii., pp. 494, 495),
and on those of Sextus Pompey in Sicily (vol. ii., pp. 561, 563).
T, like I, was sometimes elongated, and rises above the other letters, but
this is only for reasons of space (vol. ii., p. 59, pass.). In inscriptions it is not
met with till the beginning of the seventh century A.U.C., and in the Imperial
period the usage is very common.”
V is sometimes substituted for Y when the word is of Greek origin, as
Upsae, Hypsaeus (vol. i., pp. 476, 483), Sibylla (vol. i., p. 432), where we
get also Sibulla. When Y figures amongst the signs of moneyers, it is the
Greek Y, not a modified Latin V.
* Egbert, Latin Inscr., p. 61. * Egbert, op. cit., p. 65.
EPIGRAPHY AND ORTHOGRAPHY GV
The duplication of the vowels to denote length occurs only in FEELIX,
Double which is also inscribed FELIX (vol. i., pp. 471, 472), and in the
vowels and names of C. Numonius Vaala and C. Veibius Vaarus, the latter
* being also given as C. Vibius Varus (vol. i., pp. 570, 587, 588).
These last are of the same date.
El to denote the long I is more common, as in C. SERVE IL or C. SERSIL
(vol. i., pp. 179,469), TREIVERNVM (vol. i., p. 483), VEIBIVS (vol. i., p. 587),
LEIBERTAS (vol. ii., pp. 471, 481), CASSEl (vol. ii., p. 484), &c.
II for I is only a provincialism, and occurs on coins of P. Carisius struck
in Spain, and of Mark Antony struck in the East (vol. ii., p. 508, note 1).
XS, to express X, is met with in MAXSVMVS, AXSIVS and ALEXSANDREA
(vol. i., pp. 399, 409, 449). XS for X is found in inscriptions of all periods
after the sematus consultum de Bacchamalibus, B.C. 186, perhaps because the X
is regarded as equivalent to the Greek X (ch), and then S would be needed."
On early coins the double consonant is often dropped, as CINA, COTA,
TILITVS, MEMIES, SISENA, &c. (vol. i., pp. 106, 128, 175, 307; ii. 267).
This frequently occurs in the case of monograms.”
The Aspiration is also wanting on some of the early pieces after the
letters C, D, T. We therefore read CETEGVS for CETHEGVS, CILO for
CHILO, TILITVS for PHILITTVS, TANATIL for TAMTHIL, and TALNA
for THALNA.”
The accent or apex used to denote vowels long by nature occurs not
infrequently in inscriptions of the first century B.C. after the time of Sulla; but
rarely on coins of the Republic; see MVSA and FVRI (vol. i., pp. 442-446,
486, 487). It varies in form, as V, V, V, &c.
Nº, signifying 50, is first met with on the gold coins which are assigned to
the middle of the third century B.C. (vol. i., p. 27), and this
form, together with a slight modification J, , was preserved till
some time after the beginning of the first century B.C. These are the only
forms used on the coinage of L. Cornelius Piso Frugi, struck in B.C. 88 (vol. i.,
pp. 258 f.). A few years later, circ. B.C. 85, L was generally adopted (see coins
of L. Julius Bursio and P. Crepusius, vol. i., pp. 327, 339 f.). It did not,
however, exclude entirely the older forms N, and Jy, which again occur circ.
B.C. 75 and 64 (vol. i., pp. 403, 451, note). J, seems to have extended down
to the Augustan age.
INumbers.
The employment of the same signs as letters and numerals naturally
caused a difficulty. This was obviated by the use of a mark of differentia-
tion consisting of a straight line which could be placed above the letter or
* Egbert, op. cit., p. 27. * Mommsen, Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 194.
* Mommsen, op. cit., p. 195.
cvi INTRODUCTION
across it, as W = 5, B = 500, and NW = 1000 (vol. i., pp. 255,342, no. 2715; 299,
no. 2348). The barred 36 or xk was used to distinguish the number from the
letter, and from that it came to represent the sign for the denarius = 10
asses (vol. i., pp. 118, 241). Other signs used to express numerals are d =
50,000, d = 5000, and A = 10,000 (vol. i., pp. 451, 453, 455, 457).
To express numbers there were two methods in use; the addition
method when the higher number preceded, as VIIII = IX, and the sub-
traction method when the lower denomination preceded, as XIV = XIIII and
XIIX = XVIII. The latter had for its object the saving of space, but the
former was the most common, and was usually adopted in the case of a series
of numbers on the coins. Some remarkable instances occur in the issue of
L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi circ B.C. 88 (vol. i., pp. 258, 259). Amongst them may
be mentioned XXCIII = LXXXIII, XXCIIIl = LXXXIV, XXCVI = LXXXVI
and XCV = LXXXXV. This subtraction method was, however, but little
practised; yet it survived to a somewhat late date, as on the legionary coins
of Antony, B.C. 32—31 (vol. ii., pp. 528, 529), both methods were used, as IIII
and IV, VII II and IX and XIIII and XIV."
In connection with these special forms of letters and numerals, we may
here refer to the practice of marking the dies, which prevailed
for a considerable time at the Roman mint and also locally.
These mint-marks to some extent correspond to those found on the English
coins of the thirteenth to the seventeenth centuries. They were introduced
at the Roman mint in B.C. 101, as they occur first on the quinarii of T. Cloulius,
which were struck under the provisions of the lea. Clodia (vol. i., p. 167).
These monetary signs are of a most diversified character, and they
consist of letters (Latin and Greek), numbers, symbols,” and fractional signs.
They show a great variety of combinations, such as single letters, sometimes
accompanied by dots, on the obverse or reverse, letters on both sides, letters
on obverse and reverse starting from opposite ends of the alphabet, letters
and numbers, double letters and numbers, numbers only or symbols only,
on one or both sides, symbols and letters, symbols and numbers, &c. To
these may be added a complicated series of fractional signs (vol. i., p. 451).
The extent to which this system of using signs could be carried is best
illustrated on the coinages of L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi and his son, C. Cal-
purnius Piso Frugi (vol. i., pp. 251 f., 451 f.).
Mint-marks.
* For the various methods of subtraction see Mommsen, Hermes, xxii., pp. 603 f.;
Egbert, op cit., p. 74.
* The symbols on the obverses and reverses of the denarii struck by L. Papius and
L. Roscius Fabatus (vol. i., pp. 371, 423) are of considerable interest, as they bear some
relation to each other, as the anvil and the hammer, the bee and the flower, the boot
and the shoe, the bucket and the well-head, the camel and the ass, &c.
FINDS OF COINS cvii
The object in marking the dies in this manner was no doubt to
ascertain the number which was supplied to each officina, and not with
a view of checking the amount of bullion used by each die. The labour
of making even this slight addition to the dies must have been considerable,
seeing that for some issues many hundreds were required. It is evident that
the reproduction of dies as practised at the present day was not known in
ancient times. In one way these signs are useful, as not only do they
illustrate the activity of the Roman mint, but they also serve as a guide to
ascertaining the amount of coinage struck by a particular moneyer. When
these marks ceased to be used, we can then only judge of the extent of an
issue by the rarity or frequency of the coins at the present time. From the
time of their introduction these mint-marks were employed very freely down
to about B.C. 64, when they practically cease, only to be revived on two
solitary occasions in the form of letters on the issues of L. Cassius Longinus,
B.C. 52, and of M. Mettius, B.C. 44 (vol. i., pp. 411, 494, 543).
Symbols, letters and numbers occur on some of the early provincial
coinages in Spain and Gaul (vol. ii., pp. 352-356, 388-390); but they are
not met with after the revival of this money in B.C. 50–49.
§ X.—FINDS OF COINS.
One of the most important criteria for the classification and dating of
coins of all periods and classes is the evidence which can be extracted from
finds. On account of the constant change of type and the multiplicity of
the names of the moneyers, who held office for a limited period, probably only
for One year, this evidence is invaluable in the case of the Roman Repub-
lican series. In order to arrive at any satisfactory results certain conditions
are necessary.
In the first place the find should be examined critically, the number
of specimens of each issue noted, and also their state of preservation. Coins
more recently struck would naturally be the best preserved, and usually
those of the latest issues would be in greater abundance. This, however, is
not always the case, as some time generally lapsed before newly struck
coins circulated widely. More important still is it that, so far as possible,
finds should be examined in their entirety. Unfortunately this rarely happens.
More often than not when a hoard is unearthed the finder's first thought is
to keep his discovery secret, in order that he may dispose of it piecemeal to
the best advantage, so that by the time that the local authorities are informed
of the discovery the greater part of the hoard has been scattered, if even it
may not have reached the melting-pot. In such cases great caution has to be
exercised as to the amount of trustworthy evidence the find may supply.
p
cviii INTRODUCTION
This was usually the case with those which are mentioned in the following pages.
Amongst other circumstances which have to be taken into consideration are
modifications of standards of weights, the introduction of new denominations,
and the cessation of issue of those already in circulation. There are also to
be considered the conditions under which the coins were concealed, viz., was it
a private hoard or part of a military chest ? In the latter case we must turn
to our histories. If a hoard is small it may be concluded that it was of a private
nature; if unusually large, that it was probably part of a military chest.
In the Tables of Finds which are supplied at the end of this work the
Tables of contents of each one have been tabulated, but it is only in a few
Finds, very exceptional cases that we have noted the numbers of coins
of a particular issue. Some account of the contents of each hoard is supplied
under the date assigned to its burial; in such notices, however, it was impos-
sible to enter into much detail. The circumstances under which the find
was discovered are noted, its contents mentioned generally, and particular
attention drawn to the latest pieces in the hoard, and the approximate date
of its burial. Fuller descriptions will be found in the various publications
where the finds are first noticed, to which references have been given.
We shall now limit ourselves to a general summary, and to pointing out
the lines on which the chronology of the finds has been determined.
It is unfortunate that no finds have been recorded in detail which
Date of the would help to classify the coinages of the Second century B.C.;
earliest finds that long series, for the classification of which we have had
often to trust to slight variations of the types. The earliest finds of which
analyses have been published do not carry us back before the beginning
of the first century B.C. There are no less than five hoards which can
be given to B.C. 93–92 (vol. i., pp. 161, 162). Three of these, Maseră, Riccia,”
S. Giovanni Incarico, are of circ. B.C. 93; the others, Roncarolo and
Pozoblanco, are of circ. B.C. 92.” The line of demarcation is supplied by the
issues of the quinquevirate, which had the superintendence of the Roman
mint in the latter year (vol. i., pp. 184 f.). There is a remarkable circumstance
which is connected with all these finds; it is that none of them appear to
have contained any of the quinarii which were issued under the provisions of
the lea, Clodia, which is usually assigned to B.C. 104. The first moneyers to
strike these quinarii were C. Egnatuleius, B.C. 102, and T. Cloulius, who held
* Sometimes called la Riccia, but Riccia only in the first notice of the hoard Supplied
by Garrucci (Periodico di Num. e Sfrag., vol. v., 1873, pp. 285 f.).
* Mommsen has given earlier dates to some of these hoards. For example, he puts
the Riccia hoard to B.C. 125 (Zeit. f. Num., 1875, p. 44), and that of Roncarolo to
B.C. 109–104 (Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 123); but Count de Salis's classification shows
that they must be transferred to some years later.
FINDS OF COIN'S cix
office in the following year (vol. i., pp. 164, 165). At the same time Cloulius
issued denarii. These latter were in three of the hoards named, Maserä,
Riccia and Pozoblanco, but none of his quinarii. Most of these hoards,
however, contained a considerable number of early denarii and victoriati,
showing that the latter were still in circulation after the last years of the
first century B.C. At Maserå there were 73 denarii of the Dioscuri type, and
141 victoriati, all without symbols or moneyers' names. A similar proportion
existed at Riccia, viz., 89 denarii and 121 victoriati. The Roncarolo and Pozo-
blanco hoards were very small as compared with the others, but for classifica-
tion they are very important, because they contained coins of the quinque-
virate of B.C. 92, none of which were present in the other three hoards. As
the area over which these finds extended was a very wide one, no historical
importance can be attached to them. Maserá and Roncarolo are situated in
the north of Italy, S. Giovanni Incarico in central Italy, Riccia in the south,
and Pozoblanco in Spain.
The next series of finds takes us into the middle of the Social war,
Period of the B.C. 91–89, but none of them can be directly associated with it.
* War. Two occurred on Italian soil at Taranto (Calabria) and Ricina
(Macerata), and two in Spain at Cazlona and Oliva (vol. i., pp. 190,191). The
period assigned to the burial of these hoards comes within a certain limit
owing to the re-issue, in B.C. 91, of the bronze as of the uncial standard, which
had been in abeyance since B.C. 150, and its suppression by a reduction to
the half-ounce standard in B.C. 89 under the provisions of the low Papiria.
With the exception of that found at Oliva, which consisted of 1271 pieces,
these hoards were of limited extent, and contained but very few early pieces.
In the Oliva hoard there were sixteen early denarii of the Dioscuri type
without any moneyers' marks, and seventeen with symbols. Again, no
Quinarii, struck under the provisions of the lea, Clodia, were met with in these
hoards, though there had been several issues, viz., of C. Egnatuleius (B.C. 102),
T. Cloulius (B.C. 101), P. Vettius Sabinus (B.C. 90), and C. Fundanius (B.C.
89), yet all of them contained denarii of T. Cloulius. Though these hoards
were buried within a very short time of those assigned to the previous period,
they comprised many new issues not before met with. These were all of the
period of the Social war.
For convenience we may group together the finds which are mentioned
Period of under Periods IX. and X., B.C. 88–82 (pp. 242, 243, 316, 319).
the first It was during these years that the bronze money of the semun-
* * cial standard was introduced. It came into existence under the
lew Papiria Semumciaria B.C. 89, but did not continue after B.C. 82, when the
issues in this metal were suspended. All the moneyers who struck this light
bronze coinage must therefore have held office during these years. It was a
CX INTRODUCTION
time remarkable for internal strife in Italy. The year B.C. 88 witnessed the
closing scenes of the Social war; B.C. 87 the supremacy of the Marian party,
and B.C. 82 its final collapse. We may connect three at least of the finds
of this period with these events, viz., with the Social war during B.C. 88
may be associated the “Hoffmann” find, which is of exceptional interest, as
it contained no less than fourteen specimens of the denarii of the Con-
federate States; that of Fiesole with the arrival of Marius in Italy from
Africa to join Cinna before their entry into Rome, B.C. 87; and that of
Monte Codruzzo with the battle at the Colline Gate, B.C. 82. The Fiesole
and Monte Codruzzo hoards were unusually large, the former comprising not
less than 4000 denarii, the latter about 5000. Both were also very complete,
nearly every issue, with the exception of some of the early denarii with
symbols, being represented down to the time of their burial. There were,
however, no victoriati, which would show that by this time the provisions
of the lea, Clodia were in full force, and that this law had practically swept
the old coin out of currency. The Fiesole hoard alone contained twenty-one
specimens of the early denarius, without and with symbols; and of the issues
which more immediately preceded its concealment the number of specimens
was most unusual. Though Zannoni” described only about one-half of the find,
yet the coins of the moneyers of B.C. 88 and 87, to which latter date its burial
is assigned, numbered no less than 853 specimens (vol. i., p. 242). Not a
single specimen of these issues had been met with in the Oliva hoard, which
was hidden only three years previously. The Monte Codruzzo hoard was
equally remarkable, although the number of pieces of the individual
issues were rather more evenly distributed, and those of the later issues
were not so abundant (vol. i., p. 319). There were, however, no less than 97
early denarii of the Dioscuri type, and of the moneyers of B.C. 86, Cn. Cor-
nelius Lentulus and L. Rubrius Dossenus, 308 and 107 denarii respectively.
Another important feature in connection with this last hoard was the presence
of the coins of C. Annius Luscus, who was proconsul in Spain B.C. 82—80,
and of C. Valerius Flaccus, who was propraetor in Gaul during B.C. 82. This
is the first occurrence of any of these Provincial coins in hoards.
Though much more limited, the hoard which we have designated the
“Hoffmann Find” (vol. ii., p. 321) is of almost paramount importance, as its
burial coincides with the last year of the Social war. It consisted in all of
only 154 pieces, 14 of which were of the Confederate money. The coins
throughout were very evenly distributed, the highest number of any issue
was five, and most were represented by one or two specimens only; but
* Dei denarii consolari e di famiglie Romane, disotterrati in Fiesole, 1829. Firenze,
1830.
FINDS OF COINS cxi
what is of great importance from a chronological view is the circumstance
that there were coins of no less than eleven of the fifteen moneyers who
held office during B.C. 90 and 89 at the Roman mint, and also those of both
the moneyers of B.C. 88, D. Junius Silanus and L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi. It
also affords evidence for the chronology of the money of the Confederates.
Of the other finds which are assigned to these Periods, that of Fuscaldo
Corresponds in date of burial to the Fiesole hoard, whilst those of Cingoli and
Romagnano Sesia supply specimens of the issues of B.C. 87 and 86, with the
exception of that of the aediles, M. Fannius and L. Critonius (vol. i., p. 314).
Of all these hoards that of Cingoli only contained quinarii of C. Egnatuleius
and T. Cloulius, but none of P. Vettius Sabinus and C. Fundanius.
The nine hoards, the burial of which can be brought within the limit of
Later as many years, B.C. 81–73, enable us to classify the different
Period, from issues almost year by year (vol. i., pp. 360 f.). With three
JB.C. 81–73. exceptions, Hev-Szamos, Licodia and Ossero, all were found
On Italian soil. Three are of Tuscany, viz. Carrara, San Miniato and Rignano.
It is possible to connect the first two with the insurrection of Lepidus, which
was quickly suppressed in B.C. 77. The Carrara hoard was remarkable for
the large number of quinarii issued after the passing of the lex: Clodia (vol. i.,
p. 361). There were also some of the early quinarii and a few specimens
of the victoriatus. It contained also the Provincial coins which had been
recently struck in the East, Gaul and Spain, but those of the last province
did not include pieces of Cn. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus, who did not
take up office as quaestor to Pompey till B.C. 76, which is the year after
the supposed burial of this hoard (vol. ii., p. 358). It has been suggested
(vol. i., p. 361) that as some of the Spanish pieces appear to be of a later date
than those of the Roman mint, this hoard may have been brought from Spain
into Italy. The San Miniato hoard was of similar composition, and may be
of the same time, and its burial due to the same circumstances.
Another important hoard of this time is that of Roncofreddo, which, as
that city is situated in the Romagna district, has been attributed to the
period of the Revolt of the Slaves under Spartacus, B.C. 73–71 (vol. i., p. 362).
This date, however, does not quite coincide with Count de Salis's classifica-
tion, as the hoard did not contain any coins struck after B.C. 75 (see Tables of
Finds). Here, however, we may have an instance of a treasure which might
not have been recently added to before its burial. It consisted of no less than
6000 denarii, but only of about 17 quinarii (all of the later issues), which
seems to suggest that it may have been part of a military chest. It con-
tained specimens of the coinages of nearly all the moneyers of B.C. 77—75,
which had not been present in any of the previously mentioned hoards. In
importance it ranks with the finds of Fiesole and Monte Codruzzo.
cxii INTRODUCTION
There are several other hoards of this time, which, though limited in
extent, are useful for placing in order the various issues. They are those of
Frascarolo, Rignano, Licodia, Palestrina and Ossero. Most of these appear to
have been described in their entirety. The Hev-Szamos hoard, which may
be assigned to circ. B.C. 78, shows that at this time the denarius circulated
with the native currency in Transylvania, as by far the larger proportion
of the hoard consisted of Illyrian drachms.
In contrast to the abundance of hoards which have been attributed
Later Period to B.C. 93–73 is their scarcity during the following twenty
continued, years. For Italy itself it was rather a period of rest from
*9. 7°-P9 internal strife. Great military activity was, however, pre-
valent outside Italy, but most of the hoards which may have been discovered
in the Provinces have not been sufficiently described to be of any use for
chronology. During B.C. 72–50 there were several changes connected with
fabric and style of the coinage; the serration of the edge came to an end,
and the mint-marks gradually fell out of use. The fabric of the coinage varied
considerably, passing from types in high relief to those in mezzo-rilievo, and
in style it reached a perfection of execution not previously attained (see
above, p. ci). During B.C. 72–50 we have mentioned only four hoards; these
were all found in Italy, and their burial must be put within the limited date
of B.C. 52–49. Two of them at least may be connected with the march
of Caesar to Rome and Brundusium. They were found at Cadriano, which
is within a short distance of the site of the ancient city of Beneventum,
on the line of march to Brundusium, and at San Cesario, which was near
Modena in the direction of Bologna, which may have been Caesar's route on
his way to Ariminum from the north. These hoards were of considerable
magnitude, that of Cadriano consisting of over 2000 denarii, and that of
San Cesario of some 4000. If not part of a military chest they must
have belonged to some wealthy individual. Both contained specimens of
the denarii which were struck by Caesar in Cisalpine Gaul just before his
occupation of Rome in B.C. 49 (vol. i., p. 414; vol. ii., p. 390). From these
coins we know the precise date of the burial of these hoards. The specimens
of the early denarii were very few, and there were no victoriati.
The other two hoards, San Gregorio di Sassola and Compito (vol. i.,
p. 413), though small, are of some chronological use, as in both we get a
fair succession of the issues from circ. B.C. 170, but no coins of Caesar
just mentioned. The burial of these two hoards must have taken place
during the years B.C. 52–51. There were also a few early denarii in each,
and of the victoriatus there was only one specimen which was met with in
the Compito hoard.
There is one other hoard which may be assigned to this period. It
FINDS OF COIN'S cxiii
was found at Frauendorf, near Mediasch, Transylvania, in 1875, and has been
described by Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1877, pp. 293 f.). The contents were very
similar to those of the Compito hoard. It comprised 563 denarii only, no
Quinarii or victoriati. There were a few early denarii without and with
moneyers' symbols, and throughout, from the beginning of the second century
B.C. to the middle of the first century, the issues were very evenly distributed.
The latest coins of the Roman mint were of Faustus Cornelius Sulla (B.C. 54),
L. Cassius Longinus (B.C. 52), and C. Memmius C. f. (B.C. 51). As there were
no Gaulish pieces of Julius Caesar of B.C. 50–49, the burial of this hoard, like
that of Compito, must have occurred in B.C. 51, or early in the following
year (see Tables of Finds).
Our next Period takes us from the outbreak of the Civil war between
Period of the Pompey and Caesar to the death of the latter, B.C. 49–44. In
second Civil point of date the four finds which are given to these years
War". are fairly evenly distributed (vol. i., pp. 501, 502): that of
Carbonara (II) was of B.C. 48, those of San Niccolò di Villola and Collecchio
of B.C. 45, and that of Liria of B.C. 44. They were all private hoards and
limited in extent, and their burial does not seem to have been brought
about by any military movements, nor was it due to local influence. The
first three were Italian, but they bear no connection in point of district, Car-
bonara being in the south near Bari, San Niccolò di Villola near Bologna
and Collecchio near Modena, whilst Liria is in Spain, in the province of
Valencia. The revival of the Provincial coinages in the West and the East,
and their presence in all these hoards in considerable numbers, render it
possible to assign more precise limits to the issues of the Roman mint. But
in doing this one circumstance must always be borne in mind, viz., that it
often took some little time for a coin to travel from a province into Italy.
This would apply more to the East than to the West. As instances of date we
may take the Pompeian coins issued in Africa and Spain from B.C. 47–44.
In the San Niccolò di Villola hoard there were denarii of Cato struck in
Africa B.C. 47–46 (head of Libertas; rev. Victory seated, vol. ii., p. 574);
in that of Collecchio those of Cn. Pompey struck in Spain B.C. 46–45, and in
that of Liria those of Sextus Pompey of the following year (see Tables of
Finds). This succession of issues from the provinces near to Italy is an
important guide to the classification of the coins of the Roman mint, since
in the former we know the almost precise date of each issue, whereas in
the latter, on account of the uniformity of the coinage, less certainty
prevails."
* The evidence of finds in connection with the Provincial money is specially noted
in the dissertation on each section.
cxiv. INTRODUCTION
From the death of Julius Caesar, to the year preceding the battle of
Period of the Naulochus (B.C. 44–37), we return to a condition of things
Triumvirate, respecting finds such as had prevailed during the early years of
the century. No less than twelve finds may be assigned to this short period
of seven years (vol. i., p. 557). Eight of them were unearthed in Northern
Italy, two in Central and South Italy, one in Gaul, and one in Transylvania.
It would have been satisfactory if we could have identified those of Northern
Italy more intimately with the sieges of Mutina in B.C. 43, and of Perusia in
B.C. 41–40, but the only two which might be associated with the later event
are those of Florence and San Bartolomeo in Sasso Forte, the concealment
of which was about B.C. 41. As both these hoards were very small, no
particular importance can be attached to them in that respect. Those of
Wigatto, Santa Anna, Ossolaro, Borzano, Peccioli, and Garlasco, which spread
over three years only, B.C. 39–36, might to some degree be connected with
the constant passing of the armies of Rome to and from Gaul. The Pieve-
Quinta (Romagna) hoard, which consisted of about 1000 denarii, comprised
specimens of most of the issues from B.C. 42–38, but none of later date. Its
burial took place in B.C. 38, about the same time as those of Santa Anna and
Ossolaro; but as it contained coins of C. Vibius Varus, it served to establish
the order of the issues of that year.
The Arbanats find in the Department of the Gironde is also not of sufficient
importance to be attributed to any military movements in that district, nor do
those of Grosspold (Transylvania) and Carbonara (I), near Bari, call for any
special remarks. It is a somewhat curious circumstance that though most of
these hoards were buried in Italy, the contemporary issues of the Roman
mints were not so fully represented as previously. On the other hand they
tell us that the mass of coinage then current in Italy was still of the second
century B.C., and of the first half of the first century B.C. In the Borzano
hoard the number of quinarii, most of which were of the early part of the
century, nearly equalled that of denarii. They were 514 as against 597.
Erom B.C. 37 the evidence of finds for chronology is of a somewhat meagre
description; this is due not so much to a dearth of them, but
Later Period
of the Triº. to the fact that we possess analyses of but a very small
virate, and of number.” There are in consequence only two hoards the
º burial of which can be assigned to B.C. 36–17, and a like
number to B.C. 16–3. The two of the earlier date are those
of Chantenay and Beauvoisin, both places being in France, one in the Départe-
ment Nièvre, the other in that of Drôme. It is fortunate that Count de Salis
has preserved the analyses of these hoards, otherwise even this evidence
* Ad. Blanchet, Les Trésors de Momºn. rom., pp. 31, 32.
FINDS OF COINS CXV
would not have been available. The Chantenay hoard appears to have been
buried circ. B.C. 35, or a little later, as all the coins were issued before the
battle of Actium. That of Beauvoisin was buried subsequent to B.C. 29, as
there were coins of Octavius giving him the title of INMT. CAESAR, which he
did not assume on his money till that date, but there are none with the title
of AVGVSTVS (vol. ii., pp. 5–7). Both these hoards contained a number of
Gaulish silver pieces, which points to the circumstance that the local money
and that of Rome passed in currency together. The contents of these hoards
were so evenly distributed that in that of Chantenay 109 different issues
were represented by 181 coins, and in that of Beauvoisin, which contained
191 denarii and 11 quinarii, no single issue was represented by more than
three pieces. Neither of these hoards contained any pieces of the third
century B.C., the earliest denarii being of about B.C. 170.
The hoards which may be classed to our last Period, B.C. 16–3, are
those of Palazzo Canavese, near Ivrea, prov. di Torino, and of Terranova
Pausania, in Sardinia (vol. ii., pp. 47, 48). The former was a very large one,
weighing about 25 lbs. troy, but as only a very limited number of pieces,
about 160, came into the hands of Prof. Serafino Ricci,” its evidence must be
accepted with a great amount of reservation. The burial could not, however,
have taken place before B.C. 14, as it included a denarius of the moneyer
of Augustus, P. Petronius Turpilianus (vol. ii., pp. 60 f.).
The Terranova Pausania hoard, the last with which we have to deal, is
one of the most satisfactory in every way, though it was not found on Italian
soil, but in Sardinia, on the site of the ancient city of Olbia.” The find
in its entirety was examined, and a careful record made of its contents by
Sig. Antonio Taramelli, so that in this case its evidence may be accepted
without reservation. It showed that with a few exceptions, such as the
early quinarii and victoriati, the silver pieces of the earliest date remained in
circulation to the end of the first century B.C., the latest denarii being those
of two of the last moneyers of Augustus, Cossus Cornelius Lentulus and
L. Caninius Gallus, who struck silver coins. At the same time there were
none of Augustus which give him the title of Pater Patriae, which he
received in B.C. 2. The interest of this hoard would have been increased if it
had been more representative of the more recent issues of the Roman mint,
and also of those of the Provinces, especially Gaul and the East. It makes,
however, a good finale to the long series on which we have commented.
From this summary it will be seen how important finds are for chro-
nology, more especially in connection with the Roman coinage, and how still
more important it is that their contents should be noted in their entirety.
* Riv. Ital., 1897, pp. 179 f. * Scavi, 1904, pp. 158 f.
cxvi INTRODUCTION
When a hoard has been carefully analysed, and when due allowance has been
made for the circumstances in which its concealment may have happened,
there is then but little difficulty in determining the date of its burial
within the limit of a year or two.
For convenience of reference, a list is appended of the hoards of which
analyses have been given, with the approximate dates of their burial. Par-
ticulars of each one are set out in the Tables of Finds.
Maserà, circ. B.C. 93, vol. i., p.161.
Biccia, circ. B.C. 93, vol. i., p. 161.
S. Giovanni Incarico, circ. B.C. 93, vol. i., p. 161.
Roncarolo, circ. B.C. 92, vol. i., p. 162.
Pozoblanco, circ. B.C. 92, vol. i., p. 162.
Taranto, circ. B.C. 91, vol. i., p. 190.
Cazlona, circ. B.C. 90, vol. i., p. 190.
Oliva, circ. B.C. 90, vol. i., p. 191.
Bicina, circ. B.C. 89, vol. i., p. 191.
“Hoffmann,” circ. B.C. 88, vol. ii., p. 321.
IFiesole, circ. B.C. 87, vol. i., p. 242.
IFuscaldo, circ. B.C. 87, vol. i., p. 242.
Cingoli, circ. B.C. 86, vol. i., p. 243.
Romagnano Sesia, circ. B.C. 86, vol. i., p. 243.
Monte Codruzzo, circ. B.C. 82, vol. i., p. 319.
Carrara, circ. B.C. 77, vol. i., p. 361.
San Miniato, circ. B.C. 77, vol. i., p. 361.
Hev-Szamos, circ. B.C. 78–77, vol. i., p. 362.
Roncofreddo, circ. B.C. 75, vol. i., p. 362.
Frascarolo, circ. B.C. 75–74, vol. i., p. 362.
Rignano, circ. B.C. 75–74, vol. i., p. 363.
Licodia, circ. B.C. 74, vol. i., p. 363.
Palestrina, circ. B.C. 74, vol. i., p. 363.
Ossero, circ. B.C. 73, vol. i., p. 364.
San Gregorio di Sassola, circ. B.C. 52–51, vol. i., p. 413.
Compito, circ. B.C. 51, vol. i., p. 413.
Frauendorf, circ. B.C. 51—50, vol. i., Introd., pp. cxii, cxiii.
Cadriano, circ. B.C. 50–49, vol. i., p. 414.
San Cesario, circ. B.C. 50–49, vol. i., p. 414.
Carbonara (II), circ. B.C. 48, vol. i., p. 501.
San Niccolò di Villola, circ. B.C. 45–44, vol. i., p. 501.
Collecchio, circ. B.C. 45, vol. i., p. 502.
Liria, circ. B.C. 44, vol. i., p. 502.
CEIRONOLOGICAL VIEW OF THE COINAGE cxvii
Florence, circ. B.C. 41, vol. i., p. 558.
San Bartolomeo in Sasso Forte, circ. B.C. 40, vol. i., p. 558.
Wigatto, circ. B.C. 39, vol. i., p. 558.
Santa Anna, circ. B.C. 38, vol. i., p. 559.
Ossolaro, circ. B.C. 38, vol. i., p. 559.
Pieve-Quinta, circ. B.C. 38, vol. i., p. 560.
Grosspold, circ. B.C. 38, vol. i., p. 560.
Borzano, circ. B.C. 38, vol. i., p. 560.
Peccioli, circ. B.C. 38–37, vol. i., p. 561.
Garlasco, circ. B.C. 36, vol. i., p. 561.
Arbanats, circ. B.C. 36, vol. i., p. 562.
Carbonara (I), circ. B.C. 36, vol. i., p. 562.
Chantenay, circ. B.C. 35–34, vol. ii., p. 5.
Beauvoisin, circ. B.C. 28, vol. ii., p. 6.
Palazzo Canavese, circ. B.C. 14, vol. ii., p. 47.
Terranova Pausania, circ. B.C. 6, vol. ii., p. 48.
§ XI.-CHRONOLOGICAL VIEW OF THE COINAGE.
In order to preserve the sequence of the coinage of the Roman mint it
was found necessary to describe in separate sections those which were issued
outside the capital, but within Italy proper, and those which have been
attributed to the Provinces. In point of date all these outside coinages are
contemporary with that of Rome, but each one only for a certain limited
period. Thus the Romano-Campanian coinage ceased when the local issues
were established in Italy; and these in turn terminated before the Provincial
money was inaugurated. It is now proposed to give a general summary of all
the series of coinages described in these volumes, treating the subject from a
purely chronological standpoint. The money of the Roman mint will be
taken as the basis of the order, since from its initiation to its finish, so far as
it is included in this work, it forms one long and unbroken series. The system
of dividing it up into groups or periods, as adopted in its classification, will
also be followed.
Aes Rude: date of institution uncertain.
B.C. 450–338 and later. Aes rude, bar-money, and aes sigmatum.
The only pieces described are the aes sigmatum of the later date of the aes
grave.
B.C. 338–269. Aes grave of the libral standard. At the Roman
mint: as to uncia. This coinage falls gradually in weight, so that before it
comes to an end the as is reduced to seven ounces and under. Later aes
signatum.
cxviii INTRODUCTION
Period of the Romano-Campanian coinage from B.C. 335. This series is
continuous down to and after B.C. 269, and is mainly contemporary with the
aes grave of the Roman mint (vol. ii., pp. 116 f.).
Aes grave issued at Luceria circ. B.C. 290. It consists of the as only
(vol. ii., p. 145).
B.C. 268—240 (Period I.). Silver coinage instituted at Rome, con-
sisting of the denarius (at ), of the pound), quinarius and sestertius of the
Dioscuri type. The bronze is reduced to the triental standard with the as
of four ounces. Higher denominations than the as (decussis, tripondius or
tressis and dupondius) are added, and also lower ones than the uncia
(Semuncia and quarter-uncia). The higher denominations are cast; the lower
ones from the triens are cast or struck.
The Romano-Campanian coinage in silver and bronze is continued.
Luceria issues bronze coins of the triental standard with the name of
RoNA/A. As at the Central mint some of the denominations are cast, others
are struck (vol. ii., pp. 146 f.).
B.C. 240–229 (Period I., continued). The bronze coinage is reduced
to the sextantal standard with the as at two ounces, when all the denomina-
tions are struck from the as to the semuncia. The denarius and its divisions
fall slightly in weight, and a gold coinage consisting of pieces of sixty, forty
and twenty sestertii is instituted temporarily. Slight variations occur in
the obverse type of the denarius, viz., in the form of the helmet, the earring,
&c. Moneyers’ symbols and monograms are first used.
Local coinages outside Rome are instituted; some are struck by moneyers,
others bear the initials of various cities (vol. ii., pp. 153 f.). These coins,
gold, silver and bronze, bear the name of Rolv A and are of Roman standard,
denominations, types, &c.
The Romano-Campanian coinage was probably discontinued about this
time.
B.C. 229–217 (Period I., continued). The issue of the quinarius and
Sestertius is suspended at Rome, and the victoriatus is introduced. The
gold coinage is not continued. The moneyers’ symbols and monograms are
met with in greater frequency.
The coinages of the local moneyers and of the mints preserve their
uniformity with that of Rome, but with the addition at some mints of the
half-victoriatus in silver and the dextans and quincunx in bronze.
B.C. 217–197 (Period II.). Under the provisions of the lex Flaminia
or Fabia the bronze money falls to the uncial standard, the denarius is
* The double victoriatus, of which only one specimen is known, appears to have
been of local mintage (vol. i., p. 37; vol. ii., p. 591, App.).
CHRONOLOGICAL VIEW OF THE COINAGE cxix
reduced from 25 to sºr of the pound, and the victoriatus falls in weight
proportionally. For commercial purposes the denarius is reckoned at six-
teen asses. The bronze coins consist of the dupondius and the as, with its
divisions to the uncia. The moneyers’ symbols and initials are continued,
but the former preponderate. -
The local moneyers and mints are still in active operation, and their
issues fall into line with those of the Roman mint. To this time is also
assigned the electrum half-staters (?) and drachms (?) struck at Capua during
the second Punic war (vol. ii., pp. 139, 140). These are without the name
of RONAA.
B.C. 197—173 (Period III.). No change is made in the denominations
of the silver and bronze money at Rome, except that the issue of the
dupondius is suspended. On the obverse of the denarius the head of Roma
wears the peaked helmet, and her earring, consisting of a single drop, some-
times takes a triangular form. The first change occurs in the reverse type,
I)iana or Luna in a biga, which occasionally take the place of the Dioscuri.
The moneyers’ symbols are fewer, but their names, in the form of monograms
or initials, increase proportionately. In the forms of the letters A for A, A, &c.,
is more frequent, and V is changed into L, and T into T occasionally.
The issues of coins by local mints are suspended after B.C. 197, but those
of the moneyers are continued.
B.C. 172–151 (Period IV.). The denarius is now the only silver piece
struck, the issue of the victoriatus having been suspended. A new type of
Victory in a biga is given for the reverse of the denarius. The Diana or
Luna type is occasionally met with, but that of the Dioscuri is still the most
common. On the obverse the head of Roma preserves its usual form, but her
earring shows several variations, which have some chronological significance.
At first it is of three drops; it next consists of a single drop, which takes the
form of a cluster of pellets, and these in turn assume a spiral form. With these
changes the letter A becomes more and more frequent than /\, till the latter
finally disappears; L occurs more often than V, and T gradually displaces T.
The moneyers' symbols only are no longer met with, but all the issues
bear their names, to which sometimes a family symbol is added.
The local issues of moneyers do not vary in their characteristics from
those of the Central mint.
B.C. 150–125 (Period V.). The issue of the as is suspended, but the
other denominations to the uncia are struck. This suspension of the as
continued down to B.C. 91.
The denarius is the only silver coin. The reverse type is much varied,
as the moneyers begin to depict scenes connected with the history of their
families. Those of the Dioscuri and Diana, or Victory, in a biga still survive,
CXX INTRODUCTION
but gradually become less frequent. The mark of value is occasionally varied
from X to XVI. The spiral-shaped earring continues, but varies into one of
two drops at the end of the period. The legend RoNAA, which hitherto had
been inscribed on a tablet, is now often placed below an exergual line. At
present there is no distinct evidence of a mint-triumvirate, but the coins of
certain moneyers fall into groups.
The local issues of the coinages are struck on the same lines.
B.C. 124–103 (Period VI.). The denominations remain the same in
silver and bronze, except that an attempt is made to introduce two new ones
in the latter series; these are the dodrans and the bes (vol. i., pp. 153, 154).
They were probably intended to take the place of the as, but the attempt
does not appear to have been a success. The dodrans was again struck on
one later occasion, but not the bes (vol. i., p. 177). The reverse types of
the denarius vary with each issue. That of Diana or Luna in a biga
does not occur, and when those of the Dioscuri and Victory in a biga
are met with, they generally relate to the moneyer's family history. The
earring worn by Roma changes from one of spiral shape to a plain single
drop.
There is a marked deterioration in the fabric of the coins of this time,
the head of Roma being much spread and somewhat crudely executed. This
is more noticeable in the local issues. The mark of value of the denarius
now assumes another form, X for X.
There are no distinct instances of a mint-triumvirate in the case of the
Roman coinage, but with the local coinage it is otherwise, since the only
pieces assigned to this period are those of three triumvirates, one of whom
struck separate issues as well as a joint issue (vol. ii., pp. 255-261). In all
other respects the local money is the same as that of IRome.
B.C. 102–92 (Period VII.). Under the lea. Clodia the silver
Quinarius is revived, and in consequence the victoriatus begins to be with-
drawn from currency. The early quinarii are given the same type as the
victoriatus, but with the mark of value O (Quinarius). The silver coins are
now the denarius and the quinarius. The mark of value of the former is
× or X. The issue of the as is still in abeyance. The reverse type of the
denarius maintains its constant variation, and this variation is now extended
to the obverse, but only in two instances before B.C. 91. The first was in the
special issue of the quaestors L. Calpurnius Piso and Q. Servilius Caepio,
B.C. 100 (vol. i., p. 170), and the second in those of the triumvirs M. Caecilius
Metellus, Q. Fabius Maximus and C. Serveilius, B.C. 94 (vol. i., pp. 175 f.).
There are several other innovations, amongst which are the use of mint-
marks in the form of letters and symbols, and the serration of the edge of
the denarius. Besides these guides for the classification and sequence of the
CEIRONOLOGICAL VIEW OF THE COINAGE cxxi
issues, we have now for the first time the evidence of finds. Those whose
burial is assigned to this period were discovered at Maseră, Riccia, S.
Giovanni Incarico, Roncarolo and Pozoblanco.
The local issues proceed on the same lines as those of Rome.
B.C. 91–89 (Period VIII.). The as of the uncial standard is resumed,
and the issue of the quinarius, as also that of the denarius, is continued.
The types of the denarius, both obverse and reverse, now change in the
case of each issue. The practice of marking the dies with letters, symbols
and numbers, and the serration of the edge of the denarius, are considerably
on the increase. There are also a number of special issues, which are
inscribed with various formulae, mostly denoting the withdrawal of bullion
from the public aerarium. These special issues were chiefly occasioned by
the Social war.
It is during this period that we have the coinages of the Confederate
States which took part in the Marsic or Social war. They began in B.C. 91
(vol. ii., pp. 317 f.).
The finds assigned to this period are those of Taranto, Cazlona, Oliva and
Ricina.
B.C. 88–86 (Period IX.). The bronze coinage, as to uncia, is now
reduced to the Semuncial standard by the lea, Papiria, and under the same
law the Sestertius is revived. In B.C. 89 all the local issues came to an end
owing to the passing of the lea, Plautia Papiria, and from this time all official
money struck in Italy emanated from the capital. This and other circum-
stances necessitated an increased number of issues. The quinarius and
sestertius vary in their types like the denarius. Mint-marks are used in great
variety, and the edge of the denarius is often serrated.
The coinage of the Confederates appears to have terminated some time
during B.C. 88.
The finds are the “Hoffmann” hoard, and those of Fiesole, Fuscaldo,
Cingoli and Romagnano Sesia.
B.C. 85–82 (Period X.). The coins struck at Rome show no marked
changes. The issue of the sestertius is not continued, and the quinarius is
very rare, so that the denarius, which now loses its mark of value, becomes
almost the only silver coin in circulation. All the bronze coins are of the
Semuncial standard. The mint-marks continue in profusion, and the serration
of the edge of the denarius is not unfrequent.
The end of this Period, B.C. 82, witnessed the introduction in the
Provinces of the issue of gold and silver coins of the Roman standard.
These occurred in Spain, Gaul, and the East (vol. ii., pp. 352, 388,459).
The only find is that of Monte Codruzzo.
B.C. 81–73 (Period XI.). The bronze coinage is now entirely
cxxii INTRODUCTION
Suspended, and as this was also the case with the quinarius, the only
denomination issued at the Roman mint is the denarius, which main-
tains its variations as to types, mint-marks, serration, &c. This latter
process, however, becomes less frequent. *
The Provincial coinages are continued, but only in the East and in
Spain; the former during B.C. 81, 80, the latter down to B.C. 72, on account
of the Sertorian war.
The finds are numerous and supply important data. They are those of
Carrara, San Miniato, Hev-Szamos, Roncofreddo, Frascarolo, Rignano, Licodia,
Palestrina and Ossero.
B.C. 72–50 (Period XII.). The only denomination issued in any metal
is the denarius, which varies a good deal in fabric. At first the obverse type
is in high relief, which gradually assumes a mezzo-rilievo. Mint-marks are
at first freely used, but are very rarely met with after B.C. 64, and the
Serration of the edge ceased about the same time, B.C. 69. These variations,
and also a change in the character of the types, which begin to record events
of late date, or even contemporary ones, render a chronological classification of
the issues possible.
The Provincial coinage is continued in Spain during B.C. 72, and in Gaul
it was revived by Julius Caesar in B.C. 50.
The finds are those of San Gregorio di Sassola, Compito, Frauendorf (see
above, pp. cxii, cxiii), Cadriano and San Cesario.
B.C. 49—44 (Period XIII.). This was an important epoch in the
history of the Roman coinage both in Rome and outside Italy.
At Rome the gold money is resumed, to become permanent. It consisted
of the aureus and half-aureus; the former was first struck by Julius Caesar
in B.C. 49, the latter by the praefectus Urbi, L. Munatius Plancus, in B.C. 45.
The re-issue of the quinarius and the sestertius in silver also takes place,
and an attempt is made to revive the bronze coinage. There was also
a change in the personnel of the mint in B.C. 44, a quatuorvirate being
substituted for a triumvirate. The types of all the coins varied according
to the issue, some recording contemporary events. The portraits of Julius
Caesar and Mark Antony are placed on some of the silver coins of the last
year, B.C. 44.
In the Provinces the money is revived in the West and also in the
East. This was due to the strife between the Pompeian and Caesarian parties.
In Spain it occurred on two occasions; first in the war against the generals
of the Elder Pompey, B.C. 49, and secondly in that against Cn. and Sextus
Tompey, B.C. 46–44; in the East under similar circumstances, B.C. 49—47;
in Sicily, B.C. 49 and 47, and later in Africa, B.C. 47–46. These coinages
are of gold and silver. Spain struck also bronze, but no gold.
CEIRONOLOGICAL VIEW OF THE COINAGE cxxiii
The finds are those of Carbonara (II), San Niccolò di Villola, Collecchio,
and Liria.
B.C. 43–37 (Period XIV.). At Rome the coinage is again reduced to
two denominations only, the aureus and the denarius. The quatuorvirate of
the mint is continued. The moneyers now strike in gold as well as in silver.
There is practically no change in the character of the types, except that we
get portraits of the triumvirs, Antony, Lepidus and Octavius. In such cases
their names and also those of the moneyers are inscribed. The portrait of
Julius Caesar also occurs as in B.C. 44.
The Provincial coinages, which had been for two years in abeyance, are
now revived in greater abundance. In Spain, however, we have but one
issue, that of Cn. Domitius Calvinus (B.C. 39–37); in Gaul there are the
coinages of Antony (B.C. 43–42), and later of Octavius (B.C. 41–37); in the
East those of Brutus and Cassius and others (B.C. 44–42), and of Antony
(B.C. 42 and onwards); in Sicily those of Sextus Pompey (B.C. 42–37); and
in Africa those of Q. Cornuſicius and Lepidus (B.C. 44–37).
The finds are those of Florence, San Bartolomeo in Sasso Forte, Vigatto,
Santa Anna, Ossolaro, Pieve-Quinta, Grosspold, Borzano, Peccioli, Garlasco,
Arbanats and Carbonara (I).
B.C. 36—17 (Period XV.). At Rome the moneyers' names are sup-
pressed, and all the coins, gold and silver (aureus, half-aureus and denarius),
are struck in the name of Octavius as “Caesar” (B.C. 36–29), as “Imp.
Caesar” (B.C. 29–27), and later as “Augustus.” The types of all the coins
are personal to him only.
In the Provinces the coinages are continued chiefly in the names of the
triumvirs, Antony and Octavius. In Spain, P. Carisius strikes silver and
bronze money as legate of Augustus; in Gaul there are the issues of Octavius
as “Imp. Caesar” (B.C. 36 and 29–27), and later as “Augustus”; in the
East, those of Antony, to the battle of Actium (B.C. 31), and of Octavius as
“Imperator perpetuo’’ (B.C. 29–27), and “Augustus” (B.C. 19–18); in Sicily
those of Sextus Pompey and Q. Nasidius (B.C. 36); in Africa those of Octavius
(B.C. 36); and in Cyrenaica (B.C. 31–27) those of L. Pinarius Scarpus, as legate,
first of Antony, and subsequently of Octavius. These are the latest pieces
of these last four provinces.
The finds are those of Chantenay and Beauvoisin.
B.C. 16–3 (Period XVI.). The moneyers' names are restored on the
coins struck in Rome, but always with that of Augustus. In B.C. 15 a coinage
of the baser metals is resumed, consisting of the sestertius and dupondius in
orichalcum, and of the as and quadrans in copper. The former are based on
the quarter-ounce standard, the latter on the semuncial standard. In the
finer metals only the aureus and denarius are issued. The types of these
7°
cxxiv. INTRODUCTION
were mainly personal to the emperor; a few, however, relate to the history of
the moneyer's family. The personnel of the mint consisted of a triumvirate,
not a quatuorvirate.
All the Provincial issues are suspended with the exception of that of
Gaul, which continues down to B.C. 3. These coins, which are of gold, silver
and bronze, have types personal to Augustus.
The finds are those of Palazzo Canavese and Terranova Pausania.
In concluding this Introduction I must express my great indebted-
ness to the published works of Mommsen," Babelon, Bahrfeldt, Borghesi,
Cavedoni, D'Ailly, Cohen, Fr. Lenormant, and many others, to which
reference has been so frequently made in the pages of these volumes. It
would have been quite impossible to compile such a work as the present
without the aid of such writings, especially as it contains the description of
many coins of which there are no specimens in the National Collection.
So much has been written by these numismatists and others in explanation
of the numerous types, that to throw any fresh light upon them was
only to be attempted with considerable caution. Occasionally Count de
Salis's classification rendered it necessary to suggest different solutions of
the types, but any changes of this nature have been mainly due to the
evidence of finds and the identification of the moneyer. The numerous
references show how freely these works have been consulted, and if at any
time the ideas of others have not been fully acknowledged it must be looked
upon as an oversight, and not in any way intentional.
Personally I am under great obligations to many for assistance in
various ways. To General Max Bahrfeldt I owe a deep debt of gratitude,
not only for reading the proof-sheets and for much valuable information
respecting the present locality of many coins not represented in the National
Collection, but also for supplying casts of such pieces. General Bahrfeldt's
intimate acquaintance with all the public and most of the private collections
in Europe enabled him to give information as to the rarity of many
pieces. To Sir Henry H. Howorth, who throughout has shown the keenest
interest in the production of these volumes, I am indebted in a no less
degree, not only for reading the proof-sheets, but also for innumerable
suggestions and no few corrections. His extensive historical researches have
enabled him to consider the subject of Roman numismatics from an outside
point of view, and he has thus been able to detect not a few discrepancies,
Some of which might have been overlooked.
* In referring to Mommsen's great work on the Roman coinage, I have throughout
quoted the French edition translated by the Duc de Blacas as being that now more
generally cited.
CEIRONOLOGICAL VIEW OF THE COINAGR, CXXV
To my colleagues, Mr. W. Wroth, the Assistant-Keeper of Coins, and to
Mr. G. F. Hill, the Senior Assistant of the Department, I am also very
grateful for reading the work as it passed through the press, and for numerous
suggestions. I have also to thank my former chief, Dr. Head, for rendering
similar service in the matter of the Introduction. There are others also
whose aid I have been compelled to enlist in the supply of casts of coins
not represented in the Museum collection. Amongst them are M. E. Babelon
and M. H. de la Tour of the Paris Cabinet, Dr. H. Dressel and Dr. K.
Regling of the Berlin Museum, Cav. Camillo Serafini of the Capitoline
and Vatican Museums in Rome, and Comm. Fr. Gnecchi of Milan.
H. A. GRUEBER.
C O I NS
OF THE
RO MAN REPUBLIC
AES RUDE *
No. Weight Metal
1 | 591.0 AE A piece of bronze, cast, of irregular form.
2 531.0 AE Similar.
3 || 432.0 AE Similar.
4 || 376-0 AE Similar.
5 298.0 AE Similar.
* The earliest form of exchange in metal employed by the Romans consisted of amorphous
lumps of bronze of no fixed weight, and without any official stamp or mark of value. Hence
they received the name of aes rude (Festus, de Verb. sig., s.v. rodws) or aes infectum. When
used for currency or exchange these lumps of metal must have passed by weight. A
number were discovered in 1828 near Vulci together with some quadrilateral coins, called aes
signatum (see p. 3). Many of the latter were broken, the larger pieces weighing from two to
three pounds, others being equal to various divisions of the pound, whilst the greater number
weighed about two ounces, thus corresponding to the sextans (see p. 9). Somewhat later
there was another find of this aes rude at Vicarello, with which were many examples of the
aes signatum, of the aes grave (see p. 5), and of Romano-Campanian coins (see Babelon,
B

2 AES RUDE
No. Weight Metal
6 || 281.0 AE Similar.
7 || 235-0 AE Similar.
8 226-0 AE Similar.
9 || 173-0 AE Similar.
10 | 154-0 AE Similar.
11 || 148.0 AE Similar.
Mon. de la République romaine, vol. i., p. 10 f.). Baron D’Ailly (Recherches sur la mom. Tom.,
p. 10), through whose hands many examples passed, gives their maximum weight at about
707-2 gram. (=10913-7 grs.), and their minimum at 2:21 gram. (34.1 grs.).
At what time the aes rude was instituted it is impossible to say. It probably remained
in use, by weight, for some little time after the introduction of the aes signatum, since
specimens of both series have been found together.
In the find at Vulci, besides the aes rude and the aes sigmatum there was a number of rough
brick-shaped pieces in very poor condition, without any kind of imprint, and nothing to indicate
their value; their weight varying from an ounce to a pound. These bricks formed about one-
sixth of the whole mass. Also there were some elliptical-shaped pieces, which represented
fractions of the as, most of them corresponding to the weight of the sextans (Mommsen,
Hist. mom. rom., t. i., p. 176). These pieces would appear to be intermediate between the
aes rude and the aes signatum.
AES SIGNATUM
After B.C. 450; A.U.C. 304
Metal
No. Wevght and Size Obverse Reverse
Quincussis,
1 27627-0 |AE 3.7 x|Bull , walking to 1., head | Bull walking to r., head
6-7 facing. facing.
Y, [Pls. i. and ii.]
(Bunbury Coll.)
2 21445-0 |AE 3.9 x|Eagle front, head r., flying ||[R]ONAANONA below Pe.
6-6 upwards and holding gasus galloping to 1.
thunderbolt in its claws. [Pls. iii. and iv.]
(Guadagni Coll.)
1 The aes signatum marks the first attempt in Central Italy towards a monetary system on
a fixed basis. In opposition to the des rude, the early Roman authors speak of aes signatwm, by
which they apparently did not mean any special coins, but simply pieces of metal of defined weight,
and marked with the imprint of some design or symbol. The des signatwrm, as now recognized,
consists of oblong, quadrilateral or brick-shaped blocks of bronze, cast, with representations of
animals, such as the bull or the pig, designs possibly illustrating the ancient custom of barter
with cattle, which was in existence, as we shall show, at the time of the institution of this
species of money. Other pieces bear figures of the elephant, birds, the pegasus, a shield, an
anchor, a trident, &c.; but probably the most ancient, as being most primitive in design,
are those which are ornamented with lines only, arranged in some cases in the form of a
fish-spine (see Brit. Mus. Cat., Gr. Coins, Italy, pp. 37, 38).
These blocks, as originally cast, are of the weight of five or four Roman pounds, hence
they are called quincusses or quadrusses. To provide smaller change they were broken into
pieces, which varied in weight from two pounds to an ounce (see above, p. 1), and these, like
the aes rude, passed in currency by weight.
The date of the first issue of these quadrilateral pieces of money at Rome is somewhat
uncertain; and even ancient authors differ in their views on this point. Pliny (Hist. nat.,
xxxiii. 3, 13) says that Servius Tullius was “the first to place a stamp on bronze '' (primus signavit
aes); but such antiquity cannot be claimed for the objects which we now possess. We must
therefore turn to the early laws relating to fines for any evidence which may give a clue to
their date.
With the Romans, as with other nations in an early state of civilization, trade was carried
on by a system of barter, and amongst an agricultural population cattle formed the basis of
commercial transactions, an ox being estimated at the same value as ten sheep. Fines were
also levied on this principle. This usage appears to have existed amongst the Romans till
about A.U.C. 300–302 (B.C. 454–452), when the laws Aternia-Tarpeia and Menenia-Sestia,
whilst still fixing fines in oxen and sheep, put also their equivalent in money. Two years later,
in A.u.c. 304 (B. c. 450), these laws were confirmed by the Twelve Tables, which ordered that
certain penalties should be paid in money, but no mention is made of cattle. Thus, for a
broken bone, a fine of 300 asses was imposed; for violation of liberty, 25 sestertii; for illegally
cutting trees, 25 sestertii per tree, &c. Again, in A.U.C. 324 (B.C. 430) the Lea, Julia, Papiria,
(Cicero, de Repub., ii. 35) converted fines of cattle into silver. It is, therefore, to the time of
the Decemvirs and the passing of the law of the Twelve Tables that the first Roman money,
which is known as aes signatum, has been attributed.
Though a large series of des signatum, with a multiplicity of designs, has come down to
us, it is impossible to assign any of the more ancient pieces to Rome herself. They are usually
given to the districts of Umbria and Central Italy. The examples described above are,
however, classed to Rome, but from their fabric and style it does not seem possible to attribute
them to a period before the second half of the 4th century B.C., thus making them contemporary
with the first issue of the round coins of the aes grave (see p. 5), with which they would be
current as multiples of the as.
How long the issue of the aes signatwin lasted is uncertain; but it is probable that it
4 AES SIGNATUM
continued to be in currency long after the introduction of the aes grave (see p. 5), since certain
types could not well have occurred before the early part of the 3rd century B.C. For instance,
those pieces which bear representations of arms, usually given to Central Italy, may record
the victories over the Samnites in B.C. 294; and it was during the wars with Pyrrhus, which
terminated in B.C. 274, that the Romans and the Latins first beheld an elephant.
The quincussis with the bull on both faces is a good example of this money; and the
representation of this animal recalls the origin of the word pecunia. The specimen in the
National Collection was bequeathed by Sir Edward Henry Bunbury, who purchased it at the
Pembroke Sale in 1848 (No. 294). That in the French Collection weighs 21387:6 grs.
(=1385-90 gram.); whilst another, found at Bruna, between Spoleto and Todi, in Umbria, in
1890 (Rivist. It., i891), weighs 20800 grs. (=1347-80 gram.).
The other example, given above, with the eagle holding a thunderbolt, and pegasus, though
bearing the inscription ROMANONA (the old genitive form for ROMANORVM), may not
be purely Roman, the pegasus being a not infrequent type on local aes grave, such as those of
Hatria, Central Italy, &c. Being of lighter weight than the piece with the bull, it may be of
the later half of the 4th century B.C., and thus contemporaneous with the Romano-Campanian
coins with a similar legend. The specimen in the British Museum came from the Guadagni
Collection. Another in the Museo Kircheriano weighs 26.179 grs. (=1696-35 gram.), and in the
same museum there is a fragment of one of these ingots which apparently had been broken into
four pieces. It was found near Tor Marancia, in the Roman Campania. A third specimen,
without inscription, and deemed genuine, was formerly in the Meynaerts’ Collection, and later
in the Gréau Collection. It weighs 23796:6 grs. (= 1542 gram.). Prof. Milani (Rivist. It.,
1891) describes a specimen in the Bruna find which weighs 21543 grs. (=1396 gram.), and
mentions one he had seen in the possession of Lady Hudson in Florence, which was much
corroded by water, weighing 21914 grs. (=1420 gram.). Both the coins mentioned above in
the Bruna, find are now in the Berlin Museum.
There is also in the British Museum a rectangular ingot of bronze, having on One face a
scabbard and the inscription N. ROMANONA (Nummus Romanorum), and on the other a short
sword or dagger, the handle of which is in the form of a ram’s head. It weighs 22972-3 grs.
(=1488-58 gram.). This piece came from the collection of the Duc de Blacas, who considered
it to be genuine (Mommsen, Hist. mom. rom., t. iv., pp. 6, 7); but, after careful examination,
it must be pronounced to be undoubtedly false, i.e., a modern fabrication. M. Babelon
(vol. i., p. 8) is also of this opinion.
5
AES GRAVE *
LIBRAL SERIES
Circ. B.C. 338—269; A.U.C. 416–485
Metal
and Size Obverse Reverse
As
No. Weight
1 4552-0 | AF 2-6 | Head of Janus, bearded ; Prow r. ; above, mark of
beneath, mark of value, value, l; all on raised disk.
— ; all on raised disk. [Pl. v. 1.]
(Castellani)
2 4470-0 || AE 2.75 | Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
3 || 4298-0 || AE 2-7 || Similar. Similar.
(Sambon)
* The introduction of the As of the weight of the Roman pound of 12 ounces, as
the unit of the coinage, was a further development of the Roman monetary system.
Hitherto, as we have seen, the coinage consisted either of amorphous lumps of metal, or
else of large brick-shaped pieces weighing from five to four Roman pounds, which, for con-
venience, were broken up into smaller portions. The absence of any historical records leaves
us somewhat in the dark as to the precise date when this first “round money” was intro-
duced. Mommsen (Hist. mon, rom., t. i., p. 180; and iii. 464) apparently concludes that, like
the quadrilateral pieces, the round coinage was introduced at the time of the Decemvirs; but
Samwer (Alt. rôm. Münz., p. 36 f.), arguing from the style of the head of Janus—viz., the shape
of the eyes, the mouth, the chin, and the hair, in relation to Greek coins, whence the Romans
must have acquired their scanty knowledge of art—was of opinion that none of these coins
could have been issued before B. c. 390, which was about the period of the striking of the fine
Syracusan medallions. Following the same course of comparison in the case of the prow on
the reverse, Samwer points out that this particular shape of prow does not appear to have
been used by the Greeks till the second half of the 4th century B.C., and that it does not occur
on Greek coins till the time of Demetrius Poliorcetes of Macedon (B.C. 306–283). We know
from unmistakable evidence, however, viz., the adoption of the Roman standard by the Latin
colonies (Mommsen, Hist, mon. Tom., t. iii., p. 182)—that the libral as was instituted before
that date, and in fixing it to about B.C. 340 history comes to our aid, and we may see in the
head of Janus on the obverse a reference to the close of the great Latin War in B. c. 338, and in
the prow on the reverse a record of the victory of the Romans over the town of Antium in the
same year, when that city was deprived of its ships of war, the beaks of which were brought
to Rome and served to adorn the Rostra in the Forum (Babelon, vol. i., p. vii.). Mommsen
(op. cit., t. i., p. 194) conjectured that the prow was the mark of the maritime power of Rome,
to which the Government of the Decemvirs imparted a new impulse ; but if the first issue of
these coins is assigned to so late a date as circ. B. c. 338, this interpretation is impossible.
This new coinage, called aes grave (Festus, de Verb. Sig., grave aes dictum a pondere), was
duodecimal in character, the unit, the as of the weight of the Roman pound, being divided into
fractions of six, four, three, two, and one uncia. All the denominations had the same reverse
type—a prow; but each one varied in that of the obverse and in having a distinctive mark of
value. The following are the types of the as and its divisions:—
As Head of Janus. Prow of Galley. Mark of Walue |
Semis 35 Jupiter. 33 2 3 5 3 3 y S
Triems 92 Minerva. 2 3 2 3 5 y ,, e s - e
Quadrams 35 Hercules. 3 2 2 3 2 3 5 y © C Q
Seatans 23 Mercury. 33 33 33 3 y © O
Uncia, 3 3 Roma. 33 3 3 3 3 3 5 ©
These types show no variations, except that on all the denominations (perhaps not the uncia)
the prow is turned to the left as well as to the right, but much more frequently to the right. In
selecting the types for the obverses of their coins, the Romans evidently intended to represent
the cult of their chief divinities. A difficulty, however, exists in the identification of the heads
on the triems and the wrºcia, both of which show a female head wearing a crested helmet, but of
V.
6 AES GRAVE
No. Weight ..º. Obverse Reverse
4 || 4200-0 | AF 2:45 Similar. Similar.
5 || 4120-0 | AF 2:45 || Similar. Similar.
(Sambon)
6 | 4055-0 || AE 2:55 Similar. Similar. g
(Cf. D'Ailly, Pl. vii. 5)"
(Castellani)
7|40440 E 25 |Similar. Similar.
8 || 3992-0 || AE 2-5 | Similar. Similar.
(Cf. D'Ailly, Pl. vi. 1.)
(Sambon)
9 || 3907-0 || AE 2.5 Similar. Similar.
(Cf. D'Ailly, Pl. viii. 3.)
(Sambon)
10 || 4261-0 || AE 2'4 || Similar ; without mark of Similar.
value.” (Cf. D'Ailly, Pl. vii. 3.)
(Sambon)
11|4167.0 | AF 25 similar. Similar.
(Sambon)
12 || 4098-0 || AE 2-4 || Similar. Similar.
13 | 4025-0 || AE 2'45 || Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
different design. This difference would point to separate divinities, and it is therefore probable
that on the triems the head of Minerva, wearing the crested Corinthian helmet, was intended
to be depicted, and on the wºmcia that of Roma, though wearing an Athenian helmet. This
view is, however, not universally accepted, as some would see in both heads that of Minerva,
others that of Roma. It need only be added that the helmet on the wincia approaches nearest
in form that worn by the head on the obverse of the denarius, which we would identify with
Roma (see p. 15). In the case of the Roman colonies which adopted the libral standard the
types vary according to each locality. *
All the denominations of the aes grave are cast and are without legends. There are no
round multiples of the as at this period, since their place was probably supplied by the
brick-shaped quincusses and quadrusses, which were still in use (see above, p. 3).
The libral as, which was originally of about 5057 grs. troy divided into 12 ounces of
about 421 grs. each, did not long maintain its full weight, for, with perhaps a single exception
(probably only an accident) preserved in the Olivieri Museum at Pesaro, weighing 6023 grs., the
earliest specimens do not much exceed 11 ounces. Before the end of the century it fell to 10
ounces, as it was on that standard that the colony of Luceria, founded in B.C. 314, issued its
first bronze money. About the turn of the century it was reduced to 7% ounces, and between
that time and the year B.C. 268 it continued to fall rapidly, so that when the triental or four
ounce standard was adopted there was no very great difference between the weights of the
latest pieces of the libral series and the earliest of the triental. The weights of the divisions of
the as declined proportionately.
The new coinage thus instituted circ. B.C. 338 was the only one issued at Rome till B. c. 268,
when it will be seen that still more important changes took place. -
* The form of the prow is often slightly varied, especially in the shape of the forecastle
and the occasional absence of the eye on the side. As the differences are, however, too
minute to be described, references are given to D'Ailly, Recherches swr la monnaie romaine,
vol. i., where a large number of the aes grave of all the denominations are figured.
* The mark of value on the obverse of the cast as, when once dropped, does not appear to
have been revived.
CIRC. B.C. 338—269; A.U.C.
416–485 7
No.
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
Weight
4009-0
3917-0
3365-0
3982-0
3698-0
2304-0
2050-0
1935-0
2300-0
2170-0
2167.0
2080-0
2069-0
Metal
and Size
AE 2-4
AE 2-5
AE 2-35
AE 2-3
AE 2-4
AE 2-1
AE 2-1
AE 1-9
AE 2-1
AE 2.05
AE 2-1
AE 2-1
AE 2.05
Obverse Reverse
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar.
(Cf. D'Ailly, Pl. viii. 1.)
(Castellani)
Similar. Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar. Similar; prow 1.1
[Pl. v. 2.]
(Sambon)
Similar. Similar.
t Cf. D'Ailly, Pl. xv. 2.
y
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar. Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar. Similar.”
Similar. Similar.
(Sambon)
Semis
Head of Jupiter 1., laureate ; Prow r. ; above, mark of
beneath neck, mark of
value, v, ; all on raised
disk.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
value, v. ; all on raised
disk.
(Cf. D'Ailly, Pl. ix. 7.)
(Sambon)
Similar ; mark of value
upright, S
(Cf. D'Ailly, Pl. ix. 5.)
(Castellani)
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
[Pl. v. 3..]
(Sambon)
Similar.
* The change in the direction of the prow seems to denote only a change of design and not
of standard. On the later coins the direction to left was preserved. D'Ailly has attributed
to the libral standard asses with prow to 1. as well as to r.
early asses of the triental series (see p. 17).
* The fabric of this and the next piece is very rude, and in that respect they resemble the
AES GRAVE
No.
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
Weight
1994-0
1951-0
1690-0
2017.0
1137-0
1573-0
1473-0
1461-0
1448-0
1408-0
1396-0
1342.0
1317.0
1290.0
1245-0
786-0
Metal
and Size
AE 2.05
AE 1.95
AE 2.05
AE 1-9
AE 1.65
AE 1.8
AE 1.8
AE 1.7
AE 1.8
AE 1-8
AE 1.75
AE 1.8
AE 1.8
AE 1.75
AE 1.75
AE 1:35
Obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar; head larger and
in lower relief; no mark
of value.
Similar ; with mark of
value, S, behind head.
{}
Reverse
Similar.
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar; prow 1.1
Similar.
[Pl. vi. 1.]
(Sambon)
Triens
Head of Minerval., wearing
crested Corinthian hel-
met ; beneath, marks of
value, * * * * ; all on raised
disk.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Prow r. ; beneath, marks
of value, * * * * ; all on
raised disk.
(Cf. D'Ailly, Pl. x. 7.)
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar.
[Pl. vi. 2.]
Similar.
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Cf. D'Ailly, Pl. x.9)
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar.
Similar ; prow 1. (much
worn).
(Blacas Coll.)
* In style and type this semis may be compared with the as (no. 17), the triens (no. 43),
about the same time,
the quadrans (no. 54), and the sextans (no. 62). They all appear to have been issued at or
CIRC. B.C. 338–269; A.U.C. 416–485 9
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
Weight
1262-0
1222-0
1155.0
1133-0
1122-0
1100.0
1061-0
1047-0
1032-0
992-0
892-0
918-0
828-0
Metal
and Size
AE 1.65
AE 1.65
AE 1.8
AE 1.65
AE 1.65
AE 1.6
AE 1.6
AE 1.6
AE 1.6
AE 1.6
, AE 1.6
AE 1.4
AE 1.4
Obverse
Reverse
Similar; head larger and Similar.
in low relief; no marks
of value.1
[Pl. vi. 3..]
Similar; head r. Similar.
Quadrans
Head of young Hercules l., | Prow r.; beneath, marks
wearing lion's skin; be- of value, * * * ; all on
hind, marks of value, 3 ;
all on raised disk. O
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar; head larger, and
in low relief; no marks of
value."
raised disk.
(Cf. D'Ailly, Pl. xi. 8.)
(Castellani)
Similar.
[Pl. vi. 4.]
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar; prow 1.
[Pl. vii. 1.]
Sextans
Head of Mercury l., wear- | Prow r.; beneath, marks of
ing winged petasus; be-
value, * *
neath, marks of value, * * *|:
* See note, p. 8.
* On the sextans and the uncia, unlike the previous denominations, the obverse and
reverse types are not on raised disks.
No. 62 is an exception.
+- C
10
AES GRAVE
No.
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
Weight
708-0
687.0
764-0
673-0
646.0
638-0
585-0
417.0
413-0
391-0
363.0
334-0
315.0
314-0
Metal
and Size
AE 1.4
AE 1-3
AE 1-3
AE 1:35
AE 1:35
AE 1.35
AE 1.25
AE 1:1
AE 1.05
AE 1.1
AE 1.05
AE 1-1
AE 1.05
AE -95
Obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar; petasus tied under
“chin.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar; head in low relief,
on raised disk; no marks
of value."
Reverse
Similar.
[Pl. vii. 2.]
(Sambon)
Similar.
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar; prow l., on raised
disk.
[Pl. vii. 3..]
(Sambon)
Uncia
Head of Roma l., wearing
crested Athenian helmet
with visor and neck-
piece;” behind, mark of
value, *
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Prow r. ; beneath, mark
of value, *
(Cf. D'Ailly, Pl. xiii. 7.)
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar.
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar.
[Pl. vii. 4.]
Similar.
* See note, p. 8.
* For the identification of this head with Roma see above, p. 6.
11
C O IN A G E O E' R O M E
FROM B.C. 268; A.U.C. 486
PERIOD I.
B.C. 268—217; A.U.C. 486–537
WE now enter on the third stage of the development of the money of Rome,
the most important one in the history of her coinage, as it witnessed not only
a modification of her cumbersome bronze coins, but also the introduction of a
gold and silver currency. Previous to this date, B.C. 268, the use of silver as
a medium of exchange had spread considerably in Italy, and in consequence a
silver currency became a matter of necessity to Rome herself.
Pliny (Hist. Nat., xxxiii. 3, 13) states that the first issue of silver money at
Rome took place in B.C. 269—Argentum signatum anno urbis CCCCLXXXV, Q.
Ogulnio C. Fabio cos. Livy (Epit., xv.) places this occurrence between the
foundation of the colony at Ariminum and the peace with the Picentes, B.C. 268,
and the defeat of the Salentines, B.C. 267; this would be four years before the
first Punic War, and four years after the surrender of Tarentum. Between these
two ancient writers there is only the difference of one year, and following
Mommsen (Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., p. 28) we have accepted the date given by Livy.
It has been generally assumed that the introduction of the Roman silver
money in B.C. 268 extinguished the independent silver coinages of Southern
Italy, except those of the Romano-Campanian districts; but this assumption is
open to question, as the cities of Tarentum, Rhegium and Neapolis, important
monetary centres, seem to have continued their silver currency, the first two,
perhaps to nearly the end of the third century. Many cities, however, still
struck bronze coins, the issue of which extended down to the passing of the Lea:
Plautia Papiria in B.C. 89. The installation of this coinage at Rome was also
contemporary with the foundation of the famous Capitoline Mint in the temple
of Juno Moneta, the “Averter of Evil,” which had been erected by L. Furius
Camillus after his victory over the Aurunci in B.C. 345, on the spot where
Manlius heard the Gauls escalading the fortress; hence the origin of the word
moneta as applied to coins and the name monetarius for the magistrate in charge
of the mint.
Some years after the introduction of this new coinage at Rome (circ.
B.C. 240), local issues were established, consisting of money in gold, silver,
and bronze, of the same types and standards. These coins can be identified
either by their fabric, which is somewhat rude, or in the case of some of the
early pieces, by the initials of the towns at which they were issued, amongst
which may be mentioned Luceria, Canusium, Croton, Hatria, &c. In this work
these local coins are described under “Coinage of Italy.”
Before giving an account of the first issues in gold, silver, and bronze
12 COINAGE OF ROME
some particulars may be stated about the denominations of the coins included
in our First Period, their legends, and their weights.
The denominations current between B.C. 268 and 217 Were :-
GoLD.—Sixty, forty, and twenty sestertii pieces.
SILVER.—Denarius, quinarius, sestertius, and victoriatus; and also double-
victoriatus (see below, p. 37, and vol. ii., App., p. 591) and half-
victoriatus.
BRONZE (TRIENTAL SERIES)—Decussis, tripondius or tressis, dupondius,
as, semis, triens, quadrans, sextans, uncia, semuncia, and quarter-uncia
or sicilicus. Of these the decussis, tripondius, dupondius, as, and semis
are always cast; the triens and quadrans are at first cast, then struck ;
and the sextans and lesser denominations are all struck.
BRONZE (SEXTANTAL SERIES).-As, semis, triens, quadrans, sextans, uncia,
and semuncia ; all struck.
All the struck coins in each metal are inscribed with the name of RoNAA,
but the cast pieces are, as before, without this legend; and each denomination in
each metal, with the exception of the victoriatus and the double-victoriatus, in
silver, and the semuncia and the quarter-uncia in bronze, bears its mark of value.
The half-victoriatus, which appears only to have been minted outside Rome, is
with or without a mark of value. Towards the middle of this period, i.e. about
B.C. 240, the moneyers' symbols or privy marks are added to the type, and about
the same time we first meet with their initials or monograms. The letters of
the legends do not vary in their forms with the exception of A, which is given
as A, A, A, A, and A, the last two being the most uncommon. The letter L is
always found as V, and P as T.
The prescribed weights of the coins were :—
GOLD.—Sixty sestertii piece, ºr of the Roman pound=3 scruples.
SILVER.—Denarius, ºr of the Roman pound=4 scruples.
Victoriatus, ºr of the Roman pound=3 scruples.
BRONZE.—Triental standard, with the as of 4 ounces as the unit.
Sextantal standard, with the as of 2 ounces as the unit.
Taking the scruple at 17:56 grs., this would give a proportionate ratio of
gold and silver at 1:20, and of silver and bronze triental at 1:250, and sea:tantal
at 1: 125. As, however, there is so much irregularity in the actual weights of
both the silver and bronze, these figures can only be regarded as approximate.
Since the classification adopted by the late Count de Salis somewhat differs
from that generally acéepted by numismatists, especially with regard to the date
and locality of the first issue of the gold coins, some explanation may be desirable.
Pliny (Hist. Nat., xxxiii. 3, 13), with respect to the introduction of the gold
money into the Roman monetary system, tells us: Aureus nummus post annos
LI percussus est quam argenteus. Taking the date of the first issue of the silver
money at B.C. 268, this would give the first issue of gold coins to B.C. 217, when
by the Lea, Flaminia the bronze money was reduced to the uncial standard. It
has, therefore, been generally accepted that these gold coins did not appear before
that date, and also that they were not struck at the Roman mint, but were local
in character, i.e. Campanian. From this view Count de Salis evidently differed,
for he was of opinion not only that this gold money was struck at Rome as
B.C. 268–217; A.U.C. 486–537 13
well as locally, but that it was issued at some time between B.C. 268–217. As
the coins attributed to the Roman mint do not bear any moneyers' marks or
initials which would connect them with the silver or bronze money, they afford
no clue to the date of their issue. This evidence is, however, supplied by the
local gold money of Roman types, on which we meet with the same symbols as
are found on early denarii and bronze coins of the sextantal standard. The
evidence of the coins themselves, therefore, favours the earlier date, i.e. before
B.C. 217, and it is not improbable that the first issue of gold was simultaneous
with the introduction of the bronze sextantal standard, i.e. about B.C. 240 (see
p. 29), when Rome, hard pressed by the strain of the first Punic War, needed
money to meet her necessities and for the payment of her troops, and for that
purpose used the gold bullion which was in her treasury. Such an occurrence
was not without precedent, as the same had happened at Athens on two occa-
sions, viz., in B.C. 407/6, after the Peloponnesian War, and again in B.C. 338,
after the battle of Chaeroneia, when the gold ornaments which had been dedi-
cated to Athena were melted down and turned into money (Köhler, Zeit. f. Num.,
1898, pp. 11 f.). This would account for this issue of gold money at Rome, and
also for its short duration. It was a special coinage, instituted for a particular
purpose, and no further attempt was made to return to a gold currency at Rome
for close on two genturies, when it was revived under similar circumstances
by Julius Caesar in B.C. 49; this time, however, to have a more lasting effect.
The types of the coins themselves, the head of Mars and the eagle of Jupiter
Standing on a thunderbolt, were a fitting record of the successful issue of the
struggle against the Carthaginians which had lasted for nearly twenty-four years.
The date of the first silver currency, consisting of the denarius, quinarius,
and Sestertius, has already been noticed. During the period B.C. 268–217,
when the denarius was struck at #2 of the pound, its type, the head of Roma on
the obverse and the Dioscuri on the reverse, underwent some slight modifications,
which will admit of its being classified into three series, showing a chronological
sequence (see below, p. 14).
The victoriatus was of the current value of three-quarters of the Roman
denarius, and it was also equivalent in weight to the drachms of Southern Italy,
Illyricum and elsewhere. It was first issued about B.C. 229, and though probably
in the first instance intended more for commercial purposes outside Italy, it
circulated largely in Italy itself. Of its origin Pliny (Hist. Nat., xxxiii. 3, 13)
relates: Hic mummus ea: Illyrico advectus mercis loco habebatur; est autem
signatus Victoria et inde momen. The statement by Pliny that this denomina-
tion was introduced into Italy from Illyricum is open to question, as will be
shown later on (see below, p. 36).
The bronze coinage of this period was of two standards—the triental,
with the as of four ounces as its unit, hence equal in weight to the triens of the
libral series; and later, the sea:tantal, with the as of two ounces, equal to the
sextans of the same series. The origin and dates of these two standards will be
dealt with when we come to the actual descriptions of the coins themselves
(see below, pp. 16, 29)."
1 For a general discussion of the bronze, silver and gold coinages, see Introd., §§ II., III., IV.
14 COINAGE OF ROME
SERIES I.
SILVER AND BIBONZE 1
Circ. B.C. 268—240; A.U.C. 486—514
Metal
Obverse Reverse
SILVER
"Without moneyers’ symbols or initials
Dernarius 2
1 79.9 || AR 8 | Head of Roma r., in high RoNAA (on tablet). The
relief, wearing winged Dioscuri on horseback
helmet, ornamented with
gryphon's head; the visor
in three pieces, even at
charging r. ; each holds
couched spear and wears
chlamys, cuirass, and
the ends and slightly con- pileus, surmounted by
vex from the base; earring star.
with triple drop and neck-
lace; hair tied with band
and falling in close locks
down the neck; behind, X
[Pl. viii. 1.]
(Pembroke Coll.)
* The coins of this series are, in silver, the denarius, the quinarius, and the sestertius,
with their respective marks of value, X, V, IIS (=10, 5, 2% asses); and in bronze, the as of the
triental standard and its divisions to the quarter-uncia or sicilicus, and also its multiples, the
decussis, the tripondius, and the dupondius.
* The denarii attributed to this Period, B.C. 268—217, show several varieties in type and
fabric. These allow of their being classed into three series or groups, which, when taken in
connection with the quinarius and the sestertius, and also with the bronze money, establish a
chronological sequence. The earliest denarii, Series I., are of good style and fabric, and prove
that the artists who made the dies were not unacquainted with the Greek money then current
in Italy. The head of Roma is in high relief, and is carefully and well modelled. She wears
an earring of three drops or pendants, her hair is tied with a band and falls in close locks down
her neck; and her helmet has the visor curved outwards at the extremity, and the three pieces
of which it is composed are only separate towards the ends. The denarii of Series II. are of
somewhat inferior fabric, and the type is in low relief. The head of Roma is more spread, her
hair is loose and scattered, her earring consists of a single drop, and the visor of the helmet is in
three pieces, even at the ends, and separate from their base. Series III. shows a slight improve-
ment in style, and the head of Roma, though more carefully modelled, is still in low relief.
Her hair is more compactly arranged, generally in three locks, the earring consists still of a
single drop, and the visor of her helmet is in three pieces, but peaked. This last variety is a
connecting link between the denarii of this and the next Period. The denarii of Series I.
are without moneyers’ marks or initials; those of Series II. are generally connected, in the
case of the moneyers' marks and initials, with the quinarius and bronze coins of the sextantal
issue; whilst those of Series III. are similarly connected with the victoriatus, but not with the
Ulllla,I'lúlS.
Q It would therefore appear that the earliest denarii were contemporaneous with the
quinarius, the sestertius, and the bronze coins of the triental standard (circ. B.c. 268—240);
that those of Series II. were concurrent with the gold LX., XXXX., and xx. Sestertii pieces,
the earlier issues of the sextantal bronze, and also with the quinarius and the sestertius, but
before the striking of the victoriatus (circ. B. c. 240–229); and that those of Series III. may
be classed with the first victoriati (circ. B. c. 229—217).
The denarii assigned to Italy in this Catalogue, though exhibiting similar variations in
type, &c., as those of the Roman mint, show that the early form continued to a slightly later
CIRC. B.C. 268–240; A.U.C. 486–514 15
No. Weight *. Obverse Reverse
2 | 74°5 | AR 7 || Similar. | Similar.
3 | 73°5 | AR, 8 || Similar. Similar; Rolvº/A
4 | 72-6 || AR, 75 Similar. Similar.
5 | 68-0 || AR, 7 || Similar. * Similar ; RONMA
6 | 66.7 | AR, 7 || Similar. Similar; RONA/A
[Pl. viii. 2.]
7 | 66.5 | AR, 8 || Similar. Similar; RoNAA
8 || 635 | AR 8 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. viii. 3..]
Quinarius
9 || 34.5 | AR 5 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, &c., Dioscuri on horseback,
similar to no. 1; behind, charging r., &c., similar
V to no. 1.
[Pl. viii. 4.]
10 || 31.3 | AR, "55 Similar. Similar ; RONWA
[Pl. viii. 5.]
11 || 31.3 | AR 55 | Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
12 28-7 || AR, "55 | Similar. Similar.
date at the local mints, as they are found in conjunction with the gold coins and with the
bronze of the sextantal standard, having the same moneyers' marks and with the same initials.
The quinarii show the same variations of type and fabric as the denarii of Series I, and
II, ; but the sestertii do not follow so closely these changes.
The type of the denarius and its divisions, with the winged helmeted head on the obverse T
and the Dioscuri on the reverse, though not actually original in design, yet presents some signs
of originality. As to the identification of the helmeted head, views of numismatists are
divided. Eckhel (Doct. num, vet., t. v., p. 84), Kluegman (L’Effigie di Roma nei tipi
monetarii più antichi, pp. 46 f.), and Cavedoni (Saggio, p. 124) would recognize it as the head
of Minerva, whilst Aldini (Mem. dell’ Acad. di Torino, Ser. ii., t. iii. and iv.), Mommsen (Hist.
mon. rom., t. ii., p. 8, note) and others consider it to represent the goddess Roma with
the attributes of Minerva, especially as in somewhat later issues of the denarii this head
is accompanied by the legend ROMA. Though the worship of Roma was not established at
Rome till a somewhat later period, we are disposed to accept the view of Mommsen, and have
therefore adopted it in our description of the coins. The gryphon-crested helmet was probably
copied from the head of Minerva, as seen on earlier Romano-Campanian coins (Babelon, vol. i.,
p. 12, no. 7), and to this were added wings, thus giving to Roma the character of “Victrix,”
in which light the Romans could well have viewed their divinity after the successful issue of
the war against Pyrrhus. The reverse type of the Dioscuri was one which had occurred on
coins of many places in Italy, where the cult of these hero-divinities was honoured. Their
worship was introduced at a very early period at Rome; but in figuring these youths in a
fighting attitude on their coins the Romans may have intended specially to record the
assistance which they had received from them at the battle of Lake Regillus in B.C. 496,
in commemoration of which a temple was consecrated to their honour in the following year.
The Roman silver coinage thus assumes at its institution the historical significance of its
types, which it preserved throughout so many centuries.
The denarius (no. 1) appears to be one of the heaviest known. It came from the
Pembroke Collection, and is specially mentioned by Mommsen on account of its weight (Hist.
mon. rom., t. ii., p. 25, note). w
On some of the early denarii the legend ROMA is incuse. These are classed by Count de
Salis with the local issues.
|
*
16 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
Sestertius 1
13 16.5 || AR 55 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, &c., simi- | Dioscuri on horseback
lar to no. 1; the visor is charging r., &c., similar
in two pieces only ; the to no. 1.
earring, a single drop; [Pl. viii. 6.]
behind, IIS
14 16-3 || AR 5 Similar. Similar; RONA/A
15 16-0 || AR 5 Similar. Similar.
16 15-8 || AR 5 || Similar. Similar.
17 15.7 | AR 55 Similar. Similar; RONMA
18 14-3 || AR 5 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. viii. 7.]
BRONZE
TRIENTAL SERIES 9
Decussis (Cast)
19 || 10066-0 || AE 4:4 | Head of Roma r., wearing | Prow l.; above, X; all on
helmet with visor and raised disk.
ornamented with gry- [Pl. viii. 8, obv.;
phon's head; behind, X Pl. ix. 1, rev.]
(= 10 asses); all on (Sambon)
* raised disk.
* There appear to be no sestertii which correspond precisely in type to the earliest
denarii and quinarii, the differences being in the form of the visor of the helmet and in that of
the earring. The fabric, however, is very similar, so we may consider that the sestertii here
described belong to the earliest issue.
* The reductions of the libral as and its divisions have been a subject of much inquiry,
which has resulted in a great variety of opinion. Samwer-Bahrfeldt (Alt. Pöm. Münz.,
pp. 45 f.) and others held that the reduction of the as of one pound to the as of two ounces
(sextantal) was perfectly gradual, and was not the result of any special legislative act.
D’Ailly (Mon. rom., vol. i., p. 6) was of opinion that the reduction took place at certain
periods, and that the libral as first descended to one of six ounces (semilibral), and, after an
interval, to one of three ounces (quadrantal), and finally, in B.C. 268, to one of two ounces
(sextantal). Count de Salis appears in a measure to have agreed with D’Ailly, but differed as to
the time when these changes took place. Mommsen (Hust. mon. Tom., t. ii., p. 10, and t. iii.,
p. 468) held a third view, and considered that the first reduction of the Roman bronze money
took place circ. B.C. 268, and was from a libral as to one of four ounces, i.e. triental, basing his
classification on the evidence of the local issues of the Latin colonies, which adopted the Roman
standard for their money. In a similar manner he has shown that the triental system was still
in use in B.C. 244, when the Latin colony was founded at Brundusium, and when that colony
issued money based on that standard. Not long after that date a further reduction appears to
have taken place, and the as of two ounces (sextantal) was adopted (see p. 29). The arguments,
both numismatic and historic, brought forward by Mommsen in support of the triental reduction
are so strong that it has been adopted for the present Catalogue. This alteration in the
arrangement of this particular series does not materially affect Count de Salis's classification;
but it makes these triental bronze coins concurrent with the denarii, &c., of the earliest type,
2.e. those of Series I. The ratio between silver and bronze would be about 1:250.
CIRC. B.C. 268—240; A.U.C. 486—514 17
Metal
& & *S *
and Size Obverse Reverse
No. Weight
Tripondius (Cast)
20|4230-0 || AE 25 | Head of Roma r., wearing | Prow l.; above, III ; all on
helmet, similar to the raised disk.
preceding; behind, III [Pl. ix. 2.]
(=3 asses); all on raised
disk.
Dupondius (Cast)
21 || 3215-0 || AE 2.2 | Head of Minerva, r., wear- | Prow 1. ; above, II.; all on
ing crested Corinthian | raised disk.
helmet; ' behind, II (=2
asses); all on raised disk.
22 || 2863-0 || AE 2-1 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. x. 1.]
(Blacas Coll.)
As (Cast)
23 1645-0 || AE 1.75 | Head of Janus; on raised | Prow l. ; above, l ; all on
disk. raised disk.
[Pl. x. 2.]
As compared with the coins of the libral standard several new denominations, multiples of
the as, as well as smaller divisions of the same, were added to this series. The multiples
were the decussis, or ten asses; the tripondius, or three asses; and the dupondius, or two
asses; and the divisions were the semuncia and the quarter-uncia.
The reduction in the sizes of the coins admitted of several of the lesser denominations being
struck from dies, but the larger pieces continued to be cast. The series of cast and struck
pieces therefore are :—
Cast : Decussis, tripondius, dupondius, as, and semis.
Cast or Struck : Triens and quadrans.
Struck : Sextans, uncia, semuncia, and quarter-uncia.
The obverse types of the as and its divisions to the uncia are the same as those of the
libral series; but the decussis and the tripondius have the head of Roma, and the dupondius
the head of Minerva, whilst the semuncia shows the head of Mercury as on the sextans, and the
quarter-uncia that of Roma, as on the uncia. These last two pieces are without marks of value,
and are therefore distinguishable from those of similar types of higher values. The reverse type
of all the denominations is the ship’s prow, as in the libral series.
The cast pieces of this series are mostly of very rude work, especially in the case of the as,
semis, triens, and quadrans. On this account they can be easily distinguished from similar
coins of the libral issue.
The cast pieces are still without legends, but on the reverse of the struck pieces the name
of ROMA is given. None of these coins, however, bear moneyers’ marks or initials.
Specimens of the decussis are in the Paris Cabinet (wt. 1091-50 gram. = 16829 grs.);
in the Collegio Romano Collection (wt. 1074 gram. = 16574 grs.); in the Museum at Pesaro
(wt. 721 gram. = 11127 grs.); and in the Gnecchi Collection (wt. 680 gram. = 10494 grs.).
The figure of the Pesaro piece given by Garrucci (Mom. dell' It. ant., pl. xxxi. 3) shows a spear-
head (the presence of which has been questioned) before the head of Roma and under the prow.
The specimen in the Turin Collection, with Victory in a biga on the obverse, first illustrated by
Arigoni (Num. Mus. Arig., t. iii., pl. xxiii., xxiv.), is universally considered to be false.
* As this head is the same as that on the triens, it is identified as of Minerva. D’Ailly (Mon.
rom., Vol. i., p. 94, pl. xxv. 3) describes and figures a unique dupondius in the Collegio Romano
Collection with the reverse type the same as the above coin; but having on the obverse the
head of Janus and no mark of value. It weighs 254-90 grammes=3923 grains. He attributes
this coin to his semilibral series, and adds, “there can be no question of its genuineness and
authenticity; and it is in a remarkably fine state of preservation.” Babelon has, however, not
referred to this coin.
D
18
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
Weight
1563-0
1403.0
1290-0
1233-0
11950
1100-0
1018:0
1005-0
964-0
104.1-0
850-0
836.0
813-0
708-0
590.0
578-0
542-0
Metal
Cºnd Size
AE 1-85
AE 1.8
AE 1.6
AE 1.8
AE 1-55
AE 1.45
AE 1:45
AE 1-6
AE 1.5
AE 1.5
AE 1.4
AE 1.45
AE 1.25
AE 1.3
AE 1:35
AE 1.2
AE 1.25
Obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Sermis
Head of Jupiter l., laureate;
behind, S.; all on raised
disk.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; no mark of value.
Similar ; mark of value, S
Similar.
Reverse
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar.
(Castellani)
Similar.
(Cf. D'Ailly, Pl. xxxv. 4.)"
(Sambon)
Similar (much worn).
Similar.
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar ; prow r.
[Pl. x. 3..]
(Sambon)
(Cast)
Prow l. ; above, S.; all on
raised disk.
(Cf. D'Ailly, Pl. xxxviii. 4.)
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. x. 4.]
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar (rude fabric).
Similar.
(Cf. D'Ailly, Pl. xxxviii. 5.)
(Sambon)
Similar.
(Sambon)
* The references are, as before, to D'Ailly, Recherches sur la monnaie romaine.
CIRC. B.C. 268—240; A.U.C. 486—514 19
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
41 479-0 | AE 1.2 | Similar. Similar.
(Sambon)
42 | 372-0 || AE 1.2 | Similar. Similar; mark of value, 2
Triens (Cast)'
43 || 489-0 | AF 1:2 | Head of Minerval., wearing | Prow l.; below, * * * ~ ; all
crested Corinthian hel- on raised disk.
met ; hair long; below, [Pl. x. 5.]
**** ; all on raised disk. (Sambon)
Triens (Struck)
44 || 389-0 || AE 1-3 | Head of Minerva r., wear- || RoNAA above Prow r. ; *
ing crested Corinthian | below, * * * *
helmet, earring of single
drop, and necklace ; hair
long; above, * * * *
45 381.0 AE 1.3 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xi. 1.]
46 || 371.0 | AF 1:2 . Similar. Similar ; RONA/A
(Sambon)
47 || 350-0 || AE 1.15 Similar. Similar.
48 || 333-0 || AE 1.2 | Similar. Similar ; RONAA
49 || 327-0 || AE 1.1 | Similar. Similar; RONA/A
50 | 323-0 || AE 1.2 | Similar. Similar.
(Sambon)
51 || 301-0 | AF 1'15 Similar. Similar.
52 295-0 | AE 1.1 ! Similar. Similar.
* The cast specimens of this denomination are so rare that it is evident that very few
were issued, and that struck ones were soon substituted for them. , D'Ailly (op. cit., p. 100)
says that he was never able to secure a specimen for his collection, but he mentions seven in
the Collegio Romano and one in the Vatican Collection. When this denomination was changed
from a cast to a struck piece, the head of Minerva on the obverse and the prow on the reverse were
turned to the right instead of to the left, and there was a considerable reduction in the weight.
Precisely the same occurred in regard to the quadrans, of which cast specimens are also
very scarce. It was probably at this period that the fall in the weight of the sextans took
place (see no. 72, p. 21), and also that a change in the type of the uncia occurred, by which the
head of Roma was turned to the right instead of to the left (see no. 109, p. 23). These changes
in the weight of the sextans and in the type of the uncia appear to have been sudden, and not
gradual.
* The prow is usually ornamented with a club on the forecastle and with sea-lines on
the keel. Occasionally a wing decorates the beak.
20
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
Weight
429.0
295.0
272-0
254-0
226-0
203-0
187-0
435-0
Metal
and Size
AE 1.35
AE 1.1
AE 1.1
AE 1.1
AE 1.1
AE 1: 15
AE 1.0
AE 1-1
Obverse
Head of young Hercules l.,
wearing lion's skin ; be-
low, * * * ; all on raised
disk.
* * *
* // Irº, "Mºu
g& Whi, || || Whw
t
*Twº
Head of young Hercules r.;
wearing lion's skin; be-
hind, 3
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
ing winged petasus tied
behind ; above, * *
Reverse
Quadrans (Cast) *
Prow 1. ; below, *** ; all on
raised disk.
W %.
$º
º
S&º
*\s Sº
S.
º
zº –– sº Yº
a §§
w º
º
%
| | \\ ; w Jºy tº fſ/l
\ ‘. Z.9 *s *] * |
W § Wºź //Zºe-
ºl"litynºj
... "...; Fºr *S*. -
fº/ º
ſ 2%’
ºš Qº 2
--~ * aº
[Babelon, vol. i., p. 46, no. 17.]”
Quadrans (Struck) 8
RONA/A above Prow r. ; be-
low, O O. O.
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar ; RoNAA
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar.
[Pl. xi. 2.]
Similar; RoNW/A
Sextans (Struck)
Head of Mercury r., wear- || Rol\/\ above Prow r. ; be-
low, * *
(Cf. D'Ailly, Pl. xxxi. 1.)
* The British Museum has no specimen of the cast quadrans nor any of the heavier struck
pieces of this denomination. D'Ailly (Mom. rom., p. 101) mentions ten specimens of the cast
quadrans and of three varieties.
* The coins illustrated in the text of this Catalogue are not represented in the British
Museum Collection.
the coinage.
* D'Ailly (op. cit., p. 131) gives heavier specimens of the struck quadrans, weighing
335 grs. and less.
They are inserted when of importance to the chronological sequence of

















CIRC. B.C. 268—240 ; A.U.C. 486—514 21
No.
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
Weight
416.0
412-0
410-0
397-0
386-0
371-0
362-0
357.0
347.0
343-0
334-0
329-0
237-01
225-0
223-0
223-0
217-0
217-0
196-0
194-0
190-0
184-0
Metal
and Size
AE 1-2
AE 1-2
AE 1.1
AE 1-2
AE 1-2
AE 1-2
AE 1-2
AE 1.1
AE 1.2
AE 1.2
AE 1.2
AE 1-2
AE 1.05
AE 1-0
AE 1.0
AE 1-0
AE 1.0
AE 1.05
AE 1.0
AE 1.0
AE 1.0
AE •95
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
ł
Similar,
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Obverse
Reverse
Similar.
[Pl. xi. 3..]
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar; RoNAA
Similar; RoNA/A
(Sambon)
Similar ; Rolvº/\
Similar.
Similar; RONA/A
(Payne Knight Coll.)
Similar.
Similar,
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar.
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar.
. Similar; RoNAA
Similar.
| Similar.
| Similar.
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar.
Similar; Rolvº/A
* For this sudden fall in weight see above, p. 19,
22
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
Weight
174-0
172.0
169-0
I61-0
149-0
144-0
234:0
220-0
219-0
208-0
206-0
197-0
195.0
194-0
193-0
189-0
188-0
184-0
181-0
Metal
and Size
AE •95
AE •95
AE 1.0
•95
•95
•95
•95
AE 1.1
AE 1-0
AE 1.0
AE 1.0
AE •95
AE 1-0
AE •95
AE 1.0
AE '95
AE 1.0
AE 1.0
Obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse
Similar.
(Payne Knight Coll.)
Similar.
[Pl. xi. 4.]
(Sambon)
Similar; RoNWA
Similar ; RONA/A
Similar.
Similar.
Uncia (Struck)
Head of Roma 1., wearing
crested Athenian helmet
with visor peaked, and
earring of one drop ; hair
long; behind, *
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar,
RONA/A above Prow r. ; be-
low, *
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
(Cf. D'Ailly, Pl. xxxii. 5.)
Similar.
[Pl. xi. 5.]
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Cf. D'Ailly, Pl. xxxii.12.)
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
(Cf. D'Ailly, Pl. xxxii. 8.)
(Sambon)
Similar.
CIRC. B.C. 268—240 ; A.U.C. 486—514
23
No.
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
Weight
178-0
174-0
174-0
172-0
170-0
170-0
166-0
149-0
156-0
140-0
140-0
140-0
138.0
137-0
137-0
136.0
136.0
128-0
127.0
122:0
Metal
and Suze
AE -95
AE '95
AE '95
AE '95
AE '95
AE '95
AE '95
AE 1-0
AE '9
AE '9
AE '9
AE '85
AE -9
AE '9
AE '85
AE -85
AE '85
AE '85
AE '9
AE '85
Obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; earring of three
drops.
Similar ;
drop.
earring of one
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; head of Roma r.,
visor of helmet in three
pieces, even at the ends,
andslightly convex; neck-
lace; behind, *
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
similar.
Similar.
Reverse
Similar.
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar.
[Pl. xi. 6.]
Similar.
Similar.
(Payne Knight Coll.)
Similar.
Similar
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xi. 7.]
Similar.
Similar; RoNAA
Similar.
Similar.
(Sambon
Similar ; RoNA/A
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
| Similar.
Similar ; R ONWA
(Sambon)
* ' This variation in the obverse type of the uncia from the head of Roma to the right instead
of to the left is somewhat remarkable (see above, p. 19).
between the semi-libral and quadrantal series. The helmet worn by Roma is very similar to
that on the denarii of Series I. (see p. 14).
This is D'Ailly’s line of division
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
Weight
115-0
Metal
and Size
AE -85
AE -85
AE '85
AE '85
AE '85
AE '85
AE 8
AE 8
AE 75
AE 8
AE '85
AE 8
AE 75
AE 75
AE 8
AE -75
AE -8
AE 75
AE 8
Obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse
Similar ; RoNA/A
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; RoNAA
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; Rol\\/A
Similar.
Similar ; Ron/A
Similar; RoNW/A
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar ; RoNAA
Sennuncia (Struck)
Bust of Mercury r., wear-
ing winged petasus
(usually tied behind)
and chlamys.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
RONA/A above Prow r.'
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xi. 8.]
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; RóNWA
Similar ; RoNA/A
Similar.
[Pl. xi. 9...]
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
114-0
113-0
111-0
107.0
100.0
87-0
81.0
114-0
109-0
106-0
106-0
104-0
103-0
100.0
99-0
99-0
97.0
97.0
* Throughout, the prow on the semuncia varies a good deal in the presence or absence of
the ornaments, i.e. the club, the wing, and the sea-lines on the keel (see p. 19, note 2).
CIRC. B.C. 268—240; A.U.C. 486—514
No.
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
Weight
97.0
96-0
95-0
95-0
94-0
94-0
94-0
93-0
92.0
92.0
91-0
89.0
88-0
88-0
87-0
85-0
85-0
84-0
80-0
79-0
79-0
78-0
77.0
77.0
74-0
72-0
69-0
Metal
and Size
AE -8
AE '85
AE 8
-8
-85
:
•85
•85
.75
.75
•75
•75
•75
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Obverse
Similar."
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Payne Knight Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse
Similar ; Rolv A
Similar ; RoNA/\
Similar; RoNA/A
Similar ; Rolv A
Similar; RoNW/A
Similar.
Similar ; Rol\/\
Similar ; Rolv A
26
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
167
168
169
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
Weight
66-0
59.0
66-0
60-0
60-0
53-0
53-0
52-0
51.0
48.0
47.0
46.0
39.0
36.0
35-0
35.0
34:0
29.0
Metal
and Suze
AE 75
AE 65
AE 65
AE 6
AE -7
AE 6
AE 6
AE 6
AE 6
AE 65
AE 65
AE 6
AE 65
AE 65
AE •7
AE 6
AE 65
AE 6
Obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse
Similar.
Similar ; RONA/A
[Pl. xi. 10.]
Quarter-Uncia (Struck)."
Head of Roma r., wearing
crested Athenian helmet
with visor peaked, and
earring of one drop.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; the visor of the
helmet is in three pieces,
usually even at the ends.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; no earring.”
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
RONA/A above Prow r.”
Similar.
[Pl. xi. 11.]
Similar.
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; RONA/\
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; RoNWA
Similar ; RONA/A
(Cf. D'Ailly, Pl. xxxiv. 1.)
Similar ; RONMA
(Cf. D'Ailly, Pl. xxxiv. 5.)
Similar.
Similar ; Rolvº/A
Similar.
Similar ; RONAA
Similar ; RONA/\
Similar.
[Pl. xi. 12.]
Similar ; RoNA/A
Similar.
1 D'Ailly (Mon. rom., p. 115) appears to have been the first to recognize this denomination,
which he classes with coins of his semi-libral standard.
mention these pieces.
Neither Mommsen nor Babelon
* As on the semuncia, the prow shows similar variations in respect of the ornaments on it.
* On this and the following pieces the earring is omitted.
CIRC. B.C. 240–229; A.U.C. 514—525 27
SERIES II.1
GOLD, SILVER, AND BRON ZE
Circ. B.C. 240–229; A.U.C. 514–525
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
GOLD 3
Without momeyers' symbols or initials
60 Sesterºtii
185| 52.7 AW 6 Bust of Mars r., wearing RoMA below Eagle stand-
crested Corinthian helmet ing r. on thunderbolt,
and chlamys; behind, Nºx wings spread.
(= 60 sestertii). [Pl. xii. 1.]
(Wigan Coll.)
186 || 52-0 || AV 55 | Similar. Similar.
(Payne Knight Coll.)
40 Sestertii
187 || 34°5 || AV 5 || Similar ; behind bust of Similar ; RoNAA
Mars, XXXX (= 40 ses- [Pl. xii. 2.]
tertii).
188 || 34°4 || AV 5 || Similar. Similar.
2O Sesterºtii
189 || 17-4 || AV 4 || Similar ; behind bust of Similar ; RONMA
Mars, XX (=20 sestertii).
190 | 17-2 || AV 4 || Similar. Similar ; Rolvº/A
[Pl. xii. 3..]
(Blacas Coll.)
1 The coins of this series are, in gold, the sixty, forty, and twenty-sestertii pieces; in
silver, the denarius, the quinarius, and the sestertius; and in bronze, the as of the sextantal
standard and its divisions to the semuncia (see above, p. 14). It is during the issue of this
series that the moneyers’ symbols, and also their initials, first make their appearance ;
but the majority of the coins are still without these special marks, which were no doubt insti-
tuted with the object of identifying the issues of the various moneyers. The majority of
the symbols are probably simple marks of identification, but it is possible that some were
emblems or types parlants of families, such as the fly of the Sempronia gens (Musca), the
hammer of the Publicia gens (Malleolus), the flamen’s cap of the Flaminia gens, the dog of the
Antestia gens, &c. The moneyer's name is occasionally shown by an initial or a mono-
gram, which later develops into a more extended form. When this takes place, the symbols
practically disappear.
* The gold coins classed to the Roman mint are without moneyers’ symbols, and of
fine style. Those given to the local mints always bear a symbol, and are of rude work. The
latter consist only oºsesterti pieces. For the date of the issue of these gold coins, see
above, p. 12, Q0 × 7.0 Ju W., & \\?\)
& “.
28
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
I99
200
201
202
203
204
205
Weight
68-1
66-8
63-8
59.6
35.1
34.8
34.8
34.5
33-3
33-2
33-2
32-9
32.8
32-2
32.0
Metal
and Size
AR.
AR,
AR.
AR.
.
AR.
AR.
AR.
AR.
AR º
.75
.75
•75
.75
•6
•65
Obverse
Reverse
SILVER
"Without moneyers' symbols or initials
Denarius'
Head of Roma, r., in low
relief, wearing winged
helmet, ornamented with
gryphon’s head; the visor
in three pieces, even at
the ends and separate
from their base; earring
of one drop, and neck-
lace ; hair tied with band
and spread; behind, X
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
RoMA (on tablet). The
Dioscuri on horseback
charging r. ; each holds
couched spear and wears
chlamys, cuirass, and
pileus, surmounted by
Star.
[Pl. xii. 4.]
Similar ; RoNW/A
Similar ; RoRMA
[Pl. xii. 5.]
Similar ; RoNW/\
Quinarius
Head of Roma r., wearing
winged helmet, &c.,
similar to no. 191 ; be-
hind, V
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
RoNA/A (on tablet). The
Dioscuri on horseback
charging r., &c., similar
to no. 191.
Similar ; RoNWA
Similar ; RoNW/A
[Pl. xii. 6.]
Similar ; RONMA
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xii. 7.]
Similar.
Similar ; RONA/\
Similar ; RoNA/A
Similar ; RoNAA
| For the chronological sequence of the denarii of this series, see above, p. 14.
CIRC. B.C. 240–229 ; A.U.C. 514–525 29
No. Weight ..º. Obverse Reverse
206 || 31-0 | AR 65 | Similar. Similar ; RONA/A
207 || 30-6 || AR 65 | Similar. Similar; RoſwA
208 || 30-5 | AR 65 | Similar. Similar ; Rolvº/A
209 || 30-2 || AR 6 || Similar. Similar.
210 | 28.9 || AR 65 | Similar. Similar.
211 || 28-6 || AR 65 | Similar. Similar.
212 27-3 || AR 65 | Similar. Similar.
213 || 25.8 || AR 65 | Similar. Similar : RONMA
Sesterºtius
214 || 17-4 || AR 55 | Head of Roma r., wear- || RoM/A (on tablet). The
ing winged helmet, &c., Dioscuri on horseback,
similar to no. 191; be- charging r., &c., similar
hind, IIS to no. 191.
[Pl. xii. 8.]
215 || 14-3 || AR 55 | Similar. Similar.
216 || 14-0 || AR 5 || Similar. Similar ; RONMA
BRONZE
SExTANTAL SERIES
Without moneyers’ symbols or initials
As
217 | 779-0 | AF 1:55 Head of Janus, laureate ; RoNAA below Prow r. ;
above, I above,
218 || 703-0 | AF 1:35 | Similar. Similar.
219 | 667.0 | AE 1.4 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xii. 9..]
1 In attributing these coins to the sextantal series we are met by another difficulty;
for whilst ancient writers (Festus, de Verb. sig., s.v. Grave, and Pliny, Hist, mat., xxxiii. 3, 13)
record the introduction of a coinage of this standard during the Punic War—Festus says
“during the second,” Pliny “during the first,”—Mommsen rejected this view, since, though
the weight of the as descended rapidly from four ounces to three, two, and even to one ounce,
there is no indication of the epoch of a special intermediate reduction to a sextantal
standard (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 14). With such conflicting views we must turn to the coins
themselves, and see if they offer any evidence which may throw some light on this difficult
uestion.
ſ] If we admit that the triental standard was introduced in B.C, 268 (see p. 16), and the
30 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight º'. Obverse Reverse
220 | 649-0 | AF 1.4 || Similar. Similar.
221 610-0 | AF 1-3 || Similar. Similar ; RONA/A
222 || 555-0 | AF 1.3 | Similar. Similar.
223 549-0 | AF 1:35 | Similar. Similar ; RONMA
224 547-0 | AF 1'4 Similar. Similar.
225 | 529-0 || AE 1-25 | Similar. Similar.
226 528-0 | AF 1-3 || Similar. Similar ; RoNA/A
227 | 511-0 || AE 1-3 || Similar. Similar ; Rolvº/\
228 502-0 || AE 1-3 || Similar. Similar.
uncial in B.C. 217, during the dictatorship of Q. Fabius Maximus (see p. 44), the coins them-
selves indicate that at some time during that period a radical change occurred, which put an
end to the casting of the bronze money, and established as the unit the struck as weighing
two ounces. The decussis, tripondius, and dupondius in consequence disappear, and also the
struck quarter-uncia, as under the reduced weight this piece may have been considered too small
for general use. As it is scarcely conceivable that such a change was merely the result of a
gradual depreciation in the weight of the coins, it can only be attributed to some special
legislative act, of which, unfortunately, there is no record, and we have only the statement of
two ancient writers to rely on, whose accuracy cannot, however, always be trusted. Pliny
(loc. cit.) tells us that the reduction took place during the first Punic War, when the State
could not meet its expenses (cum vºnpensis res publica mom sufficeret). This statement, which
gives us an approximate date, fits in well with the evidence of the coins themselves; for, if
the triental standard was still in use at Rome in B.C. 244 (see above, p. 16), the sextantal one
could not have been introduced till some time after that year. We would therefore put this
change in the standard of the bronze coinage at about B.C. 240, when Rome, exhausted by her
long struggle with the Carthaginians, sought to improve her financial position by lowering the
standard of her money. That this state of affairs should be reflected in the coinage might well
be expected; and not only was the bronze money placed on a reduced standard, but the silver
appears to have been affected also, as it is to this time that we would assign the first
variation in the type of the denarius (see above, p. 14), when not only did it fall in weight,
but also its fabric and somewhat careless execution show that the mint was in a state of
disorganization.
This new bronze coinage consisted, therefore, of struck coins only, and the denominations
were the as of two ounces for its unit, and its divisions to the semuncia. The types are the
same as those of the triental standard. On the as and the semis the legend ROMA is always
placed below the ship’s prow ; but on the triens and the lesser denominations it is above. On
all the coins of this series the prow is turned to the right. D'Ailly (Mom. roºm., pl. lx., fig. 15,
and lxv., fig. 1) figures a triens and a semuncia with the prow to the left ; but as they
both appear to be of very barbarous work, these particular specimens may not be of the Roman
mint. He describes them as being very rare (op. cit., pp. 178,215).
On several of the coins of this series, including the as, sextans, semis, and quadrans, the
forecastle on the prow is represented with a pointed roof.
We may also note here an interesting as of the sextantal standard figured by D'Ailly (op.
cit., pl. liv., fig. 12), bearing a dedicatory inscription to the goddess Fortuna. It has on the
obverse the punctured letters S F (Sacris Faciundis?), and on the reverse the legend
FORWAl STIPE (Fortunae Stipem). This ea voto piece to “Fortuna” recalls the passage
in Suetonius (Vit. Aug., lvii.), “Omnes ordines in lacum Curti quotannis ex voto pro salute
ejus stipem, jaciebant ’’; and also of Livy (L. xxv., cap. 12), who, in referring to the praetor
urbanus, says: “Edixit ut populus, per eos ludos stipen. Apollini, quantum commodum esset,
conferret ’’; or, again, the expression of Quintilian (Declam., ix. 15): “Adorato numine stipem
ponere Fortunae (hoc est dedicare).” There is in the British Museum a silver stater of Sicyon
having a similar punctured inscription, showing that the coin was dedicated as an offering to
Artemis (Hill, Handbook of Gr, and Rom. Coins, p. 197).
CIRC. B.C. 240–229 ; A.U.C. 514–525
31
229
230
231
232
Weight
364:0
351-0
344-0
315.0
309-0
287-0
275-0
270-0
251.0
246.0
242-0
224.0
214-0
206-0
205-0
215-0
231-0
225-0
207-0
190-0
164:0
160-0
Metal
and Size
AE 1.05
AE 1:1
AE 1.05
AE 1-1
AE 1.05
AE 1:1
AE 1.05
AE 1.05
AE 1.05
AE 1.0
AE 1.0
AE 1.05
AE 1.0
AE 1:1
AE 1.05
AE 1.01
AE •9
AE 1.0
AE 1.05
AE •9
AE 1.05
Obverse
Reverse
Sermis
Head of Jupiter r., lau-
reate ; behind, S
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
RONA/A below Prow r. ;
above, S
Similar.
Similar ; Rolv A
Similar; Rolv A
[Pl. xii. 10.]
Similar ; RoNW/A
Similar.
Similar ; RoNAA
Similar ; RoNAA
Similar ; RoNWA
Similar ; RONMA
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; S before prow.
Triers
Head of Minerva, r., wear-
ing crested Corinthian
helmet, necklace, and
earring of triple drop ;
hair long; above, * * * *
Similar.
Similar ; earring of single
drop.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
RoNA/A above Prow r. ;
below, * * * *
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xii. 11.]
Similar.
Similar ; RONMA
Similar.
32
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
251
252
Weight
160-0
159-0
Metal
and Size
AE •9
AE '95
AE •9
AE •95
AE '95
AE '9
AE '85
AE -95
AE •9
AE •9
AE -9
AE •9
AE •8
AE '85
AE 8
AE •8
AE •8
Obverse
Similar.
Similar ; earring of triple
drop.
Reverse
Similar; RoNAA
Similar ; RoNWA
Similar. Similar ; RoNAA
Similar. Similar.
Quadrans
Head of young Hercules r., RoNA/A above Prow r. ;
wearing lion's skin; be- || below, * * *
hind, 3
Similar. Similar ; RoNAA
Similar. Similar ; RoNA/A
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar ; Rolv A
[Pl. xii. 12.]
Similar. Similar ; RONM/A
Similar. Similar ; RoNWA
Similar. Similar.
Sextans '
Bust of Mercury r., wear- Rov/A above Prow r. ;
ing chlamys and winged below, **
petasus tied behind ;
above, * *
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar ; RONMA
Similar. Similar ; RONM/A
[Pl. xii. 13.]
Similar. Similar.
157-0
132-0
182.0
162-0
161-0
158.0
156-0
155.0
155-0
142.0
114-0
109.0
104-0
98.0
89.0
| D'Ailly (Mon. rom., pl. lxiii., fig. 14) gives a sextans with the head of Mercury turned to the
left instead of to the right, and another (fig. 19) countermarked with a caduceus and a tripod.
CIRC. B.C. 240–229 ; A.U.C. 514–525
33
No.
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
Weight
100.0
70-0
65-0
61:0
52-0
44-0
39-0
38-0
37-0
32-0
30-0
29-0
22-0
59-9
Metal
and Size
AE -75
AE 7
AE •7
AE 7
AE -65
AE 6
AE -6
AE 55
AE -6
AE 6
AE -5
AE .45
AE .45
AR. 75
Obverse
Reverse
Uncia
Head of Roma r., wearing
crested Athenian helmet,
with visor in three pieces,
even at the ends, earring
of single drop, and neck-
lace ; hair long and tied ;
behind, *
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
RONA/A above Prow r. ;
below, *
Similar.
Similar; RoNAA
Similar ; Rolvº/A
[Pl. xii. 14.]
Sennuncia
Bust of Mercury r., wear-
ing chlamys and winged
petasus, tied behind.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
RONMA above Prow r.
(Payne Knight Coll.)
Similar ; RONA/A
[Pl. xii. 15.]
Similar.
Similar ; RONAA
Similar; RONA/A
Similar ; RONAA
Similar ; RONA/A
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; RONAA
With moneyers’ symbols
EAR OF CORN 1
Denarius
Head of Roma r., wearing
winged helmet, the visor
in three separate pieces,
even at the ends, &c.,
similar to no. 191; be-
hind, X
RoNA/A (on tablet). The
Dioscuri on horseback
charging r., &c., similar
to no. 191; below horses,
ear of corn.
[Pl. xiii. 1.]
* This symbol is not unusual on early coins, and in later times forms an adjunct to the
principal type.
It is therefore impossible to connect it with any particular gens.
D’Ailly
E"
34 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight a. Size Obverse Reverse
282 58.5 | AR, 8 || Similar. Similar.
283 || 58-0 | AR, 75 Similar. Similar.
(de Salis Coll.)
Quinarius
284 36.4 || AR 65 Similar ; behind head of Similar ; below horses, ear
Roma, V of corn.
285 35-2 || AR 65 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xiii. 2.]
ADZE 1 *
Quinarius 2
286 31.4 || AR 65 | Head of Roma r., wearing | RoMA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, the visor Dioscuri on , horseback
in three separate pieces, charging r., &c., similar
even at the ends, &c., to no. 191; below horses,
similar to no. 191; be- adze (ascia).
hind, V [Pl. xiii. 3..]
(Sambon)
With moneyers' initials
C. Ale
(CAIUS ALLIUS) *
Denarius
287 | 68-0 || AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNA/A (on tablet). The
winged helmet, the visor Dioscuri on horseback
in three separate pieces, charging r., &c., similar
even at the ends, &c., to no. 191; below horses,
similar to no. 191; behind, C - Al (Caius Allius).
X [Pl. xiii. 4.]
(Nott)
287% 60-5 | AR 75 Similar; lock of hair on 1. Similar.
shoulder.
(Mon. Tom., pl. lxxx. 16–20) figures the as, semis, triens, and quadrans of the sextantal
standard, which may belong to the above issue. Pieces nearly contemporary in silver and
bronze with this symbol are, on account of their fabric, ascribed to a local issue (see under ITALY).
* The adze (ascia, dim. ascisculus, acisculus) was the symbol of the Valeria gens, some
members of which bore the cognomen Acisculus (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 518).
* There is also a denarius with this symbol, which belongs to this issue (D’Ailly, Mom.
ºrom., pl. lxx., no. 15). Specimens are in the D'Ailly, Bahrfeldt, and Naples Collections.
* Possibly a descendant of C. Allius (or Aelius) Paetus, who was consul B.c. 286. In the
Fasti Capitolani the cognomen Paetus is met with in conjunction with the momen Allius. Only
the denarius appears to be known of this moneyer. The variety, no. 287%, shows the same
arrangement of the hair of Roma as on no. 300, p. 37.
CIRC. B.C. 240–229 ; A.U.C. 514–525 35
Metal
f " Obverse Reverse
and Size
C. VX^
(CAIUS WARRO)
No. Weight
Denarius 2
288 || 65-0 || AR 7 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoMA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, the visor Dioscuri on horseback
in three separate pieces, charging r., &c., similar
even at the ends, &c., to no. 191; below horses,
similar to no. 191; be- || C. V& (Caius Varro).
hind, X [Pl. xiii. 5.]
(Blacas Coll.)
1 Possibly Caius Terentius Varro, who was consul B.C. 216, and who was defeated at the
battle of Cannae. He had previously filled the offices of quaestor, plebeian and curule aedile,
and praetor.
* Of this issue there is also the quinarius (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 481).
There are at least three series of coins issued by members of the Terentia gens—one bearing
the moneyer's name C V8. , as above; another with V& ; and a third with V& O. Babelon
(vol. ii., pp. 480-482) describes all three series together; but suggests that C. Warro may be
the son of an earlier Varro (i.e. the moneyer who signs V&), whose type of the denarius he may
have copied. Count de Salis, however, considered each one to form a separate issue. The first,
consisting of the denarius and the quinarius, he attributed to the early period, B.C. 240–229;
the second, consisting of the denarius only, to B.C. 216–197; and the third, comprising the
as and its divisions to the uncia, to B.C. 196—173 (see below, p. 68); the first and the third
being struck at Rome, the second at a local mint. From its fabric and the style of the head
of Roma, it is evident that the above denarius belongs to a somewhat earlier date than
those with the legend V& ; moreover, with the former we have also the quinarius. The
bronze coins with V&O are of the uncial standard, and therefore must have been struck
after B.C. 217.
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 81) adds still another issue, as he describes a quadrans in
the Bignami Collection, on the reverse of which he reads P. Vºs (P. Varro), which he identifies
with the figure given by Cohen (Monn. rép. rom., pl. lxvii., no. 3). The legend is not very
distinct in the illustration given of the coin by Bahrfeldt (op. cit., 1896, pl. xi. 260); but he
appears to be quite certain that his reading is correct. The coin weighs 84 grs. (5:44 gram.),
and therefore belongs to a period after B.C. 217; but whether it is of local fabric or not the
illustration prevents our pronouncing an opinion.
Babelon (vol. i., p. 109) has noticed the strong similarity of fabric between the denarii
marked with C : A\, and those with C Vº., and also those bearing the symbols, an adze and
an ear of corn, and suggests that the moneyers who struck them probably belonged to the
same college.
36
SERIES III.1
SILVER AND BRONZE
Circ. B.C. 229–217; A.U.C. 525–537
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
SILVER
Without moneyers’ symbols or initials
Dermarius 3
289 || 71-9 ‘8 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, orna- | Dioscuri on horseback
mented with gryphon's charging r. ; each holds
head; the visor in three couched spear and wears
pieces and peaked ; ear- chlamys, cuirass, and
ring of single drop, and | pileus, surmounted by
necklace ; hair tied with Star.
band and arranged sym- [Pl. xiii. 6.]
metrically in five (usuall
three) locks; behind, X
290 70-0 || AR 85 Similar ; hair in three locks. Similar ; RONW/A
291 67.5 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xiii. 7.]
292 || 67.0 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
(de Salis Coll.)
293 | 66-2 || AR “75 | Similar. Similar.
294 || 65:1 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
Victoriatus *
295 || 50-3 || AR 65 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate. RoNAA (in exergue). Vic-
tory, draped, standing r.,
and placing wreath on
trophy.
296 || 49.7 | AR 65 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xiii. 8.]
* The denominations of this series are, in silver the denarius and the victoriatus, and in
bronze the as of the sextantal standard and its divisions to the Semuncia, as in Series II.
There are no quinarii or sestertii which can be ascribed to this date, as none bear the symbols
which are found on other denominations. From this it would appear that the introduction of the
victoriatus put an end to the issue of these coins at the Roman mint; but they were probably
continued at the local ones for some little time longer (see under ITALY). The issue of the
half-victoriatus appears to have been confined to the local mints.
* The special features of the denarii of this series as compared with those of the two
previous ones have been noted above (see p. 14). They are of good style and work, and in
their variation of type form the connecting link with those of the next Period.
* The origin of the victoriatus has already been referred to (see p. 13). Though Pliny’s
statement that this coin was brought from Illyricum to Italy is open to question, it
serves to give a clue not only to its origin, but also to the date of its introduction into the
Roman currency. After B.C. 229, in which year Corcyra was taken by the Romans, and Illyricum,
CIRC. B.C. 229–217; A.U.C. 525–537 37
No. Weight ºr Obverse Reverse
297 || 48-3 || AR 7 | Similar. Similar ; RoNWA
298 || 47.2 | AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
299 || 46.3 | AR 65 | Similar. Similar.
With moneyers' symbols
STAFE 1
Denarius
300 71.8 || AR “75 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNA/A (on tablet). The
winged helmet, with visor Dioscuri on horseback
in three pieces and charging r., &c., similar
peaked, &c., similar to to no. 289 ; below
no. 289; hair in four | horses, staff.
locks and one on 1.
shoulder ; behind, X
301 | 66.5 | AR '75 | Similar. Similar.
(de Salis Coll.)
subsequent to the defeat of Queen Teuta, came under Roman protection, a great impulse was
given to commercial relations between that district and Italy, to meet the requirements of
which this new coin, the victoriatus, appears to have been introduced. In consequence of
Pliny’s statement it has been thought that the victoriatus originated in Illyricum ; but as that
coin was equivalent in weight to the drachm at that time struck in Campania, and other districts
of Southern Italy, and as the coinage of Illyricum issued after the conquest by Rome was based
on the same standard, it would seem rather that the relation between the Illyrian drachm
and the victoriatus as usually accepted must be inverted, and that the weight was adopted
in Illyricum because it was already in use in Italy (Cat. Gr. Coins, Brit. Mus., Thessaly, p. xx.).
As the victoriatus had been in circulation some years before the reduction of the bronze to the
uncial standard, we may place its first appearance in B.C. 229 or soon after. Though primarily
intended for purposes of commerce outside Italy it was current in Italy itself, where its weight
also corresponded to three-quarters of the denarius, and where it constituted to about B.C. 200
the principal silver currency of the local mints (see coins classed to ITALY, B.C. 268–197).
There is, however, abundant numismatic proof that not only were victoriati also struck at Rome
but even in Corcyra itself, as examples are known bearing the monogram (see under ITALY).
Besides the victoriatus, there was also the double-victoriatus and the half-victoriatus, but
of the former only a single specimen is known (Babelon, vol. i., p. 41), and the latter are so
scarce that their issue must have been exceptional. The unique specimen of the double-
victoriatus is in the D’Ailly Collection (Bibl. Nat., Paris), and is said to have been found near
Tortosa, in Spain. Count de Salis notes that it was in the Cazlona find.
The type of obverse, the head of Jupiter, was probably copied from the semis; whilst
that of the reverse, Victory crowning a trophy, was a record of the conquest of Corcyra and
of Illyricum by the Romans in B.C. 229. This type apparently originated with Seleucus I. of
Syria, and on contemporary coins of Agathocles of Syracuse (B.C. 310–306) Victory is seen
erecting a trophy. The victoriatus did not bear any mark of value, but the sign S (= semis)
is sometimes met with on the half-victoriatus.
The issue of the victoriatus did not last very long, and it probably ceased a few years after
B.C. 200, but it remained in circulation till the passing of the Lea Clodia, circ. B. c. 104, when
it was withdrawn and its place taken by a revival of the quinarius, to which was given the type
of the victoriatus. In order to indicate the identity of this new coin the letter O (quinarius)
was at first placed on the reverse.
1 For other series with this symbol see below p. 53, and also under ITALY (Period I.).
The staff or sceptre (scipio), besides being the sign of kingly power, was an emblem of office used
by Roman magistrates (see coins of L. Caninius Gallus, Babelon, vol. i., p. 311, no. 2; and of
L. Sestius, vol. ii., p. 116, no. 39). It was also used by messengers as a tally.
38
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
Weight
66-2
41-5
167.0
128-0
73-0
(worm)
70-9
59-0
57.3
48-0
45-4
Metal
and Size
AR, "5
AR. 7
AE •9
AE •8
AE •8
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR, 75
AR, 7
AR. 65
Obverse
Similar.
Reverse
Similar.
[Pl. xiii. 9..]
Victoriatus
Head of Jupiter r., laureate.
RONMA (in exergue). Wic-
tory standing r., placing
wreath on trophy, similar
to no. 295; in the field,
staff.
Quadrans
Head of young Hercules r., | ROM/A above Prow r. ;
wearing lion's skin; be- || below, * * *
hind, 3 ; before, staff.
Sextans 1
Bust of Mercury r., wear-
ing chlamys and winged
petasus; above, * * ; be-
fore, staff.
Similar.
Similar ; below prow, * *
[Pl. xiii. 10.]
Similar.
CLUE
Denarius
Head of Roma r., wearing
winged helmet, with
visor in three pieces and
peaked, &c., similar to
no. 289; hair in three
locks; behind, X
Similar.
Similar.
RoMA (on tablet). The
Dioscuri on horseback
charging r., &c., similar
to no. 289 ; below
horses, club.
[Pl. xiii. 11.]
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar.
Similar ; RONMA
Victoriatus
Head of Jupiter r., laureate.
Similar.
RoNA/A (in exergue). Vic-
tory standing r., placing
wreath on trophy, similar
to no. 295; in the field,
club.
[Pl. xiii. 12.]
Similar.
* These sextantes and the preceding quadrans are of the sextantal standard, and are therefore
attributed to this period rather than to a later one, when the same symbol was used (see below,
p. 53). They may not have formed part of the same issue as the denarius and the victoriatus, with
which, however, may be classed the as and semis figured by D'Ailly (Mon. rom., pl. lxxv. 7-10).
CIRC. B.C. 229–217; A.U.C. 525—537
39
No.
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
Weight
893-0
878-0
765-0
756-0
641.0
101.0
62-9
57.7
45.8
41-1
37.5
Metal
and Size
AE 1.55
AE 1.6
AE 1.5
AE 1.5
AE 1.45
AR.
•85
•65
AR. 65
Obverse
Reverse
As
Head of Janus, laureate ;
above, I
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
RONA/A below Prow r. ;
before, l ; above, club.
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xiii. 13 obv.]
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xiii. 13 rev.]
Sextans'
Bust of Mercury r., wear- Similar; before prow, ; ;
ing chlamys and winged
petasus; above, * *
above, club.
SPEAR-HEAD
Denarius *
Head of Roma r., wearing
winged helmet, with
visor in three pieces and
peaked, &c., similar to
no. 289; hair in three
locks; behind, X
Similar.
RoMA (on tablet). The
Dioscuri on horseback
charging r., &c., similar
to no. 289; below horses,
spear-head.
[Pl. xiii. 14.]
Similar.
(de Salis Coll.)
Victoriatus
Head of Jupiter r., laureate.
Similar.
Similar.
RoNA/A (in exergue). Wic-
tory standing r., placing
wreath on trophy, similar
to no. 295; in the field,
spear-head, upwards.
Similar.
[Pl. xiii. 15.]
Similar.
.* Qther denominations of this issue with the symbol, a club, are the semis, quadrans, and
uncia (D'Ailly, Mon. rom., pl. lxxxix. 11-13, 16).
* The denarius and quinarius of the earlier type (Series I.) with the symbol, a spear-head,
are described under ITALY, to which issue belongs the sixty-sestertii piece with the same
symbol (Babelon, vol. i., p. 25).
40
COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
Sextans”
323 | 125-0 || AE 8 || Bust of Mercury r., wear- || RoMA above Prow r. ;
ing chlamys and winged below, ** ; before, spear-
petasus; above, * * head, upwards.
FLY 2
As
324 550-0 || AE 1.5 | Head of Janus, laureate; RONA/A below Prow r. ;
above, I before, l ; above, fly.
[Pl. xiii. 16.]
Sermis 8
325 || 335-0 | AF 1:1 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; Similar; before prow, S;
behind, S above, fly.
WREATH
As
326||738-0 | AF 1:3 | Head of Janus, laureate; RONAA below Prow r. ;
above, I above, l and wreath.
[Pl. xiii. 17.]
327 | 737-0 || AE 1.4 || Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
328 || 723-0 || AE 1.4 || Similar. Similar.
Sennis 4
329 |435-0 || AE 1:15 Head of Jupiter r., laureate ; Similar ; above prow, S
behind, S and wreath.
330 || 345-0 | AF 1:1 || Similar. Similar.
1 There were at least two, and probably three, issues of bronze coins with the spear-head
for a symbol.
Of the sextantal standard, D'Ailly (Mon. rom., p. 411) records the as, triens,
quadrans, sextans, and uncia ; of the uncial standard, the semis and sextans; and of the sem-
uncial or light uncial standard, the semis and triens.
* The fly (musca) may have been the symbol of the Sempronia gens, some of whose members
bore the cognomen Musca.
* Other denominations of the sextantal issue with this symbol are the triens, quadrans, and
sextans (D’Ailly, op. cit., pl. lxxxx. 16, 17, and pl. lxxxxi. 1).
The denarius with reverse type
Diana in a biga (D’Ailly, op. cit., pl. lxxxx. 7-10), and the victoriatus (ib., 11), and also the
bronze coins of the uncial standard with this symbol are classed to Italy (B.C. 196–173).
* The only other denomination published with this symbol, which might be classed to this
issue, is the denarius (D’Ailly, op. cit., pl. lxxvii. 12). There are also bronze coins of the uncial
standard (see below, p. 63).
CIRC. B.C. 229–217; A.U.C. 525–537
41
No.
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
Weight
722-0
677.0
642-0
708-0
682-0
679-0
628.0
606-0
313-0
277.0
226-0
Metal
and Size
AE 1.4
AE 1.45
AE 1.4
AE 1.5
AE 1.4
AE 1.4
AE 1.45
AE 1.4
AE 1.1
AE 1.05
AE 1.0
Obverse
Reverse
DOLPHIN 1
As 2
Head of Janus, laureate ;
above, I
RONAA below Prow r. ;
above, l ; before, dolphin.
[Pl. xiv. 1.]
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar,
CORNUCOPIAE
As 3
Head of Janus, laureate;
above, I
Similar.
RONA/A below Prow r. ; be-
fore, l; above, cornucopiae.
[Pl. xiv. 2. J
Similar.
CRESCENT 4
As
Head of Janus, laureate;
above, l
RONA/A below Prow r. ;
above, l and crescent.
[Pl. xiv. 3..]
Similar. ſº Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar. Similar.
Semis
Head of Jupiterr., laureate;
behind, S
Similar.
Similar.
Similar; above prow, S and
Crescent.
[Pl. xiv. 4.]
Similar.
Similar.
1 The dolphin as a special symbol is found on bronze coins of Spurius Afranius (see below,
* Other denominations of this issue are the triens and quadrans (D’Ailly, Mon. rom.,
pl. lxxix. 4, 5). For a later issue, including the denarius, see below, p. 51.
* Other denominations of this issue with the same symbol are the semis, triens, quadrans,
sextans, uncia, and semuncia (D'Ailly, op. cit., pl. lxxvi. 12-19; Babelon, vol. i., p. 52).
The
denarius and the victoriatus, and the bronze pieces of the uncial standard are classed to
Periods II., III. (see below, pp. 50 and 75).
* The crescent occurs as a special symbol on later bronze coins of L. Saufeius, B.C. 172–151
(Babelon, vol. ii., p. 421).
•+- G
42 COINAGE OF ROME
º Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
Triens
342 206-0 || AE 1-0 | Head of Minerva r., wear- RoNMA above Prow r. ; be-
ing crested Corinthian low, **** ; above, cres-
helmet; earring of single | cent.
drop ; hair long and tied
with band; above, * * * *
Sextans 1
343| 700 AE ‘8 || Bust of Mercury r., wear- Similar; below prow, "" ;
ing chlamys and winged before, crescent.
petasus; above, * *
BIRD AND RUDIDER 2
As 3
344 591.0 AE 1:35 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RONA/A below Prow r. ;
above, I before, l ; above, bird,
flying, over rudder.
345 || 518.0 | AF 1-3 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xiv. 5.]
346 || 473-0 || AE 1.35 | Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
ANCEIOR 4
& As 5
347 563-0 | AF 1.3 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RONMA below Prow r. ;
above, I above, l; before, anchor.
348 554-0 | AF 1:35 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xiv. 6.]
* The attribution of this coin to this issue is doubtful, on account of its weight. Other
denominations are the quadrans and uncia (D’Ailly, Mom. rom., pl. lxxviii. 8, 11). The denarius
and victoriatus with this symbol, a crescent, are classed to the next Period (see below, p. 52),
and there was still a later issue (see below, p. 74).
* The rudder occurs as a special symbol on later coins of M. Cipius (Babelon, vol. i.,
p. 341), whose family appears to have come originally from Ostia; and D'Ailly (op. cit., p. 436)
suggests that the bird may refer to the office of augur, which an ancestor of the moneyer
may have held.
* Other denominations of this issue are the triens, quadrans, and sextans (D’Ailly, op. cit.,
pl. lxxxiv. 5-7).
* The anchor occurs in the next Period and sometimes in conjunction with the letter O.
(see below, pp. 62,64); so it is not improbable that this symbol may have been connected with
the Quinctia family.
* There were several issues with this symbol. The gold sixty-sestertii piece and denarius
similar to those of Series I. are classed to local issue (see ITALY, B.C. 240-217); as also the
denarius of a somewhat later date (see ITALY, B.C. 217–197). The bronze coins are of the
sextantal, uncial (see below, p. 62), and light uncial standards (D’Ailly, Mon. rom., pl. lxviii.,
lxix. and czii. 2). Other denominations of the sextantal issue are the triens, quadrans, sextans,
and uncia.
CIRC. B.C. 229–217; A.U.C. 525—537 43
No. Weight aft. Obverse Beverse
349 536-0 || AE 1.35 | Similar. Similar.
350 | 505-0 || AE 1-3 || Similar. Similar; RONA/A
Sennis
351 || 310-0 || AE 1:1 | Head of Jupiterr., laureate; Similar; Rolvº/A; above
behind, S prow, S; before, anchor.
352 219-0 | AF 1-05 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xiv. 7.]
44
PERIOD II.
Circ. B.C. 217—197; A.U.C. 537–557
DENOMINATIONs.—The coins of this Period are of silver and bronze, the issue
of gold during the previous one having been, as shown, temporary and of a
special nature (see p. 13). The denominations in silver are the denarius and the
victoriatus; and in bronze, the dupondius, and the as, with its divisions to the
uncia. The striking of the quinarius and sestertius had ceased at the Roman
mint (see p. 36), but it is not improbable that the former continued for a few
years longer to be issued at some of the local mints (see CoINAGE OF ITALY).
CLASSIFICATION.—In B.C. 217, after the battle of Trasimene, when Hannibal
marched nearly to the gates of Rome, the bronze money was again reduced, this
time to the uncial standard, the as now weighing tº of the Roman pound. This
reduction occurred during the consulship of Cn. Servilius Geminus and C.
Flaminius, when Quintus Fabius Maximus was appointed dictator; hence the
law which legalized the change is known as the lea: Flaminia or lea: Fabia. At
the same time the weight of the denarius was also reduced from ºr to ºr of the
pound, i.e. from about 72 grs. to about 60 grs., and the victoriatus from about
53 grs. to 45 grs., but in striking the coins strict accuracy of weight does not
appear to have been adhered to, for in some cases well-preserved denarii of the
Same issue vary as much as 13 grs. The value of the denarius was now raised
to sixteen asses instead of ten; but an exception was made in the pay of the
soldiers, which was still computed on the basis of ten asses to the denarius.
Pliny (Hist. Nat., xxxiii. 3, 13) thus records these changes: Postea Hannibale
wrgente Q. Fabio Maasimo dictatore asses unciales facti, placuitgue denarium
sedecim assibus permutari, quinarium octonis, Sestertium quatermis. Ita res-
publica dimidium lucrata est, in militari tamen stipendio Semper denarius pro
decem assibus datus est. It may have been for that reason that the mark of
value X was preserved on the denarius, and it is not till nearly 80 years later,
circ. B.C. 140, that it was occasionally changed to XVI (see below, p. 118). By
this time the bronze money had fallen very much in weight, considerably under
the uncial standard, and the issue of the as had ceased and was not again
resumed till circa B.C. 91. The relative value of silver and bronze now stood at
about 1: 112, and in consequence the latter money became still more a token
coinage.
During the remaining period of the Republic, and even to the reign of Nero,
the silver coinage experienced no change either in its weight or its standard of
fineness; but in B.C. 89 there was a further reduction in the weight of the bronze,
which, in virtue of the lea, Papiria, fell to the half-ounce, or semuncial standard.
These changes in the standard of the coinage did not occasion any
alterations in the types of the individual denominations. The Dioscuri on
horseback continued to be the only reverse type of the denarius, and the
helmeted head of Roma, as on coins classed to Series III. of the previous Period,
was preserved for the obverse; but there are slight modifications peculiar to this
CIRC. B.C. 217–197; A.U.C. 537–557 45
particular Period. The head of Roma is somewhat smaller, and the features
slightly more angular; the earring consists of a single drop, and the hair is
carefully arranged in three separate locks. The denarii of this particular
type, and bearing symbols or moneyers' initials, will be found with bronze
coins of the early uncial issues with similar marks. An exception, however,
will be met with in one instance, where the earring has a triple drop and the
hair is arranged in four, not three, locks (see nos. 419–421, p. 50). Also on
Some of the denarii without symbols or initials of moneyers, the visor is in one
piece and peaked (see nos. 363-366, p. 46).
The moneyers' symbols become much more frequent, and we occasionally
meet with their initials, and in two issues of the bronze money the symbol as
well as the moneyer's initial occur together. There are coins in each metal
and of each denomination which do not bear any moneyers' marks.
There were no epigraphical changes during this Period.
The dates assigned to the Periods from this time to circ. B.C. 103 are only
approximate. They are based chiefly on the fabric of the denarius and the
changes in its type, the development of the moneyers' names, the weight of the
bronze coins, and the history of the moneyers. Finds of coins do not supply
any evidence of the succession of the issues of the moneyers till circ. B.C. 92.
SERIES I.
Without moneyers' symbols or initials
Metal
© Reverse
and Size
No. Weight Obverse
SILVER
Denarius
353 64-5 | AR 8 Head of Roma r., wearing RoNWA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, orna- | Dioscuri on horseback
mented with gryphon's
head; the visor in three
charging r, ; each holds
couched spear and wears
pieces, and peaked; ear- chlamys, cuirass, and
ring of single drop, and | pileus, surmounted by
necklace; hair tied with star.
band and falling in three
locks down the neck;
behind, X
354 61.5 ‘75 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xiv. 8.1
46
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
Weight
60-7
59.7
59.2
58-5
58-4
55-6
54.0
51-0
56-8
56-2
55-0
52-8
45-0
44-7
44-5
44-3
42-0
38-9
Metal
and Size
AR. 75
AR. 8
AR, 75
•75
.75
.75
AR
•75
:
'65.
Obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar; the visor is in one
piece, and peaked.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse

Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Sambon)
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xiv. 9..]
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xiv. 10.]
Similar.
Similar.
Victoriatus
Head of Jupiter r., laureate.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
RoNWA (in exergue). Victory,
draped, standing r., and
placing wreath on trophy.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; RoNWA
[Pl. xiv. 11.]
Similar; RONA/A
Similar; ROMA
Similar; RONMA
Similar; RONA/A
(de Salis Coll.)
CIRC. B.C. 217–197; A.U.C. 537–557 47
Metal
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
BRONZE
UNCIAL SERIES 1
Dupondius *
609-0 || AE 1.5 | Head of Minerva r., wearing | Prow r., ornamented with
crested Corinthian hel- | dolphin ; above, ll
met, and earring with
single drop ; hair long.
[Babelon, vol. i., p. 62, no. 48.]
AS 3
373 || 504-0 | AF 1-3 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RONA/A below Prow r. ; *
above, I above, I
374 || 480-0 | AF 1-3 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xv. 1.]
375 | 392-0 | AF 1:2 . Similar. Similar.
376 || 365-0 || AE 1.3 Similar. Similar.
377 |3.16-0 | AF 1-25 | Similar. Similar; RONWA
378 298.0 | AF 1-25 | Similar. Similar; RoNW/A
* On the institution of this series see above, p. 44.
* This rare coin, which passed from the Depoletti Collection at Rome into the D’Ailly
Cabinet (Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris) should, from its weight, and also because it is struck, not
cast, belong to the uncial series. Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 215, note 1) has classed it
to the light uncial or the semuncial series. Below the prow, on the reverse, there appear
to be traces of the legend ROMA, but the letters have been almost entirely effaced by tooling.
* Though the bronze coinage was reduced to the uncial standard by a special law, yet
before B.C. 217 a great falling off in weight from the full standard had occurred. It will also
be found that many specimens of the uncial series exceed their prescribed weight, showing, in fact,
such great irregularity that for purposes of classification the silver coins must be our chief guide.
* The prow is without ornaments, i.e. the club, the wing, and the sea-lines on the keel.

48
COINAGE OF ROME
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
Weight
178-0
172-0
164:0
162-0
162-0
161-0
134'0
132-0
132-0
117.0
112-0
109-0
100.0
96-0
89-0
88-0
Metal
and Size
AE 1-0
AE 1.0
AE 1.05
AE 1.0
AE 1.0
AE 1.0
•95
•85
Obverse
Reverse
Semis
Head of Jupiter, r., lau-
reate; behind, S
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
RONAA below Prow r. ;
before, S
[Pl. xv. 2.]
Similar; ROMA; above
prow, S
Similar.
Similar; RoNWA
Similar; before prow, S
RoNWA ;
Similar ; above
prow, S
Similar; RONA/A
Similar; RONWA
Similar; above prow, un
Triers
Head of Minerva r., wear-
ing crested Corinthian
helmet; earring of single
drop, and necklace; hair
long and tied with band;
above, * * * *
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
RONA/A above
below, * * * *
Prow r. ;
Similar.
[Pl. xv. 3..]
Similar ; RoNWA
Similar; ROM/A
Similar; RONMA
Similar; RONA/A
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; RONMA
CIRC. B.C. 217—197; A.U.C. 537–557
49
No.
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
Weight
84-0
74-0
71-0
61:0
58.0
129-0 1
106-0
90.0
90.0
84-0
83-0
81.0
57.0
88-0
84-0
83-0
73-0
70-0
52-0
Metal
and Size
AE '9
•8
•8
•8
.75
:
AE
AE
'85
'85
.
'85
AE
•85
:
Obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; RONAA
Similar; ROMA
Quadrans
Head of young Hercules r., RoNA/A above Prow r. ;
wearing lion’s skin; be- below, * * *
hind, :
Similar. Similar; RoNWA
[Pl. xv. 4.]
Similar. Similar ; RoNAA
Similar. Similar ; RONMA
Similar. Similar ; RoNA/A
Similar. Similar ; ROMA
Similar. Similar ; ROMA
Similar. Similar.
Sextans “
Bust of Mercury r., wear-
ing chlamys and winged
petasus; above, * *
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar,
RONMA above Prow r. ;
below, * *
[Pl. xv. 5.]
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; RONA/A
Similar.
1 An exceptionally heavy piece; but the diameter of the coin shows that it is of the uncial
series.
* The weight of the sextans fell even under that of the uncia.
H
50
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
Weight
60-0
57.0
55-0
50-0
49-0
63.0
61:0
53.5
Metal
and Size
AE 7
AE •7
AE 75
AE -7
AE 7
AR, 75
AR, 7
AR, 7
Obverse
Reverse
Uncia
Head of Roma, r., wearing
crested Athenian helmet,
with visor in two pieces,
even at the ends; earring
of single drop ; hair long
and tied; * behind, *
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
SERIES II.
RONMA above Prow r. ;
below, *
Similar.
[P1. xv. 6.]
Similar; RONW/A
(Payne Knight Coll.)
Similar ; RONWA
Similar ; RONAA
(Blacas Coll.)
With moneyers' symbols
CORNUCOPIAE &
Dernarius *
Head of Roma r., wearing
winged helmet, with visor
peaked ; similar to no.
353; but earring of three
drops, and hair arranged
in four locks; 3 behind, X
Similar.
Similar.
RoNA/A (on tablet). The
Dioscuri on horseback
charging r., similar to
no. 353; below horses,
cornucopiae.
[Pl. xv. 7.]
Similar.
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar.
* The head of Roma on the uncia practically preserves its original form, and no variations
occur as on the denarius.
* There are no bronze coins in the National Collection which belong to this issue, but it is
possible that the semis and the quadrans figured by D'Ailly (Mom. rom., pl. lxxvii. 2, and pl.
cxii. 5), may be classed to it.
symbol, a cornucopiae (see above, p. 41, and below, p. 75).
* This is an exception to the usual type of this Period, the earring having three drops
instead of one, and the hair being arranged in four locks instead of three (see also no. 426).
There were evidently three issues at different times with this
CIRC. B.C. 217—197; A.U.C. 537—557 51
No.
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
Weight
40-0
67.2
62.5
59.9
54-9
406-0
366-0
172.0
Metal
and Size
AE 1:35
AE 1.3
Obverse Reven'se
Victoriatus
Head of Jupiter r., laureate. RoNA/A (in exergue). Vic-
tory standing r., placing
wreath on trophy, similar
to no. 367; in the field,
tº Cornucopiae.
[P1. xv. 8.]
DOLPHIN 1
Denarius
Head of Roma r., wearing | RoMA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, with visor | Dioscuri on horseback
peaked, &c., similar to charging r., &c., similar
no. 353; behind, X to no. 353; below horses,
dolphin.
Similar. Similar ; RONMA
[Pl. xv. 9..]
(Sambon)
Similar. Similar.
Similar; hair in four locks. Similar ; RONAA
As
Head of Janus, laureate; RoNAA below Prow r. ;
above, I before, l ; above, dolphin.
[Pl. xv. 10.]
Similar. Similar.
Triens
Head of Minerva r., wear- RoNAA below Prow r. ;
ing crested Corinthian before, 3 ; above, dol-
helmet, &c., similar to phin. :
no. 388; above, * * * * [Pl. xv. 11.]
1 There would appear to have been three issues at different periods of the bronze coins
with this symbol, viz., the sextantal (see above, p. 41); the heavy uncial (as described here);
and the light uncial (see D'Ailly, Mon. rom., pl. lxxix. 10-18).
52
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
4.38
439
Weight
118.0
62-7
62-0
60-0
59.0
57.5
49.8
40-7
38-3
31.8
Metal
and Size
AE •9
AR -8
AR. ''V5
AR. ''/5
AR 75
AR. 8
AR 7
AR. 65
AR. 65
AR. 6
Obverse
Reverse
Quadrans '
Head of young Hercules F., RoNAA below Prow r. ;
wearing lion's skin; be-
hind, 3
Q
before, 3 ; above, dol-
phin. "
CRESCENT 2
Denarius
Head of Roma, r., wear-
ing winged helmet, with
visor peaked, &c., similar
to no. 353; behind, X
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
RoMA (on tablet). The
Dioscuri on horseback
charging r., &c., similar to
no. 353 ; above, crescent.
[Pl. xv. 12.]
Similar.
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
Victoriatus
Head of Jupiter r., laureate.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
RoNA/A (in exergue). Vic-
tory standing r., placing
wreath on trophy, similar
to no. 367; in the field,
crescent.
[Pl. xv. 13.]
Similar.
Similar ; RoNWA
Similar; RONA/A
1 The only other denomination which appears to be recorded of this particular issue is the
semis (D’Ailly, op. cit., pl. lxxix. 7).
This issue shows slight irregularities, viz., on the denarius
no. 426 the hair of Roma is sometimes arranged in four locks, and on the triens and quadrans
the legend ROMA is below the prow.
* The bronze coins of the sextantal series with this symbol have already been described
(see above, p. 41).
symbol and attributed to a somewhat later date (see p. 74).
Those of the uncial series are classed with denarii bearing the same
CIRC. B.C. 217–197; A.U.C. 537–557 53
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
STAFF i
Denarius
440 57-5 | AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoMA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, with visor | Dioscuri on horseback
peaked, &c., similar to charging r., &c., similar
no. 353 ; behind, X ; to no. 353.
before, staff. [Pl. xv. 14.]
Victoriatus
441 || 48-1 | AR 65 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; RoNMA (in exergue). Wic-
before, staff. tory standing r., placing
wreath on trophy, similar
to no. 367.
[Pl. xv. 15.]
(de Salis Coll.)
TRIDENT 2
Denarius
442 58.5 | AR 8 | Head of Roma r., wearing | Rolvº/A (on tablet). The
winged helmet, with visor Dioscuri on horseback
eaked, &c., similar to charging r., &c., similar
no. 353; behind, X to no. 353; below horses,
trident.
[Pl. xv. 16.]
443 56.9 | AR 75 Similar. Similar.
444 || 55.2 | AR 75 | Similar. Similar.
445 55-0 || AR 75 | Similar. Similar.
* The bronze coins with this symbol on the obverse, being of the sextantal standard, have
been attributed to an earlier issue (see above, p. 37).
This symbol, placed on the reverse, is also
found on early coins in gold, silver, and bronze, struck at a local mint (see ITALY, Period I.).
There was another issue about this time with the representation of a staff or a “spear "
on both faces of the coin. D'Ailly (Mon. rom., pl. lxxxv. 14-16) figures the denarius, triens, and
sextans.
* Morelli (Fam. rom. num, incerta, pl. 3) figures also the victoriatus with this symbol.
The British Museum has no examples of that issue.
bronze coins are known of this issue.
No
54
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
446
447
448
449
450
454
455
Weight
64-4
63.4
62-0
58.8
55.0
531.0
470-0
443-0
226-0
225-0
Metal
and Size
-75
.75
.75
.75
AE 1-3
AE 1:35
AE 1.3
AE 1:1
AE 1:1
Obverse
Reverse
RUDDER
Denarius'
Head of Roma r., wearing
winged helmet, with visor
peaked, &c., similar to
no. 353; behind, X
Similar.
RoNMA (on tablet). The
Dioscuri on horseback
charging r., &c., similar
to no. 353; below horses,
rudder.
Similar.
[Pl. xv. 17.]
(de Salis Coll.)
PROW
Denarius
Head of Roma r., wearing
winged helmet, with visor
peaked, &c., similar to
no. 353; behind, X
Similar.
Similar.
RoNAA (on tablet). The
Dioscuri on horseback
charging, r., &c., similar
to no. 353; below horses,
prow.
[Pl. xvi. 1.]
Similar; RONA/\
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar; RONA/A
As
Head of Janus, laureate ;
above, I
RONA/A below Prow r. ;
above, I and prow.
[Pl. xvi. 2.]
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar.
Sermis
Head of Jupiterr., laureate ; RoNA/A below Prow r. ;
behind, S before, S; above, prow.
[Pl. xvi. 3..]
Similar. Similar.
1 No other denomination of this issue appears to be recorded. The bronze coins with a
bird and a rudder have been classed to the previous Period (see above, p. 42).
CIRC. B.C. 217–197; A.U.C. 537–557 55
No. Weight a.º. Obverse Reverse
Triens !
456 150-0 | AF 9 | Head of Minerva r., wear- || RoNMA above Prow r. ;
ing crested Corinthian below, * * * *; above, prow.
helmet, &c., similar to [Pl. xvi. 4.]
no. 388; above, * * * *
STAR
Denarius
457 65-0 || AR 75 Head of Roma r., wearing | RoMA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, with visor | Dioscuri on horseback
peaked, &c., similar to charging r., &c., similar to
no. 353 ; behind, X no. 353; below horses, star.
[Pl. xvi. 5.]
(Payne Knight Coll.)
458 63-6 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
459 61-0 | AR 8 Similar. Similar.
460 || 41.8 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar ; RONMA
(plated)
As
461 | 408-0 || AE 1:35 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RONMA below Prow r. ;
above, I before, l ; above, star.
[Pl. xvi. 6.]
462 392-0 || AE 1.2 | Similar. Similar.
463 || 357-0 | AF 1:25 | Similar. Similar.
464 || 305-0 | AF 1'15 || Similar. Similar.
Sermis
465 266-0 || AE 1-0 | Head of Jupiterr., laureate; RoNA/A below Prow r. ;
behind, S before, S; above, star.
Quadrans?
466 78-0 || AE 8 || Head of young Hercules r., RoNA/A above Prow r. ;
wearing lion's skin; be- below, * * * ; before, star.
hind, 3 (Blacas Coll.)
467 | 66-0 || AE 7 || Similar. Similar.
468 53-0 || AE 7 || Similar. Similar ; Ron/\/\
* The other denominations are the quadrans (D’Ailly, Mon. rom., pl. lxxxxiii. 16) and
the sextans (Babelon, vol. i., p. 52). D'Ailly (op. cit., pl. lxxxxiii. 17, 18) figures two semisses
which he attributes to the semuncial series. The figure of no. 17 shows on the obverse a
beardless laureate head (Apollo P), described, however, as the head of Jupiter, and that of
no. 18 has the sign of the as on the reverse. There was also an earlier local issue of silver
with this symbol (see ITALY, Period I.).
* The specimens of the quadrans here described are of exceptionally light weight.
56
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
Wenght
60-0
45.5
(worm)
42.7
42-3
38.5
59.5
50-0
Metal
and Size
AE 7
AR, 8
AR. 65
AR. 65
AR. 65
AR, 75
AR. 7
Obverse
Reverse
Sextans '
Bust of Mercury r., wear- RoNWA
ing chlamys and winged
petasus; above, * *
above Prow r. ;
below, * * ; before, star.
THUNDERBOLT
Denarius *
Head of Roma r., wearing RoNA/A (on tablet).
winged helmet, with visor
peaked, &c., similar to
no. 353; behind, X
The
Dioscuri on horseback
charging r., &c., similar
to no. 353 ; below horses,
thunderbolt.
Victoriatus
Head of Jupiter r., laureate.
RoNA/A (below; between two
lines). Victory standing r.,
placing wreath on trophy,
similar to no. 367; in the
field, thunderbolt.
[P1. xvi. 7.]
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar. Similar; RoNA/A (in ex-
ergue).
Similar. Similar ; Rolvº/\
RNIFE
Denarius
Head of Roma r., wearing
winged helmet, with visor
peaked, &c., similar to
no. 353 ; behind, X
RoNA/A (on tablet). The
Dioscuri on horseback
charging r., &c., similar
to no. 353; below horses,
knife.
[Pl. xvi. 8.]
(de Salis Coll.)
Victoriatus
Head of Jupiter r., laureate. RoNA/A (in exergue). Victory
standingr., placing wreath
on trophy, similar to no.
367; in the field, knife.
[Pl. xvi. 9..]
* Another denomination is the triens (D’Ailly, Mon. rom., pl. lxxi. 10, 11). No 11 has the
same reverse type as the quadrans described above; but no. 10 shows the legend below the
prow, the marks of value before, and the star above. There is a similar variety of the quadrans
(ib., pl. lxxi. 12).
* The bronze coins with this symbol appear to be—sea tantal series, as, semis, triens,
quadrans, sextans, and uncia; uncial series, semis; semuncial series, quadrans (see D'Ailly,
Mon. rom., pl. lxxxiii. 12-20; and pl. lxxxiv. 1, 2).
CIRC. B.C. 217–197; A.U.C. 537–557
No.
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
Weight
554-0
301-0
210-0
57.5
56-6
44'5
42.5
40-0
308-0
Metal
and Size
AE 1:35
AE 1.0
•95
'85
.75
AR 7
•65
AE 1:1
Obverse
Reverse
As
Head of Janus, laureate ;
above, I
RONA/A below Prow r. ;
before, l ; above, knife.
[Pl. xvi. 10.]
Sennis
Head of Jupiterr., laureate;
behind, S
Similar; before prow, S
[Pl. xvi. 11.]
Triens !
Head of Minerva r., wear- || RONA/A
ing crested Corinthian
helmet, &c., similar to
no. 388; above, * * * *
above Prow r. ;
below, * * * * ; above, knife.
HOG
Denarius
Head of Roma r., wearing
winged helmet, with visor
peaked, &c., similar to
no. 353; behind, X
Similar.
RoNA/A (on tablet). The
Dioscuri on horseback
charging r., &c., similar to
no. 353; below horses, hog.
Similar. .
[Pl. xvi. 12.]
(Nott)
Victoriatus
Head of Jupiter r., laureate.
Similar.
Similar.
RoNA/A (below ; between
two lines). Victory stand-
ing r., placing wreath on
trophy, similar to no. 367;
in the field, hog.
[Pl. xvi. 13.]
Similar.
Similar.
** (de Salis Coll.)
Sermis
Head of Jupiterr., laureate; RoNA/A below Prow r.
behind, S
before, S ; above, hog.
1 D'Ailly (Mon. roºm., pl. lxxx. 9) figures also the quadrans.
same symbol are classed to ITALY (Period I.).
The earlier denarii with the
I
58
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
Weight
210-0
56.0
42-0
35.0
525-0
388-0
171-0
Metal
and Size
AE 1.0
•65
AE 1:35
AE 1:25
AE 1-0
Obverse
Reverse
Triens !
Head of Minerva r., wear-
ing crested Corinthian
helmet, &c., similar to
no. 388; above, * * * *
RONA/A above Prow r. ;
below, * * * * ; above, hog.
[Pl. xvi. 14.]
DOG 3
Denarius
Head of Roma r., wearing
winged helmet, with visor
peaked, &c., similar to
no. 353; behind, X
RoNAA (on tablet). The
Dioscuri on horseback
charging r., &c., similar
to no. 353; below horses,
dog standing r.
[Pl. xvii. 1.]
(de Salis Coll.)
Victoriatus
Head of Jupiter r., laureate.
Similar.
RoNA/A (in exergue). Vic-
tory standing r., placing
wreath on trophy, similar
to no. 367; in the field,
dog standing r.
[Pl. xvii. 2.]
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar.
As
Head of Janus, laureate ;
above,
Similar.
RONA/A below Prow
before, l ; above,
standing r.
[Pl. xvii. 3..]
** e
1 - 2
dog
Similar; dog r. with r. fore-
leg raised.
Triers
Head of Minerva r., wear- || Rol\\/\ below Prow r. ;
ing crested Corinthian
helmet, &c., similar to
no. 388; above, * * * *
before, : ; above, dog
standing r.
! Other denominations with this symbol are the as, quadrans, and sextans (D’Ailly, Mon.
rom., pl. lxxxxv. 13, 14, and pl. lxxxxvi. 2, 3).
weight the sextantal standard.
* This symbol is found on later coins of the Antestia gens (see below, p. 114), on
which the dog is represented turned to the right or left and walking or running. These coins
may, therefore, have been struck by a member of that gens.
Some pieces with this symbol approach in
CIRC. B.C. 217–197; A.U.C. 537–557
59
No.
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
Weight
142.0
56-3
47.4
32.9
283.0
528-0
453-0
Metal
and Size
AE '85
'65
AE 1.05
AE 1:35
AE 1:35
Obverse
Reverse
Quadrans'
Head of young Hercules r., RoNA/A below Prow r. ;
wearing lion's skin; be- before, . ; above, dog
hind, : standing r.
[Pl. xvii. 4.]
META
Denarius
Head of Roma r., wearing | RoNA/A (on tablet). The
winged helmet, with visor
peaked, &c., similar to
no. 353 ; behind, X
Dioscuri on horseback
charging r., &c., similar
to no. 353 ; below horses,
metal.
[P1. xvii. 5.]
Victoriatus
Head of Jupiter r., laureate.
Similar.
RoM/A (in exergue). Vic-
tory standing r., placing
wreath on trophy, similar
to no. 367; in the field,
meta.
[Pl. xvii. 6.]
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar.
Sermis
Head of Jupiterr., laureate ; RoM/A below Prow r. ;
behind, S
VICTORY AND
before, S ; above, meta.
SPEAR-HEAD 3
As
Head of Janus, laureate ;
above, I
Similar.
RONA/A below Prow r. ;
before, l ; above, Victory
flying r, with wreath, and
spear-head.
[Pl. xvii. 7.]
Similar.
1. Other denominations with this symbol, a dog, are the semis and sextans (D’Ailly, MIon.
roºm., pl. lxxv. 3, 8).
Some of the bronze pieces exceed in weight the uncial standard.
* Other denominations with this symbol are the as, triens, quadrans, and sextans of the
uncial, and the triens of the light uncial standard (D’Ailly, Mom. rom., pl. lxxii. 9, 11-14).
In
this case also some of the bronze pieces exceed in weight the uncial standard.
* These symbols may relate to some military success of an ancestor of the moneyer. Victory
occurs as a special symbol on denarii of C. Terentius Lucanus (see below, p. 103). 4.
60 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
Quadrans
499 || 91.0 AE 8 || Head of young Hercules r., RoNWA below Prow r. ;
wearing lion's skin; be before, ; ; above, Victory
hind, : with wreath, and spear-
head.
(Blacas Coll.)
Sextans |
500 86.0 | AF. 75 | Bust of Mercury r., wear- Similar; before prow, ;
ing chlamys and winged (Blacas Coll.)
petasus; behind, cadu-
ceus; above, * * \
501 | 81-0 | AF 8 || Similar. Similar.
CAPS OF THE DIOSCURI
As *
502 || 491-0 | AF 13 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RONA/A below Prow r. ;
above, I before, l ; above, caps of
the Dioscuri.
HAMMER
Sennis 3
503 208-0 | AF 1:05 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; RoNA/A below Prow r. ; be-
behind, S fore, S; above, hammer.
BUTTEERELY AND WINE-BRANCH WITH
GRAPES
As
504 || 486.0 | AF 1:3 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RONA/A below Prow r. ;
above, I before, l ; above, butter-
fly, and vine-branch with
grapes.
[Pl. xvii. 8.]
1 Other denominations with these symbols are the semis and triens (D’Ailly, Mom. rom.,
pl. lxxxxvii. 6, 7). There do not appear to be any silver coins.
? Other denominations are the semis, quadrans, and sextans (D’Ailly, Mom, rom., pl. lxxii. 3-6).
No silver coins appear to be known. The caps of the Dioscuri occur on coins, silver and
bronze, of the Fonteia gens at a later period (see Babelon, vol. i., pp. 506-8).
* D'Ailly (Mon. Tom., pp. 478-484) describes and figures the as, semis, triens, quadrans,
and sextans with the symbol, a hammer or mallet. With the exception of the as of light weight
(271 grs.), the symbol on which is doubtful and is placed before the prow, he attributes these
coins to the sextantal series. They appear, however, to belong to the uncial series. The
hammer or mallet may be the symbol of the Publicia gens, a cognomen of which was Malleolus.
CIRC. B.C. 217–197; A.U.C. 537–557 61
No. Weight
436.0
379-0
336-0
508 || 330-0
509 || 311-0
510 | 208-0
511 || 136.0
512 || 118:0
513 || 91-0
514 452-0
515 446.0
516 || 345-0
517 | 153-0
Metal
and Size
AE 1:25
AE 1:25
AE 1:25
AE 1:25
AE 1-2
Obverse Reverse
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar.
Sermis
AE 1.05
.75
.75
AE 1:35
AE 1:45
AE 1.3
Head of Jupiter r., laureate; RoNA/A below Prow r.,
behind, S before, S; above, butter-
fly, and vine-branch with
grapes.
Triens
Head of Minerva r., wear- Similar ; before prow,
ing crested Corinthian
helmet, &c., similar to
no. 388; above, * * * *
Quadrans'
Head of young Hercules | Similar ; before prow,
r., wearing lion's skin ;
behind, 3
[Pl. xvii. 9..]
Similar. Similar.
WOLE AND TWINS
As *
Head of Janus, laureate ; RONA/A below Prow r. ;
above, I before, l ; above, wolf
and twins.
Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xvii. 10.]
Similar. Similar.
Triens
Head of Minerva r., wear- || Similar; before prow,
ing crested Corinthian
helmet, &c., similar to
no. 388; above, * * * *
[Pl. xvii. 11.]
* Other denominations with these symbols are the sextans and the uncia (D'Ailly,
J10m. rom., pl. lxxxxii. 8, 9).
There appear to be no silver coins.
* Other denominations with this symbol are the semis, quadrans, sextans, and uncia
(D’Ailly, Mon. rom., pl. lxxxviii. 1-3, 5, 6).
No silver coins appear to be known.
62
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
Weight
403.0
319-0
440-0
400-0
399-0
350-0
339.0
156-0
84-0
(worm)
121.0
103-0
Metal
and Size
AE 1.2
AE 1.2
AE 1:25
AE 1.3
AE 1:25
AE 1.2
AE 1.2
•85
AE '85
Obverse Reverse
BUTTERFLY
As *
Head of Janus, laureate; [Ron/A] below Prow r. ;
above, I before, l ; above, butter-
fly.
ANCHOR
As *
Head of Janus, laureate ; RONAA below Prow r. ;
above, I above, l ; before, anchor.
[P1. xvii. 12.]
ASS 8
As
Head of Janus, laureate ; RONA/A below Prow r. ;
above, I before, l ; above, ass.
Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xvii. 13 rev.]
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar.
Triers
Head of Minerva r., wear- || Similar ; before prow,
ing crested Corinthian
helmet, &c., similar to
no. 388; above, * * * *
Similar. Similar.
Quadrans 4
Head of young Hercules r., Similar ; before prow, ;
wearing lion's skin; be- O
hind, 3 [Pl. xviii. 1.]
Similar. Similar.
1 Riccio (Catalogo, p. 23, no. 14) describes the victoriatus with the symbol, a butterfly or a
This and the as appear to be the only denominations recorded.
* For earlier coins with this symbol see above, p. 42. Other denominations of this issue
are the triens, quadrans, and uncia (D’Ailly, Mom. rom., pl. lxix. 11, 12, and pl. cxii. 2).
* The ass’s head was the symbol of M. Julius Silanus, and occurs on his coins (see below, p. 115),
being evidently a reference to his cognomen. It is the ass of Silenus, the companion of Bacchus.
4. Other denominations are the semis, sextans, and uncia (D'Ailly, Mon, rom, pl. lxxxxi,8,11,12).
There appear to be no silver coins.
cicala.
CIRC. B.C. 217–197; A.U.C. 537–557 63
Metal
g Obverse Reverse
and Size
MAST AND SAIL
No. Weight
As *
529 || 363-0 | AF 1:2 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RONAA below Prow r. ; be-
above, I fore, l; above, mast and
loose sail.
[Pl. xviii. 2.]
WREATEI
As *
530 299-0 | AF 1:2 | Head of Janus, laureate ;
above,
[RoMA] below Prow r. ;
above, l and wreath.
[Pl. xviii. 3..]
HORSE 3
As
531 || 290-0 || AE 1:1 | Head of Janus, laureate ;
above, l
RONMA below Prow r. ;
before, l ; above, horse.
[Pl. xviii. 4.]
SERIES III.
With moneyers' initials
/Vºl 4
(METELLUS)
Denarius
532 57-0 || AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNA/A (on tablet). The
winged helmet, with visor | Dioscuri on horseback
peaked, &c., similar to charging r., &c., similar
no. 353; behind, X to no. 353; below horses,
Mk (Metellus).
[Pl. xviii. 5.]
* Other denominations are the semis, triens, and quadrans (D’Ailly, Mon. rom., pl. lxxxx. 3-5).
There are no silver coins.
* D'Ailly (Mon. rom., pl. lxxvii. 16) figures the semis of this issue. For earlier pieces with
the symbol, a wreath, see above, p. 40.
º appears to be the only denomination recorded with this symbol (Babelon, vol. i.,
p. 50).
* An uncertain moneyer, but possibly a son of L. Caecilius Metellus, who was consul
B.C. 251 and 247, pontifex maximus B. c. 243, and afterwards dictator, B.C. 224. Bahrfeldt (Num.
Zeit., 1881, p. 151) would attribute these coins to the consul of B.C. 251 and 247, but that would
be far too early a date for them.
64
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
Weight
39-5
36.5
32-0
503-0
448-0
275-0
238.0
Metal
and Size
AR. W.
AE 1:35
AE 1.4
Obverse
Reverse
Victoriatus
Head of Jupiter r., laureate.
Similar.
Similar.
RoNA/A (in exergue). Vic-
tory standing r., placing
wreath on trophy, similar
tono. 367; in the field, Wº.
Similar.
Similar.
(de Salis Coll.)
As
Head, of Janus, laureate; RoNA/A below Prow r. ;
above, I
Similar.
SERIES IV.
before, l ; above, Mº.
Similar.
With moneyers' symbols and initials
AE 1.05
AE 1-0
ANCHOR AND O %
Sermis 3
Head of Jupiterr., laureate ;
behind, S
Similar.
RoNA/A below Prowr.; above,
S and O. (Quinctius 2);
before, anchor.
[Pl. xviii. 6.]
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
! Other denominations with this monogram are the semis, triens, quadrans, and sextans
(D’Ailly, Mon, rom., pl. cvii. 15-20; Babelon, vol. i., p. 260; Bahrfeldt, Num, Zeit., 1881, p. 150f).
Mommsen (Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 240) gives the monogram as AW or NE, but the latter does
not occur with this issue.
* An uncertain moneyer, but possibly a member of the Quinctia gens. The anchor is
perhaps emblematic of some naval victory gained by an ancestor of the moneyer.
* Other denominations are the as, triens, quadrans, and sextans (D’Ailly, Mon. Pom.,
pl. lxviii., 13, 16; and Babelon, vol. i., p. 60).
No silver coins with this symbol and initial
appear to be recorded. For earlier coins with the anchor as symbol see above, p. 42.
CIRC. B.C. 217–197; A.U.C. 537–557 65
Metal
re Obverse Reverse
and Size
VICTORY AND F7 l
(LUCIUS FURIUS PHILUS 2)
No. Weight
As
540 |461-0 || AE 1:35 | Head of Janus, laureate; RONA/A below Prow r. ;
above, I before, l ; above, Victory
flying r., with wreath, and
+ (V. F. T. 2)
Sermis 2
541 |251.0 | AF 105 | Head of Jupiterr., laureate; Similar; before prow, S
behind, S -
* This monogram appears to be composed of the letters V.F.T., but their order of place is
uncertain. If this solution is correct these coins may be of Lucius Furius Philus, who was
praetor in Sardinia in B.C. 170. Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 243) suggests that the
initials of the monogram may equally represent L. Furius Purpureo or some other analogous
name ; and Sig. Camillo Serafini (Bull. comm. arch. com., 1898, p. 11) proposes ſ, FV,
(Publius Flaminius, or Publius Flavius) or FV. T. (Flavius Pusio). It may be noticed that
though at this period the moneyer's monogram generally represents only his momen or cognomen,
a combination of the initials of the praenomen, momen, and cognomen is not impossible though
unusual (see the monogram HC, p. 70). The Victory has the same significance as the anchor
in the case of the previous issue. Babelon (vol. i., p. 517) suggests that the moneyer of these
coins may have formed a triumvirate of the mint with L. Aemilius Papus (see p. 84, coins
with A) and Matienus (p. 82), but Count de Salis has given the issues of these last two
moneyers to a somewhat later date.
* Other denominations are the triens, quadrans, sextans, and uncia (Babelon, vol. i.,
pp. 518, 519). No silver coins have been met with of this issue.
66
PERIOD III.
Circ. B.C. 196—173; A.U.C. 558—581
DENOMINATIONs.—The denominations of the coins issued during this Period
are the same as in the previous one, viz.: in silver, the denarius and the
victoriatus; and in bronze, the as of the uncial standard, and its divisions to the
uncia. The victoriatus occurs but rarely, and only with the earlier issues. At
the local mints, however, it may have continued a few years longer; but even
there its issue was not extended later than B.C. 173 (see ConAGE OF ITALY). In
the bronze series the uncia is rarely met with. It is, however, quite possible
that this denomination may have been extensively struck, but on account of its
small size few specimens have survived to the present day.
Though no change occurred in the weight-standards, it will be noticed that
both in the silver and bronze money the prescribed weights were often exceeded,
more especially with regard to the latter, that of the as being frequently
above the ounce.
TYPES AND LEGENDs.—The bronze coins retain their previous types, and
we meet with only one slight modification, viz., in the sextans, on which
occasionally a caduceus is introduced behind the head of Mercury. In the case
of the denarius an important variation is made, and for the first time since
the issue of that coin a change in the type of the reverse occurs, Diana or Luna
standing in a chariot drawn by two galloping horses, the lunares equi of Ovid
(Fast., v. 16), being in some instances substituted for the Dioscuri on horseback.
These coins, as well as those with Victory driving two horses and others of similar
reverse types, were called bigati (Tacitus, Germ. v.). This is the beginning of a
great development, which after this period extended rapidly, so that in time each
moneyer selected his own type for his coins, both obverse and reverse, and many
employed more than one. At first, however, this change was confined to the re-
verse only, the obverse type being always as hitherto, the helmeted head of Roma.
What may have been the particular motive for selecting the type of Diana in a
biga for this first change it is difficult to say, except for the circumstance that
the worship of that divinity at Rome dates from early times, her temple on the
Aventine, which is said to have been built by Servius Tullius, being held specially
sacred by the Romans, as representing the confederation of the Latin com-
munities under the hegemony of Rome. It may have been introduced to
conciliate the Latins, to whom the battle of Lake Regillus cannot have had
happy memories. It is first met with about B.C. 190, but it lasted only
a short time, never quite displacing that of the Dioscuri, and in this particular
form did not survive much after B.C. 173. There are two varieties, the earlier one
showing Diana in a chariot drawn by two horses, which she is restraining, while
in the later one, the goddess, with a goad in her right hand, is urging them on
at full speed. The former type may have been an adaptation from the coins of
Syracuse, on which Victory is seen pulling in her horses near the goal; the
latter may have been copied from bronze coins of Bruttii, on which Victory,
naked to the waist, is driving her horses as in a race. This type of Victory
occurs a few years later on denarii (see below, p. 87).
The moneyers' symbols still continue in use, to a less degree, however, than
CIRC. B.C. 196–173; A.U.C. 558–581 67
in the previous Period; but, on the other hand, their initials, often in the form of a
monogram, are on the increase. These monograms consist, possibly with one
exception (see p. 70), of the momen or cognomen, to which is sometimes added the
praenomen. A few denarii are still issued without either symbol or moneyer's
initials, but these practically come to an end with this Period.
No change occurs in the type of the victoriatus.
CLASSIFICATION.—Hitherto, in ascertaining the chronological sequence of the
various issues since B.C. 268, changes in the standard of weights both of the
silver and bronze, the introduction of new denominations, and the cessation of
former ones, have been the chief guides. These now cease, and from this time,
till the evidence of finds can be cited at the beginning of the 1st century B.C.,
we have to depend chiefly on internal evidence afforded by the coins themselves,
more especially by the denarius.
The principal points to be noted are these :—
1.—Minute varieties in the type of the denarius, especially in
connection with the head of Roma on the obverse.
2.—The gradual development in the form of the moneyers' names.
At first, as we have already seen, these are given in monogram, which
consists chiefly either of the momen gentilicium, or of the cognomen, some-
times preceded by the praenomen. Initials not in monogram also occur. This
latter form is soon extended, and the monograms then become less frequent.
The next development is the combination of the praenomen, the momen
gentilicium, and the cognomen, accompanied occasionally by the patronymic
initial, with F for filius. The first occurrence of the patronymic initial is in
the case of C. Junius C. F., circ. B.C. 172 (see below, p. 89). The initial of
the grandfather followed by N (nepos) is not met with till about B.C. 88
(see coins of L. Piso L. F. Frugi).
3.—Changes in the types, at first on the reverse; later, on the obverse.
4.—Epigraphic changes, /A, A, &c. to A, and V to L.
5.—Occasional historical data connected with the moneyers.
6.—A minute attention to fabric and style throughout.
In classifying the coins of the Period which extends from circ. B.C. 196—173,
our chief criteria are those mentioned above under nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, viz.,
varieties of obverse type, moneyers' names, changes of the reverse type,
epigraphic changes, and fabric.
On the denarii of Series I. the head of Roma is very similar to that on
those of the later part of the previous Period, but it is marked by a special
arrangement of the hair, consisting of two small locks between the band with
which it is tied and the neck-piece of the helmet. Roma wears the winged helmet,
with the visor peaked and in three pieces, and her earring consists of a single drop
with the indication of a pearl ornament at top and bottom. This variety occurs
with the type of Diana in a biga of the earlier form on the reverse (see above).
In Series II. the head of Roma undergoes a change—the two small locks
above the band disappear; the features are less lifelike and wanting in expression
and the profile is straighter; and her earring, though consisting of a single drop,
assumes occasionally a triangular shape. This form of head occurs with the later
type of Diana in a biga, in which the horses are at full gallop (see above). It
68 COINAGE OF ROME
has been necessary to draw attention to these somewhat small differences, as
We shall have to note others of a similar nature in later issues.
The moneyers' names are generally in monogram, consisting either of the
momen gentilicium only, as W. (Valerius), AV (Aurelius), O&W (Opeimius), or WA
(Matienus), or of the cognomen only, as ĀV (Tampilus), S/X (Saxula), or B.A.
(Balbus). Occasionally we meet with the addition of the praenomen, as O. ME
(Quintus Metellus), V. ColW (L. Coilius), or T. Nº. (P. Maenius); but the
praenomen, momen and cognomen together do not yet occur, unless it be in a
monogram like H2 (see p. 70).
So far the coins supply little information about the moneyers themselves,
who do not appear as yet to have formed a regular magistracy, appointed year
by year, but who were rather special commissioners nominated by the Senate
according to the needs of the state. A few struck both silver and bronze
money, but the majority issued only in one of these metals. No doubt, more
than one moneyer was nominated at a time, and even at this early period
traces are apparent of a mint-triumvirate, as in the case of Lucius Plautius
Hypsaeus, Tampilus, and Aurelius (pp. 70-72), or in that of Lucius Coilius,
Cnaeus Calpurnius Piso, and Cnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (pp. 81, 82).
There are no epigraphic changes of any importance to be noticed. The
letter A is found as /A, A, A, and A, the last becoming towards the end of the
Period the more frequent form ; L changes its form from V to L in one instance
only (see no. 553); and in P there is a slight modification from T to T.
It may be noted that the coinage does not reveal any traces of the great
wars, which at this time were so successfully fought by Rome in Greece and
Syria in the East, and in Spain and Gaul in the West.
SERIES I."
With moneyers’ names
No. Weight aft, Obverse Reverse
V&O
(AULUS TERENTIUS WARRO 2)
As 3
542 |462-0 | AF 1:3 | Head of Janus, laureate; RoNWA below Prow r. ;
above, I before, l ; above, VAKO
[Pl. xviii. 7.]
* For particulars of this series see p. 67.
* Probably a descendant of C. Terentius Varro, consul, B.C. 216, to whom some earlier
coins are attributed (see p. 35, and also note on coinages of this family). A member of the
Terentia gens, A. Terentius Varro, was praetor in Spain, B.C. 184, and for his success over the
Celtiberi received an ovation at Rome, B.C. 182.
* No silver coins of this issue are known; but of bronze, besides the as, there are the semis,
triens, quadrans, sextans, and uncia (Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 481,482). Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit.
1897, p. 81) says that the initials on the quadrans figured by Babelon should be read T. V&
(see above, p. 85). This and the next two issues are placed early in the series on account of
the heavy weight of some of the bronze coins, and also because they are not known in silver.
It will, however, be noticed that the weight of the bronze coins varies considerably.
CIRC. B.C. 196–173; A.U.C. 558–581 69
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
543 | 408-0 | AF 1-3 || Similar. Similar.
544 368-0 | AF 1.3 Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
VA,
(VALERIUS 2)
As 3
545 504-0 | AF 1:4 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RONAA below Prow r. ;
above, I before, l ; above, VA,
546 || 415-0 || AE 1-25 | Similar. Similar.
547 277-0 || AE 1-3 || Similar. Similar.
548 || 212-0 || AE 1:1 | Similar. Similar.
MV) AND BULL
(DURMIUS 2) *
As
549 |479-0 || AE 1.4 | Head of Janus, laureate; RONA/A below Prow r. ;
above, I before, l ; above, MD and
bull.
[Pl. xviii. 8 rev.]
550 | 377.0 | AF 1:2 . Similar. Similar.
Sermis “
551 |247.0 AE 1.05 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; Similar; before prow, S
behind, S
* Perhaps L. Valerius Flaccus, who was one of the triumvirs appointed in B. c. 190 to
conduct colonists to Placentia and Cremona, and a son of P. Walerius Flaccus, who commanded
in the second Punic War.
* Other denominations are the semis, triens, quadrans, sextans, and uncia (Babelon, vol. ii.,
pp. 508, 509). No silver coins are known. The as referred to by Babelon (vol. ii., p. 507, note 2),
from the Blacas Collection, which was read SA, by Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 285),
and attributed by him to a certain Oppius Salinator, really reads B.A., and is described below,
p. 80, no. 609. -
* This moneyer is uncertain. The initials MV have been identified as those of M.
Duilius or of M. Durmius, but the connection between the monogram and the symbol, a bull,
has not been explained. The bull occurs as a separate symbol on silver and bronze coins,
probably of an earlier date (Mommsen, Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., p. 221; D’Ailly, Mom. rom.,
pl. lxxxxiv. 11-17). On account of their rude fabric Count de Salis has classed the denarii with
the symbol, a butting bull, with the local issues (see ITALY, B.C. 216–197).
* Other denominations are the triens, quadrans, sextans, and uncia (Mommsen, Hist. mom.
rom., t. ii., p. 240).
70 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal,
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
HP
(LUCIUS PLAUTIUS HYPSAEUS?)"
Denarius
552 60-0 || AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoMA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, orna- | Dioscuri on horseback
mented with gryphon's charging r. ; each holds
head; the visor in three couched spear and wears
pieces and peaked; ear- chlamys, cuirass, and
ring of single drop, and | pileus, surmounted by
necklace; hair tied and star; above, tº (1-. TV.
falling in three locks; H.2)
above the band are two [Pl. xviii. 9..]
smaller locks;” behind, X
553 58.5 | AR, 75 Similar. Similar ; monogram, H.,”
below horses.
[Pl. xviii. 10.]
(Blacas Coll.)
554 || 55.5 | AR, 75 Similar. Similar.
As
555 |451-0 | AF 1:3 | Head of Janus, laureate; [RoNWA] below Prow r. ;
above, I before, l ; above, HP
[Pl. xviii. 11.]
Triens 4
556 | 1660 AE '95 | Head of Minerva r., wear- Similar ; before prow,
ing crested Corinthian | above, H:
helmet ; hair long and
tied ; above, * * * *
© .
C 2
O
O
1 Borghesi (CEuvres compl., vol. i., p. 267) explains the monogram as being composed of the
letters V.P.V.H., which may be the initials of Lucius Plautius Hypsaeus, who was appointed
praetor in B.C. 189, and obtained Nearer Spain for his province. Mommsen (Hwst. mom. rom.,
t. ii., p. 242) suggests V.H.P. V., but gives no further identification. A similar combination
appears to occur in the case of the monogram H. (see above, p. 65). The date assigned to this
issue by Count de Salis will scarcely admit of Borghesi's identification.
* This type of head of Roma is characteristic of this group of coins. It is similar to that
on late coins of the previous Period, but differs in having the addition of two small locks of hair
above the band, and below the helmet (see above, p. 67).
* This is the first instance of a variation in the position of the moneyer's monogram, being
placed on some denarii above, on others below the horses. The monogram is also varied, being tº
or HC. It is also the first instance of the form L for V. A similar change in the position of
the moneyer's monogram occurs on the next issue with AW.
* Other denominations are the semis, quadrans, and sextans (Mommsen, Hust. Anon. Tom.,
t. ii., p. 242). Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 39) does not admit the attribution to this issue of
the uncia in the Bigmami Collection. The moneyer's name was read by Sig. Bignami as H. L.;
but Bahrfeldt thinks that it is composed of the letters R1-. The illustration given of the coin
is not sufficiently distinct for us to express an opinion on this point.
CIRC. B.C. 196—173; A.U.C. 558—581
71
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
A/V
(TAMPILUS)
Denarius
557 59.5 | AR 8 Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, with visor Dioscuri on horseback
in three pieces and charging r., &c., similar
peaked, &c., similar to to no. 552; above, AW
no. 552; earring of single | (TANAT).
drop ; behind, X [Pl. xviii. 12.]
(de Salis Coll.)
558 || 55.9 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
559 || 56-0 || AR 75 | Similar. Similar; monogram, AW,
below horses.
(Gnecchi)
Victoriatus
560 31-0 || AR 7 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate. RoNAA (in exergue). Vic-
tory draped, standing r.,
and placing wreath on
trophy; in the field, AW
[P1. xviii. 13.]
(de Salis Coll.)
* This moneyer is uncertain. Babelon (vol. i., p. 249), who assigns these and other coins
with this monogram to about B. c. 217, has identified the moneyer with Cnaeus Baebius
Tampilus, who was consul B. c. 182, and who had previously held the offices of tribune of the
plebs, B.C. 204, and praetor, B.C. 199. If, however, the date given to this particular issue by
Count de Salis is correct, the identification is impossible, as Cnaeus would not have held the
office of moneyer after that of praetor. Another identification has been with Marcus Baebius
Tampilus, a younger brother of Cnaeus, who was one of the triumviri for founding a colony,
B.C. 194, praetor, B.C. 192, and consul, B.C. 181, but this attribution is also not admissible, as it
would only allow an interval of four years between his holding the office of moneyer and that
of praetor. Though the lea, Willia annalis, which fixed the order of the magistracy and the
required ages of the candidates, was not passed till about B.C. 180, yet that law appears to have
been based on a codification of previous regulations, which would preclude this identification
(Bouché-Leclercq, Man. des Inst. rom., p. 48).
This moneyer also struck denarii with the reverse type of Diana in a biga, as below, no. 564
(see Babelon, vol. i., p. 251), no specimen of which is in the British Museum. The same
author (vol. i., p. 250, no. 2) figures a quinarius of the same type and with the same
monogram. Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 239) describes an as weighing 40-50 gram.
(= 625-0 grs.) and a semis of 20.80 gram. (= 320 grs.), both in the D’Ailly Collection.
As these bronze coins appear to belong rather to the sextantal than the uncial standard,
we seem to have two different issues with the same moneyer's monogram—one struck before
B. c. 217, the other after that date. The earlier issue would consist of the quinarius, and the
as, the semis, &c., of the heavy standard; and the later one of the denarius of two reverse
types, the victoriatus, and the bronze coins of the uncial standard. It is possible that the
Cnaeus Baebius Tampilus mentioned above struck the earlier coins. Riccio (Mon. fam. roºm.,
pl. viii. 3) figures a victoriatus with the monogram of this moneyer turned to the left instead of
to the right. There is a specimen of this variety in the Bibl. Nat., Paris.
The denarii of this issue are a connecting link between the earlier and later pieces of this
Period, for besides having the head of Roma, of precisely the same form and variety as on
no. 552, they supply the two reverse types, i.e. the Dioscuri on horseback and Diana in a
biga. Another point of resemblance between the coins of this moneyer and the previous one,
whose monogram is HB, is that in each case the monogram occurs sometimes above and
sometimes below the horses,
72 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight aft. Obverse Reverse
As
561 |494-0 | AF 1:35 | Head of Janus, laureate; I [RoNAA] below Prow r. ;
above, I before, l ; above, AW
s [Pl. xviii. 14 rev.]
Sermis
562 124.0 AE 9 Head of Jupiterr., laureate; Similar; before prow, S
behind, S
Sextans'
563 | 83.0 | AF 8 || Bust of Mercury r., wear- Similar; before prow, 3
ing chlamys and winged
petasus; above, * *
A/
(AURELIUS)?
Denarius
564 58.5 | AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoMA (on tablet). Diana,”
winged helmet, with visor draped, her head sur-
in three pieces and peaked, mounted by crescent, in
&c., similar to no. 552; biga, r., horses cantering ;
earring of single drop ; she holds the reins in
behind, X both hands, and restrains
the horses; above, A/
565 57.0 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xix. 1.]
566 63-0 | AR 7 || Similar ; the two small Similar.
locks of hair above the [Pl. xix. 2.]
band are omitted, and the (de Salis Coll.)
features of Roma are
straighter and more con-
ventional.
567 59-0 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
! Other denominations are the triens, quadrans, and uncia (Babelon, vol. i., pp. 252,253).
On the bronze coins the monogram is always above the prow.
*An uncertain moneyer, but possibly M. Aurelius Cotta, who was the legate of L.
Cornelius Scipio in B.C. 189, during the war against Antiochus III. of Syria; or L. Aurelius
Cotta, who was tribune of the soldiers in B.C. 181.
* These denarii, and similar ones of the previous moneyer, Tampilus, mark the earliest
change in the type of the reverse of that coin. Until now the universal and only type of the
denarius had been the Dioscuri on horseback (see above, p. 66).
The many points of connection of type between the coins of this moneyer and those of the
two preceding ones, with the monograms HC and AW, prove that they all belong to the same
time, and it is not impossible that we have in them one of the earliest instances of a mint
triumvirate. Further, as the denarii with the monogram AW are the connecting link with
those bearing HD and A/, so the last are the point of connection with subsequent issues,
since it may be noted that on nos. 570-574 a slight change occurs in the head of Roma, the two
curls above the band being omitted and the portrait somewhat altered, modifications noticeable
on later denarii.
CIRC. B.C. 196—173; A.U.C. 558–581 73
& Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
As
568|378-0 | AF 12 | Head of Janus, laureate; I [Rom/A] below Prow r.;
above, I before, l ; above, A/
Sextans 1
569 | 127-0 | AF 9 | Bust of Mercury r., wear-
ing chlamys and winged
petasus; above, * *
Similar; before prow, 3
SERIES II.”
Without momeyers’ symbols or names
Denarius Š
Type I.
570 64-0 || AR 8 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, orna- | Dioscuri on horseback
mented with gryphon's charging r. ; each holds
head; the visor in three | couched spear and wears
pieces and peaked ; ear- chlamys, cuirass, and
ring of single drop, and | pileus, surmounted by
necklace; hair tied, and Star.
falling in three locks ; [Pl. xix. 3..]
behind, X
571 56-0 || AR 7 | Similar. Similar.
572 || 55.5 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
573 || 52-0 | AR, 75 Similar. | Similar.
! Other denominations are the semis, triens, quadrans, and uncia (Babelon, vol. i.,
pp. 236, 237). Babelon gives illustrations of all except the triens, which is, however, figured
by D'Ailly (Mon. rom., pl. lxxxxix., no. 13). The figure of the sextans in Babelon, according to
Bahrfeldt, is wrong, and should not have the caduceus behind the bust of Mercury. He gives
an illustration of the coin (Num. Zeit., 1896, pl. ii., no. 45 obv.), and so does D'Ailly (op. cit.,
pl. lxxxxix., no. 15).
The Duc de Blacas (Mommsen, Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 237, note 4) appears to have
confused the monogram A/ with that of A, and to have attributed to the former moneyer
denarii of the Dioscuri type. The denarii with Av belong to the Allia or Aelia gens, and are of a
somewhat earlier date. They are classed by Count de Salis with the local issues (see ITALY).
* For particulars of this series see above, p. 67.
* These denarii are practically the prototypes of those which from this point are included
in Period III. As already noticed (see above, p. 67), the head of Roma slightly differs in style
and the two curls above the band disappear. Later on (see no. 584) a further variation will be
noticed, viz., in the form of the earring, which, though consisting of a single drop, is triangular
in shape.
L
74 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight .# º:20 Obverse Reverse
t Type II.
574 || 55.5 | AR, 75 Similar. RoMA (on tablet). Diana,"
naked to the waist, her
head surmounted by
crescent, in biga, r., horses
galloping; she holds goad
in r. hand and reins in l.
[Pl. xix. 4.]
With moneyers' symbols
CRESCENT 2
Denarius
575 59-0 || AR 7 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, with | Dioscuri on horseback
visor in three pieces and charging r., &c., similar
peaked, &c., similar to to no. 570; above,
no. 570; earring of single | crescent.
drop ; behind, X
576 || 58-0 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar; RONMA
[Pl. xix. 5.]
(Blacas Coll.)
577 || 57-0 | AR 75 | Similar. Similar; RONA/A
578 || 510 | AR “75 Similar. Similar ; RONMA
As
579 |447-0 || AE 1:3 | Head of Janus, laureate; RoNWA below Prow r.;
above, I before, l; above, crescent.
580 279-0 || AE 1.15 Similar. Similar.
Sermis
581 142-0 | AF 1:05 | Head of Jupiterr., laureate; Similar; before prow, S;
behind, S above, crescent.
l This change in the type of Diana in a biga has been mentioned (see above, pp. 66,67).
It varies from the earlier type, inasmuch as Diana is naked to the waist, and, holding a goad in
her right hand and the reins in her left, is urging on the horses at full speed.
* Earlier coins in bronze with this symbol have been described (see above, pp. 41, 52),
and the connection of the symbol with the Saufeia gens has been noticed,
CIRC. B.C. 196—173; A.U.C. 558–581 75
No.
582
583
584
585
586
Weight
73-0
64.5
58-5
60-9
60-0
Metal
and Size
'85
Obverse
Reverse
Sextans |
Bust of Mercury r., wear- Similar; above prow, RONAA
ing chlamys and winged
petasus; above, * *
and crescent; below, * *
[Pl. xix. 6.]
CORNUCOPIAE 2
Denarius
Head of Roma r., wearing
winged helmet, with visor
in three pieces and
peaked, &c., similar to
no. 570; earring of single
drop ; behind, X
Similar ; earring of tri-
angular drop.
RoMA (on tablet). The
Dioscuri on horseback
charging r., &c., similar
to no. 570; below horses,
cornucopiae.
[Pl. xix. 7.]
(Sambon)
Similar.
[Pl. xix. 8.]
PRAWN (SQUILLA) 8
Denarius
Head of Roma r., wear-
ing winged helmet, with
visor in three pieces and
peaked, &c., similar to
no. 570; earring of trian-
gular drop ; behind, X
Similar.
RoNAA (on tablet). Diana,
naked to the waist, in
biga r., horses galloping;
she holds goad and reins,
&c., similar to no. 574;
below horses, prawn
(Squilla).
[Pl. xix. 9..]
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar.
(Sambon)
* See above, p. 42, for a sextans and other bronze coins with the same symbol.
* Earlier coins with this symbol have been described or mentioned (see above, pp. 41, 50).
D'Ailly (Mon. rom., pl. lxxvii. 2) figures a semis of the uncial standard, which may be attributed
to this issue.
(see p. 76), give the two forms of earring, plain and triangular. The two issues could only
have been separated by a very short time. J.
* The cognomen Squillus is found at a later period in connection with the Licinia gens.
L. Licinius Squillus was one of the conspirators against Q. Cassius Longinus in Spain, B.C. 54.
This symbol is apparently a punning allusion to the moneyer's name.
These denarii, like those with the symbol, a wren, and the moneyer's name TOD
76 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight .#. Obverse Reverse
Quadrans |
587 1540 AE 9 || Head of young Hercules r., RoMA below Prow r. ;
wearing lion’s skin ; be- before, 3, above, prawn
hind, : (squilla).
(Blacas Coll.)
SEHIELD 2
As 2
588 328-0 | AF 12 | Head of Janus, laureate; RONA/A below Prow r. ;
above, I above, l; before, oblong
shield 2
With moneyers’ symbols and names
WREN AND TOD
(TODILLUS 2) 8
Denarius
589 || 48.5 | AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing | Rol\\/A (on tablet). Diana,
winged helmet, with visor naked to the waist, in
in three pieces and biga r., horses galloping;
peaked, &c., similar to she holds goad and reins,
no. 570; earring of single &c., similar to no. 574;
drop ; behind, X below horses, TOD with
wren standing r. on first
letter.
(Blacas Coll.)
590 59-0 || AR “75 Similar; earring of tri- || Similar.
angular drop. (Blacas Coll.)
591 || 57.5 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xix. 10.]
(de Salis Coll.)
* D'Ailly (Mom. rom., pl. lxxxxiv. 9) figures also the as. He also illustrates a quinarius
with the reverse type of Diana in a biga and symbol, a squilla, which he says he had seen in the
hands of its owner (ib. p. 560), but the weight of which he did not note. The coin was of pure
silver, but not well preserved. A quinarius of so late a date seems impossible.
* This is the only denomination of this issue with this symbol that we have met with. The
symbol is a little doubtful, and the coin is not sufficiently well-preserved to be illustrated.
* Todus or Todillus is the name of a small bird of the wren species (Festus, de Verb. sig.).
It may have been the cognomen of the moneyer; if so, the wren would be another instance of
a punning allusion (see also the coins with symbol squilla, p. 75). In the two forms of earring
on the obverse of the denarius, these denarii resemble those above described with the symbol,
a cornucopiae (see p. 75). It may also be noticed that, with two exceptions (see p. 78, note 3,
and nos. 630, 631, coins of P. Maenius), all the denarii of this series in the National Collection
with moneyers' names only have the triangular form of earring.
CIRC. B.C. 196—173; A.U.C. 558—581 77
No. Weight cº, Obverse Reverse
As
592 |509-0 || AE 1:35 | Head of Janus, laureate; RoNWA below Prow r.; be-
above, I fore, l ; above, T with
Wren standing r. on letter
and holding wreath in its
beak."
Sennis "
593 |217-0 | AF 1:05 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; Similar; before prow, S
behind, S
SHIELD AND Mº-
(MAENIUS 2) 3
As 4
292-0 | AF 12 | Head of Janus, laureate; Rom/A below Prow r. ;
above, I before, l ; above, shield
and A&. (MAE)
*
===
[Babelon, vol. ii., p. 162, no. 2.]
* On the bronze coins of this issue the moneyer’s name is usually given as TO; but on the
as and semis described here, to the right of the letter T is clearly a wreath, which the bird
holds in its beak, and not a letter. The wreath probably has its usual signification, and refers
to some military or naval success of an ancestor of the moneyer.
* Other denominations are the triens, quadrans, and sextans (Mommsen, Hist, mon. 'rom.,
t. ii., p. 242). D'Ailly (Mon. rom., pl. lxxxxi. 13-15) figures the semis, triens, and quadrans
with the letter T only, and the bird standing on it, which may also be coins of this moneyer.
* An uncertain moneyer, but possibly a member of the Maenia gens, though the initials
would be equally applicable to Maelius or Maecilius. Babelon (vol. ii., pp. 161-163) has
classed the bronze coins with this monogram with the denarii bearing the moneyer’s name T, NA.
(see below, p. 83) as belonging to the same issue. Count de Salis, however, considered the
issues to be separate, though of about the same period.
* Other denominations are the semis, triens, quadrans, and sextans. The moneyer's
monogram varied in form, being N& , N&, or Nº. This issue is not represented in the British
Museum by a single specimen. No silver coins are known of this moneyer. In the above
illustration of the as, the mark of value on the reverse before the prow has been accidentally
omitted. The as and semis described by Riccio (Mon. fam. rom., p. 36, nos. 8, 9; pl. liii. 6, 7)
as having a shield and Mº, and the triens, semis, and quadrans (ib., p. 36, nos. 10-12; pl. x. 23,
and pl. liii., nos. 8, 9) with a shield and NE, appear to be either mis-read pieces of the above
issue or of that of Quintus Caecilius Metellus (see below, under date B.C. 124–103).

78 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight º: 63 Obverse Reverse
With moneyers' names
AR OR AR
(AUTRONIUS)
Denarius *
594 || 54.5 | AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoMA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, with visor | Dioscuri on horseback
in three pieces and peaked, charging r., &c., similar
&c., similar to no. 570; to no. 570; below horses,
earring of triangular drop;| AR (AVTR)
behind, X [Pl. xix. 11.1
595 || 56-5 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar ; Rolv A, and mono-
gram, AR8
[Pl. xix. 12.]
(Nott)
OAW
(OPEIMIUS)4
As
596 |469-0 | AF 1:3 | Head of Janus, laureate; RoNWA below Prow r. ;
above, I before, l ; above, o&V
(OTEIM).
[Pl. xix. 13.]
597|3250 | AF 12 |Similar. Similar.
Triens 5
597* | 143-0 || AE 1.9 | Head of Minerva, r., wearing Similar; before prow, ;
crested Corinthian hel- :
met ; above, * * * *
OTEI
(OPEIMIUS) 6
As
598 || 467-0 || AE 1.3 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RONAA below Prow r. ; be-
above, I fore, l ; above, OTEl
* Very little is known of the Autronia gens before the last century of the Republic, when
P. Autronius Paetus was consul, B.C. 65. We are therefore unable to identify this moneyer,
who uses two forms of monogram for his name. He is the only moneyer of this gens of whom
coins are known.
* The as with the monogram AR is in the Bahrfeldt Collection, and is figured in Samwer.
Bahrfeldt, Alt. röm. Münz., pl. 4, 18; and Babelon (vol. i., p. 246) states that the semis is in
the British Museum ; but, in the latter instance, the monogram AW was wrongly read for AR.
This error has already been noticed by Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 57).
* A variety with this form of monogram shows Roma wearing an earring with plain (not
triangular) drop.
* A member of the Opeimia (or Opimia) gens. He may have been Quintus Opimius, who was
consul B.C. 154, with L. Postumius Albinus. He could not have been, as Babelon (vol. ii., p. 268)
suggests, a son of C. Opimius Pansa, who was quaestor B.C. 294. This would make the coins to
be of much too early a date. On coins the nomen gentilicium is always given as Opeimius. It
is the older form.
* Other denominations are the semis, quadrans, sextans, and uncia (Babelon, vol. ii.,
pp. 269, 270). No denarii are known of this and the following moneyers to no. 617.
6 Another member of the Opeimia gens. The weights of the coins with O&W and Oſ"El
CIRC. B.C. 196—173; A.U.C. 558–581 79
No. Weight .#. Obverse Reverse
599 || 391-0 | AF 1:25 | Similar. Similar.
600 || 386-0 | AF 1-25 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xix. 14.]
Sermis
601 | 184-0 | AF 1-0 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; Similar; before prow, S
behind, S [Pl. xix. 15.]
Triers 1
602 || 1580 AE 1.0 | Head of Minerva r., wearing Similar; before prow, ;
crested Corinthian hel- :
met; above, [• ***]
O. : Wū.
(QUINTUS METELLUS) *
As 3
603 |270-0 | AF 1:15 | Head of Janus, laureate; [RoNMA] below Prow r. ;
above, I before l ; above Ol. ME
[Pl. xix. 16 rev.]
S/X.
(SAXA 2) 4
Triers
604 || 152-0 | AF '95 | Head of Minerva r., wearing RoNWA below Prow r.;
crested Corinthian hel- before, 3 ; above, S/X
met ; above, * * * * O
[Pi. xx. 1.]
605 || 139-0 || AE '95 || Similar. Similar.
show that the two series were issued at no great distance apart (comp. Babelon, vol. ii., p.270).
They probably belong to different moneyers.
* Other denominations are the quadrans, sextans, and uncia (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 272).
* An uncertain member of the Caecilia gens. He cannot be Quintus Caecilius Metellus,
who was consul B.C. 206; nor Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus, the consul of B. c. 143,
who died in B.C. 115.
* This is the only denomination of this issue in the National Collection. Neither Mommsen
nor Babelon mention this moneyer, but Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 61) figures a specimen in
his own collection, which he classes with the issue of Quintus Caecilius Metellus (see below,
under date B.C. 124–103, or Babelon, vol. i., pp. 266, 267). This attribution is impossible, as
when the coins of this last moneyer were struck the issue of the as was in abeyance.
* Borghesi (CEuvres compl., t. i., p. 147 f.) has given the coins with this monogram,
and those with C. S/X (see below, nos. 642-653, pp. 84,85), to the same moneyer, whom he
identifies as Caius Clovius Saxula, who was praetor in B.C. 175, and again in B.C. 173, and legate
in Macedonia in B.C. 168. Count de Salis has attributed them to different issues, as in the
case of the coins with a shield and AK and T , Nº. (see pp. 77,83), but separated only by a
short space of time. Mommsen and Babelon both accept Borghesi's classification. A probable
moneyer of the series with S/X only was Q. Voconius Saxa, who was tribune of the plebs in
B.C. 169.
80
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
Weight
120-0
83-0
610-0
412-0
396.0
381-0
295.0
170.0
135.0
125.0
Metal
and Size
AE -85
AE 1:35
AE 1:25
AE 1.3
AE 1.3
AE 1.3
AE 1.0
AE '85
Obverse Reverse
Quadrans
Head of young Hercules r., Similar ; RoNAA; before
wearing lion's skin; be- prow, ;
hind, : (Blacas Coll.)
Sextans'
Bust of Mercury r., draped, Similar; before prow, 3
wearing chlamys and (Blacas Coll.)
winged petasus; behind
shoulder, caduceus;
above, * *
BA,
(BALBUS)
As
Head of Janus, laureate ; RoNAA below Prow r. ;
above, I before, l ; above, BA,
(BAL)
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar. Similar.3
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xx. 2.]
Similar. Similar.
Sermis
Head of Jupiter r., laureate; Similar; before prow, S
behind, S
Triers
Head of Minerva r., wear- Similar; before prow,
ing crested Corinthian
helmet; above, * * * *
Quadrans
Head of young Hercules r.,
wearing lion's skin; be-
hind, 3
Similar; before prow, ;
O
! Other denominations are the as and semis (Babelon, vol. i., p. 362, nos. 1, 2).
* An uncertain moneyer of the Acilia or Naevia gens. M'. Acilius Balbus was consul in
B.C. 150, and L. Naevius Balbus was one of the quinqueviri appointed in B.C. 168 to arbitrate
between the Pisani and the Lunenses, respecting the boundaries of their lands.
* This is the as from the Blacas Collection, on which Mommsen (Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., p. 285).
read SA (see above, p. 69, note 2). The moneyer's name is undoubtedly BA, and the misreading
of it is due to the fact that the downward straight stroke of the letter B is a little indistinct.
CIRC. B.C. 196—173; A.U.C. 558—581
81
Metal
and Size
AE 8
No.
616
Weight Obverse
121.0 Similar.
617 | 61-0 ‘75 | Bust of Mercury r., wearing
chlamys and winged pe.
tasus; behind shoulders,
caduceus; above, * *
Head of Roma r., wear-
ing winged helmet, with
visor in three pieces and
peaked, &c., similar to
no. 570; earring of tri-
angular drop ; behind, X
618 || 61.5
619 || 60.5 •75 | Similar.
Head of Roma r., wear-
ing winged helmet, with
visor in three pieces and
peaked, &c., similar to
no. 570; earring of tri-
angular drop; behind, X
620 | 67.0 .75
CN ,
(CNAEUS CALPURNIUS)4
Denarius
Reverse
Similar.
[Pl. xx. 3..]
Sextans '
Similar; before prow, ;
|- . COIV-
(LUCIUS COILIUS) *
Dermarius *
RoNAA (on tablet). The
Dioscuri on horseback
charging r., &c., similar
to no. 570; below horses,
| . COIL-
[Pl. xx. 4.]
Similar.
(de Salis Coll.)
CAC
RoNAA (on tablet). The
Dioscuri on horseback
charging r., &c., similar
to no. 570; below horses,
CN. C.A. (CN. CALT)
[Pl. xx. 5.]
(Blacas Coll.)
* No other denominations appear to be known with the moneyer's name BAv.
* Lucius Coilius (or Coelius), to whom these coins are generally attributed, commanded in
the war against Perseus in B.C. 169, and was repulsed in an attempt on the town of Uscana, in
the country of the Penestae, which was garrisoned by the Macedonians.
The name of this
family is variously given by ancient writers: at first Coilius, then Coelvus, and later Caelius.
* The similarity of type and fabric of these denarii and those struck by Cn. Calpurnius
Piso and Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus next described is so striking that it would appear as if we
have here another instance of a mint triumvirate. Babelon (vol. i., p. 368) remarks on the
similarity of the coins of Lucius Coilius and those of Cn. Calpurnius Piso, Cn. Domitius
Ahenobarbus, and Sextus Quinctilius; but Count de Salis has classed the denarii of the last
moneyer among the local issues, on account of the rude work of some of them. He, however,
considered them to be of about the same date (see ITALY, B.C. 196—173). No bronze coins
are known of L. Coilius.
There is in the British Museum an ancient forgery plated of this denarius, reading
V. . COI v I and ROMA. It was formerly in the Blacas Collection.
* Possibly a son of C. Calpurnius Piso, who was praetor B.C. 186 in Further Spain, entered
Rome in triumph B.C. 184, was consul B.c. 180, and died during his consulship. The above
MI
82 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight aft. Obverse Reverse
621 | 60-0 | AR 75 | Similar. Similar.
622 || 57-0 | AR 75 Similar. Similar.
CN . DO
(CNAEUS DOMITIUS) '
Dermarius *
623 56.5 | AR 7 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNWA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, with visor Dioscuri on horseback
in three pieces and peaked, charging r., &c., similar
&c., similar to no. 570; to no. 570; below horses,
earring of triangular drop;| CN. DO
behind, X [Pl. xx. 6.]
(Nott)
624 || 54-0 || AR 75 Similar. Similar.
/NA
(MATIENUS) *
As
625 413-0 | AF 1:3 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RONMA below Prow r. ;
above, l before, l ; above, AA
[Pl. xx. 7.]
626 |407-0 | AF 1.3 || Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Semis
627 | 207-0 | AF 1-0 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; Similar; before prow, S
behind, S [Pl. xx. 8.]
denarii were struck about that date (see note above, about the triumvirate of this moneyer and
L. Coilius and Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus). Only denarii are known of this issue.
* Probably the son of Cnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, who was consul B.C. 192. The son
was himself pontifex B.C. 172, and consul suffectus B. c. 162.
* The bronze coins with the moneyer's name CN, DOMI, and CN, DOME, are of a
later period (see below, under date B.C. 124–103). The denarii of that issue are of a later
type, and the bronze coins of the light uncial standard. An exception, however, may be made
in the case of the as reading CN, DON1, described by Borghesi (CEuvres compl., vol. ii., p. 157),
which belongs to this period, as it weighs 422 grs., and may have been issued by this
moneyer. The as cannot be classed to the coinage of Cn. Domitius, who held the office of
moneyer at Rome between B.C. 124–103, as at that time the issue of that denomination was
suspended. Bahrfeldt (Zevt. für Num., 1895, pp. 53-71) has classified the early coins of the
Domitia gens. His attributions of the bronze money practically agree with those of Count de
Salis.
* Count de Salis has divided the coins with this monogram into two series. One series,
consisting of the denarius, the victoriatus, and the as to the sextans, he assigns to local
issue (see ITALY, B.C. 196–173). In this series the triens, quadrans, and sextans have the
monogram before the prow. The other series, comprising bronze only, with the monogram
always above the prow, as described above, he attributes to the mint at Rome. The form of
the monogram varies somewhat in the two series; on the coins classed to the Roman mint it is
more wide-spread. Both series belong to about the same period.
The attribution of the above coins to any particular member of the Matiena gens is uncertain.
C. Matienus, who was created a duwmvir navalis with C. Lucretius in B.c. 181, could scarcely
have struck these coins; nor could M. Matienus, who was praetor in Spain in B.C. 173,
CIRC. B.C. 196—173; A.U.C. 558—581 83
No. Weight cº, Obverse º Reverse
Triens
628 119-0 || AE 9 | Head of Minerva r., wear- Similar; before prow, ;
ing crested Corinthian
helmet ; above, * * * *
Quadrans '
629|122-0 | AF 85 | Head of young Hercules r., Similar; before prow,
wearing lion's skin; be-
hind, 3
T . Wºl
(PUBLIUS MAENIUS)?
Denarius
630 || 62-0 || AR 8 Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, similar . Dioscuri on horseback
to no. 570; the visor is charging r., &c., similar
in three pieces, but not to no. 570; below horses,
peaked, i.e., two pieces T. Nº (D. MAE)
have the ends even ; ear- [Pl. xx. 9..]
ring of single plain drop; (Cracherode Coll.)
behind, X
631 58.0 | AR “75 Similar. Similar.
(Nott)
T
(CAIUS PETRONIUS?)?
As
632 5580 AE 1.25 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RONAA below Prow r. ;
above, I before, l ; above, T'
(TT)
633 |461-0 || AE 1:25 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xx. 10.]
* The sextans figured by Babelon (vol. ii., p. 211, no. 8) belongs to this issue.
* This member of the Maenia gens is only known from his coins. He was, no doubt,
related to T. Maenius, who was praetor urbanus B.C. 186, and tribune of the soldiers B.C. 180.
He struck denarii only, which vary somewhat in type from other coins of this denomination
attributed to this period. The visor of the helmet is long and has two of the pieces even at the
ends, somewhat similar to that on earlier denarii, and the earring consists of a single drop and
is not triangular-shaped. The general fabric is that of the period to which the coins are
classed. Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 10) gives several variations in the form of the central
letter A of the monogram, as A, A, A and A, the same occurring in the name “Roma.” There
are no bronze coins known of this moneyer, those with a shield and the monogram Mº having
been already described (see above, p. 77).
* The bronze coins with this monogram are attributed by Babelon to Paestum (vol. i.,
p. 58 f.). Riccio (Monete di Citta antiche, note 52, p. 9) says that “they are found in Apulia,
but, of the various denominations the semis and sextans only show local fabric ; the others
preserve their Roman severity of style.” The specimens here described are certainly of
Roman fabric, and their issue is ascribed to a member of the Petronia gens, of which may be
mentioned C. Petronius, who was sent as legate with L. Appuleius in B.C. 156 to arrange the
differences between Prusias II. of Bithynia and Attalus II. of Pergamum.
84 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
Triens !
634 126-0 | AF 9 | Head of Minerva r., wear- Similar; before prow, ;
ing crested Corinthian :
helmet; above, * * * *
AN
(PAETUS 2).”
As
635 |478-0 | AF 13 | Head of Janus, laureate; RoNWA below Prow r. ;
above, I before, l ; above, A
(TAE?)
(Blacas Coll.)
636 |462-0 || AE 1.3 | Similar. Similar.
637 || 431-0 | AF 1:3 | Similar. Similar.
638 |409-0 | AF 1:25 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xx. 11.]
639 || 258-0 | AF 1'15 Similar. Similar.
(worm) Sextans “
640 98-0 | AF 8 || Bust of Mercury r., wear- Similar; before prow, 3
ing chlamys and winged
petasus; above, * *
641 || 76.0 | AF 7 || Similar. Similar.
C. S/X
(CAIUS SAXULA2) 4
As
642 || 518.0 AE 1.3 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RONAA below Prow r. ; be-
above, I fore, l ; above, C. S/X
[Pl. xx. 12.]
* Mommsen (Hist. mom. Tom., t. ii., p. 254) mentions also the semis, quadrans, sextans, and
uncia. No silver coins of this moneyer have been met with.
* Mommsen (Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 244) has deciphered this monogram as L A T, and
has suggested that these letters may be the initials of L. Aemilius Papus or L. Aemilius
Paullus. Sig. Camillo Serafini (Bull. comm. arch. com., 1898, pp. 12-15) proposes to read the
monogram as L., A', and to attribute the coins to L. Appuleius Saturninus, praetor, B.C. 166.
As the monograms at this period on coins are apparently limited to the nomen or cog-
nomen of the moneyer (see above, AR, BA/, /WA, &c.), and as when the praenomen occurs its
initial is separate from the nomen or cognomen, we are disposed rather to see in this monogram
the initials of the cognomen, D A E (tus). The contraction of A for A E rather than A L
seems also more probable. In the latter case it would probably have been given as A.
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 15) figures an as formerly in the Bignami Collection but now
in that of the Capitol at Rome, with the moneyer’s name V . A above the prow. This coin,
which weighs 224 grs., is evidently not of this issue and belongs to a later date.
The only member of the Aelia gens with the cognomen Paetus with whom we are
acquainted at the period of the issue of these coins is Q. Aelius Paetus, who was augur
B.C. 174 and consul B. c. 167; but his identification with the moneyer is most uncertain.
* Other denominations are the semis, triens, and quadrans (Mommsen, Hist, mom. rom.,
t. ii., p. 244). No silver coins are known of this issue.
* Borghesi (CEwvres compl., t. i., p. 147 f.) identifies this moneyer with Caius Clovius
CIRC. B.C. 196–173; A.U.C. 558–581 85
No. Weight º € Obverse Reverse
643 5080 AE 1:35 | Similar. Similar.
644 || 473-0 || AE 1.3 Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
645 || 423-0 || AE 1.25 | Similar. Similar.
646 357-0 || AE 1:25 | Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
647 337-0 | AF 1:3 Similar. Similar.
Sermis
648 170-0 | AF 1:05 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; Similar; before prow, S
behind, S
Triers
649 |140-0 || AE 85 | Head of Minerva r., wear- || Similar ; before prow,
ing crested Corinthian
helmet ; above, * * * * [Pl. xx. 13.]
(Blacas Coll.)
650 | 106-0 || AE '85 | Similar. Similar.
Quadrans
651 | 127-0 || AE 85 | Head of young Hercules | Similar; before prow, ;
r., wearing lion's skin; O
behind, 3
652 | 101-0 | AF, 8 Similar. Similar.
Sextans'
653 96-0 || AE 75 | Bust of Mercury r., wear-
ing chlamys and winged
petasus; above, * *
Similar; before prow, 3
NA. TITINI
(MARCUS TITINIUS)
As
654 || 526-0 | AF 1:25 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RONA/A below Prow r. ; be-
above, I fore, l; above, NA.TITINI
Saxula, who was praetor in B.C. 175 and again in B.C. 173, in which case the coins would have
been issued at a somewhat earlier date than assigned to them by Count de Salis. The moneyer
may have been his son (see above, p. 79, for the bronze coins with S/X only).
1 All the known denominations of this issue are described here.
* This moneyer has been identified with M. Titimius Curvus, who was tribune of the people
in B.C. 193 and praetor in B.C. 178 (Mommsen, Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 262); but, according to
Count de Salis's classification, the coins belong to a slightly later date. There appears to be no
record of a son of this member of the Titinia gens to whom these coins can be attributed.
86 COINAGE OF ROME
& Metal
No. Weight amd Size
655 |494-0 | AF 1:3 Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Obverse Reverse
656 |406-0 | AF 1:3 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xx. 14 rev.]
Sermis
657 |207-0 || AE 9 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; Similar; before prow, S
behind, S
Triers
658 119-0 || AE '95 | Head of Minerva r., wear-
ing crested Corinthian
helmet ; above, * * * *
Similar ; before prow,
Quadrans 1
659 112-0 || AE 8 | Head of young Hercules r., Similar; before prow, 3
wearing lion's skin; be- O
hind, 3 (Blacas Coll.)
! Other denominations are the sextans and uncia (Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 494, 495).
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 87) describes and figures an as reading M . TITI, which
had already been published by Riccio (Catalogo, 2 Suppl., p. 9). He had doubted the accuracy
of Riccio's description till he obtained two specimens from the Bignami Collection, one weighing
279 grs., the other 375 grs., on which the legends are quite distinct, and their position shows
that they cannot be read M. TITINI. From their style they do not appear to belong to the
above issue, but to have been struck at a somewhat later date. They might even be of the
beginning of the 1st cent. B.C., i.e. circ. B.C. 91, when the issue of the as was revived, after being
in abeyance for so many years. Moreover, they may have been struck by a member of the
Titia gens.
87
PERIOD IV.
Circ. B.C. 172–151 ; A.U.C. 582–603
DENOMINATIONs.—The only denomination in silver of this Period is the
denarius. The victoriatus, which occurred but rarely during the previous
Period, is now no longer issued at Rome. In the bronze money all the de-
nominations from the as to the uncia are found; the last, however, but rarely.
The standards of weight remain as before, but considerable irregularity
prevails in the weights of individual pieces, both in silver and bronze.
Some moneyers issue both silver and bronze money, others strike in silver
only, and there are not a few of whom only bronze coins are known.
TYPES AND LEGENDs.-The. head of Roma wearing the winged helmet is
still the only obverse type of the denarius, but for the reverse type (whilst that
of the Dioscuri continues) Diana in a biga, which was introduced during the
previous Period, disappears, except in one instance (see below, p. 113), and her
place is taken by Victory, who is similarly represented in a biga, holding the
reins in her left hand, and in her right a whip with a long thong, which is either
loose or has the end retained in her hand. This latter form becomes more
general towards the end of the Period.
The moneyers' symbols, as separate marks, disappear, and they only recur
as adjuncts to the moneyers' names, and generally in the character of symboles
parlants. The names of the moneyers occur on all the issues, but rarely
in monogram, the more general form being in separate letters, and more or
less extended. Thus we have the momen or cogmomen alone, or one or other
with the praenomen; and lastly, all three names, the praenomen, momen, and
cognomen. No strict order is preserved, each moneyer selecting the form he
wished. Several examples of each form occur during this Period, and of
these the following may be cited:—(1) nomen, Å (Atilius or Tatius); (2) cog-
momen, SAR (Saranus); (3) praenomen and momen, C. SCR (Caius Scribonius);
(4) praenomen and cognomen, T. BLAS (Publius [Cornelius] Blasio); (5) prae-
momen, momen, and cognomen, O. MARC. LIBO (Quintus Marcius Libo). There
is one instance of a still further development, which is the addition of the
patronymic initial. It is found for the first time in the case of C. IVNI. C.F.
(Caius Junius Caii Filius, nos. 660-663). Letters in ligature are not un-
common. The addition of the cognomen or the symbol of the moneyer
causes sometimes a slight variation in the type. To make room for either
of these behind the head of Roma, the mark of value X is transferred to
the right of the field of the coin, and is placed under the chin of the goddess.
In one case, that of C. Antestius Labeo (nos. 855-861), the moneyer's
name is placed sometimes on the obverse and sometimes on the reverse,
his symbol, the dog, alternating accordingly. Variations in the Spelling
of the moneyer's name are not infrequent. These particulars have been given
in order to show that already, at this time, the denarius was undergoing many
variations in its type, which are important for ascertaining the chronological
sequence of the issues.
It is during this Period that we meet with the first example of the denarius
with the serrated edge struck at the Roman mint. It is, however, only a
88 COINAGE OF ROME
solitary instance, and occurs with other denarii of the same issue with the plain
edge (see coins of Caius Talna, p. 102, no. 771).
No important changes occur in the types of the bronze money and only in
one respect is there a slight modification, when the marks of value give
way to the moneyer's symbol or name (see pp. 91, 92, 94, 95). These are,
however, exceptions.
In the forms of the letter, A for /A in the name of “Roma,’’ occurs Occa-
sionally on denarii of Series I., becomes more common in Series II., and in
Series III. entirely excludes the older form ; so that, at all events so far as the
coins are concerned, we know precisely at what date A is substituted for /A in
Roman epigraphy. On the bronze coins, however, throughout the whole Period,
A is more often met with than /A, and it, or its variety A, is always used in
the moneyers' names. Of the other letters, L for 1 becomes more frequent
towards the end, and P is more often T than T.
CLASSIFICATION.—As hitherto, it is the type of the denarius on which the
classification is mainly based. The denarii of this Period are grouped into three
Series, each of which has certain characteristics peculiar to itself, but all three
are connected by one special feature, i.e., the form of the earring. Towards
the close of the last Period, as we have seen, the earring assumed a triangular
form. In this one it is of triple design, consisting of three drops depending from
a bar, the middle drop being somewhat longer than the outer ones. This shape
is, however, not strictly adhered to, for on denarii of Series II. the single drop
also occurs, and on the later issues of Series III., after various gradations, the
triple earring assumes the form of a mass or number of pellets arranged like a
bunch of grapes, or else it is spiral-shaped. These last two are the forms we
meet with on denarii struck at the beginning of the next Period. It may also be
noticed that the lower line of the tablet on the reverse, within which the legend
RoMA is inscribed, is often omitted on the earlier pieces of this Period, and
quite disappears before its close. This is a step to a further change, when only
an exergual line is given.
Series I. thus consists of denarii, all having the triple-shaped earring. The
chief type of reverse is the Dioscuri; but in one instance that of Victory in a
biga is introduced. The moneyers' names are given in a more extended form,
the praenomen, momen, and cognomen occurring together in several instances.
/A in “Roma, ’’ still prevails, but A is also met with, more especially on the
bronze ; and l- and L are also occasionally interchanged.
In Series II., of the five moneyers who strike silver coins four use the
earring of two shapes, i.e. with triple or single drop. The fifth moneyer uses only
the latter form, and on all his coins A in “Roma" is found. A and A occur pro-
miscuously in the case of the other moneyers, but the latter form much more
often than in Series I. Of the five moneyers three have for reverse type
Victory in a biga; the other two still keep to the Dioscuri. To this time is
attributed a number of issues in bronze of which no corresponding silver coins
are known. These being similar in fabric and weight to those pieces with which
the denarius was struck are probably contemporary with them.
In Series III, the triple earring only at first occurs, but it soon begins to
change. It first becomes a double drop (see no. 852), next a cluster of small pellets
CIRC. B.C. 172–151; A.U.C. 582–603 89
or dots, which assume the shape of a bunch of grapes (see no. 856), and lastly it is
spiral in form (no. 861). All these varieties occur on the denarii of C. Antestius
Labeo (nos. 855-861). A in the name of “Roma” has now quite disappeared,
and only A is met with.
With these variations and changes of type a marked deterioration is notice-
able in the fabric of the denarius. Early in the Period the head of Roma is
in fairly high relief and well modelled, but towards the end the relief is lower
and the modelling inferior. This change in fabric, and, as already mentioned,
the difference in form of the earring, are some of the characteristics of the
earlier denarii of the next Period.
Though the coins themselves still throw little light on the constitution of the
mint at this time as regards the appointment of the moneyers, some of
whom continued to strike only in silver, whilst others issued bronze money only,
the occurrence in several instances of groups of coins of the same type and fabric
would lead us to suppose that we have some further evidence of an occasional
mint-triumvirate. Some such groups may be traced in the following issues:—(1)
M. Atilius Saranus, Q. Marcius Libo, and L. Sempronius Pitio (nos. 679-722);
(2) Atilius Saranus, Pinarius Nata, and C. Juventius Talna (nos. 741-774); (3)
Publius Sulla, L. Saufeius, and Pinarius Natta (nos. 828-847); (4) L. Cupiennius,
C. Antestius Labeo, and M. Junius Silanus (nos. 850-874).
SERIES I.1
Metal
e Obverse Reverse
and Size
C. VNI . C. F.
(CAIUS JUNIUS CAII FILIUS)*
No. Weight
Denarius
660 59.5 | AR 7 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNWA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, orna- | Dioscuri on horseback
mented with gryphon's charging r. ; each holds
head; the visor in three | couched spear, and
pieces and peaked ; ear- wears chlamys, cuirass,
ring of three drops,” the and pileus, surmounted
middle one long, and by star; below horses,
necklace; hair arranged C. IVNI . C. F
in three symmetrical
locks; behind, X
1 For particulars of this series see p. 88.
* This member of the Junia gens appears to be unknown to history beyond that he was a
moneyer. Babelon (vol. ii., p. 101) thinks that he was a colleague at the mint of L. Itius
and C. Scribonius Curio (see below, pp. 97, 98). He and the following moneyers to no. 722
all struck in bronze as well as in silver. This is the first occurrence of the patronymic initial
on coins.
* This form of earring is peculiar to this Period. It underwent some changes, as already
N
90 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
661 59-0 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
662 58.4 | AR 7 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxi. 1.]
(Blacas Coll.)
663| 530 | AR 75|Similar. Similar.
(Nott)
As
664 |462-0 || AE 1:3 | Head of Janus, laureate; RoNWA below Prow r. ; be-
above, I fore, l ; above, C. IVN l'
665 | 400-0 || AE 1.25 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxi. 2.]
666 || 308-0 || AE 1-25 | Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Sennis
667 205-0 | AF 1-0 | Head of Jupiterr., laureate; Similar; before prow, S
behind, S
Triers
668 175-0 || AE '95 | Head of Minerva r., wear-
ing crested Corinthian
helmet; above, * * * *
Similar; before prow,
Quadrans’
669 112-0 || AE 9 | Head of young Hercules r., Similar; before prow, ;
wearing lion's skin; be- O
hind, 3 (Blacas Coll.)
noted (see above, p. 88). From this time no important alteration takes place in the shape of
the visor of the helmet, which remains of the form above described. Any variations will be
noticed when they occur.
There are hybrids consisting of the reverse of the denarius of C. Junius and the obverses
of those of Q. Marcius Libo and L. Sempronius Pitio (pp. 94, 95).
* In a few instances in this Period the moneyer's name differs slightly on the bronze coins
from that on the silver, and sometimes a symbol is added. In the case of C. Junius the
patronymic is omitted.
* Other denominations are the sextans and uncia (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 103, nos. 6, 7;
Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit, 1896, p. 163). The unique specimen of the uncia was in the Borghesi
and Bignami Collections,
CIRC. B.C. 172–151; A.U.C. 582–603 91
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
S, AFRA
(SPURIUS AFRANIUS) '
Denarius
670 59.5 | AR 8 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoMA (on tablet). Victory,
winged helmet, &c., simi-| naked to the hips, in biga
lar to no. 660; the ear- r., horses galloping; she
ring is of three drops; holds whip with close
behind, X thong in r. hand and
reins in 1.5% below horses,
SAFRA
671 || 58.0 | AR, 75 Similar. Similar.
672 | 55.5 | AR, 7 || Similar. Similar.
673 || 47.5 | AR 75 Similar. Similar.
674 58.3 | AR, 75 | Similar. Similar ; RONMA
[Pl. xxi. 3..]
(de Salis Coll.)
As
675 || 390-0 || AE 1:25 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RONAA below Prow r. ; be-
above, I fore, dolphin’ downwards;
above, SAFRA
(Blacas Coll.)
676 || 346-0 || AE 1:25 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxi. 4.]
677 305-0 || AE 1.25 | Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
* Possibly a son of C. Afranius Stellio, who was praetor B.C. 185 and a triumvir in Etruria.
two years later. Little is known of the Afrania gens before the 1st cent. B.C. It was of
plebeian origin. This is the only member of this gens of whom coins are known.
* This is a new type. The figure of Victory takes the place of that of Diana, which, how-
ever, recurs in one instance during this Period (see no. 848). The type of Victory may have
been copied from copper coins of Bruttii (Cat. Gr. Coins, Brit. Mus., Italy, p. 323) or from
gold coins of Syracuse (ib. Sicily, p. 200). On all the coins there is no stop between the
moneyer's praenomen and momen.
* The addition of the symbol to the moneyer's name on the bronze coins occurs in other
instances during this Period. The dolphin may refer to some connection of the Afrania gens
with the naval history of Rome (see also earlier coins with this symbol, pp. 41, 51). The omission
of the mark of value, its place being taken by the symbol, is another innovation. Babelon
(vol. i., p. 137, no. 6) figures the sextans without the symbol, but with the marks of value
before the prow. Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 20) has some interesting remarks on the
occurrence of the dolphin on the reverse of these bronze coins, and its supposed non-occurrence
on others; and he adds that, amongst the numerous specimens which he had seen of this
issue, he had never met with one without the symbol.
92 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
Quadrans'
678 86.0 | AE 9 || Head of young Hercules r., Similar.
(broken) wearing lion's skin; be- [Pl. xxi. 5 rev.]
hind, 3
O
NA. AT|-| SARA/
(MARCUS ATILIUS SARANUS)?
Denarius
679 58.3 | AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNA/A (on tablet). The
winged helmet, &c., simi- Dioscuri on horseback
lar to no. 660; the ear- charging r., &c., similar
ring is of three drops; to no. 660; below horses,
under chin, X; behind NA. AT|| |
head, SARAV, reading (Cracherode Coll.)
downwards.
680 || 52-0 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar; RONMA
[Pl. xxi. 6.]
681 | 60-5 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar; Rol\\/\, and money-
er's name, NW. ATI Ll
[Pl. xxi. 7.]
682 || 58.5 | AR, "75 | Similar. Similar ; RoNWA
683 || 46-0 || AR, 75 Similar. Similar.
684 || 58.5 || AR “75 | Similar. Similar; RoNWA, and money-
er's name, NW. ATI'l-
(Blacas Coll.)
* Other denominations are the semis, triens, sextans, and uncia (Babelon, vol. i., pp. 136, 137,
lmos. 3, 4, 6; and ii., p. 592).
* M. Atilius Saranus or Serranus was praetor in Further Spain in B.C. 152. Another
member of the Atilia gens and of the same name was appointed triumvir in B.C. 190, to arrange
the foundation of the new colonies of Placentia and Cremona, and was subsequently praetor in
B.C. 174 It is the former of these who may have struck these coins. See other coins with
SAR (p. 99).
In this issue several innovations and changes are met with, especially in the case of the
denarius. In the first place, we have the moneyer’s praenomen, momen, and cognomen; the
second being varied in the form of the letters and in the spelling, as NA. ATI Vl, NA. ATI Ll,
NA, ATI V, and NA, ATI L. The cognomen, which reads downwards or upwards, is placed on the
obverse, whilst the praemomen and momem remain as usual on the reverse. To make room for
the first behind the head of Roma, the mark of value is transferred to the space under her
chin. On the bronze coins the cognomen is omitted. In all these particulars this issue and
those of Q. Marcius Libo and L. Sempronius Pitio, which follow, are so similar that not only
must they all be of the same period, but it seems also more than probable that these three
formed a triumvirate of the mint. The letters A and A and V and L are used indiscriminately,
and the earlier forms sometimes occur together on the same coin.
The obverse of these denarii was used for hybrids, with the reverse of those of C. Terentius
Lucanus (p. 103); and the reverse with the obverses of the denarii of Q. Marcius Libo (p. 94)
and L. Sempronius Pitio (p. 95). Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 52) figures another hybrid
with the obverse, head of Roma and mark of value only.
CIRC. B.C. 172–151; A.U.C. 582–603
93
No.
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
Wevght
55-0
53.5
58-5
61-0
60-8
54.5
59.2
388-0
382-0
504-0
375-0
847-0
218-0
154'0
Metal,
and Size
AR, 75
AR, 75
.75
•75
.75
•75
AE 1.2
AE 1-3
AE 1:35
AE 1:25
AE 1:25
AE 1.0
Obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; SARAV,
upwards.
reading
Similar.
Similar.
Similar; earring of single
drop.
Reverse
Similar.
Similar. &
[Pl. xxi. 8.]
(Nott)
Similar ; RoNWA
Similar ; RoNW/A
(Nott)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar; RoNAA, and money-
er's name, NA. ATIL
[Pl. xxi. 9..]
As
Head of Janus, laureate ; RONAA below Prow r., be-
above, l fore, l ; above, NA. ATIl-l
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxi. 10.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar. Similar ; moneyer's name,
NA. ATILI
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar.
Sennis
Head of Jupiter r., laureate;
behind, S
Similar.
Similar ; before prow, S.;
above, NA. ATILI
Similar;
NA. ATIL-
[Pl. xxi. 11.]
above prow,
94 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
g Triens !
699 || 157.0 | AF 9 || Head of Minerva r., wear- || Similar ; before prow, ; ;
º ing crested Corinthian above, NA. ATI Ll :
helmet; above, * * * *
O. . /VARC. LIBO
(QUINTUS MARCIUS LIBO) *
Denarius
700 57.5 | AR 8 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNWA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, &c., simi- Dioscuri on horseback
lar to no. 660; the ear- charging r., &c., similar
ring is of three drops; to no. 660; below horses,
under chin, X; behind O. . /VARC
head, LIBO
701 || 56.8 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxi. 12.]
(Nott)
As *
702 || 387-0 || AE 1:25 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RONWA below Prow r. ;
above, I above, O.. AARC; before,
LIBO
(Blacas Coll.)
703 || 367.0 AE 1.25 | Similar. Similar ; RONW/A
[Pl. xxi. 13.]
704 || 341-0 || AE 1:25 | Similar. | Similar.
705 || 337-0 | AF 1:2 . Similar. similar, RONWA ; above
prow, O.. AARC; before, I
! Other denominations are the quadrans, sextans, and uncia (Babelon, vol. i., pp. 230, 231,
nos. 13-15). It is probable that the variations, M. ATI Ll and NA. ATI V, existed in each
denomination, though all are not at present known; but M. ATI V. I appears to have been
limited to the as. Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 52) mentions an as in the Bignami Collection
reading NA. ATI L.
It is to about this time that, if genuine, the denarii of the Horatia gens, with head of Roma.
and COCLES on the obverse, and the usual type of the Dioscuri on the reverse, should be
assigned (Babelon, vol. i., p. 545). There are in the British Museum three specimens of this
denarius from the Blacas and de Salis Collections, each varying slightly both in the obverse
and reverse type; but none can be pronounced to be genuine. This was also the opinion of
Count de Salis. The example of the supposed restoration by Trajan (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 577,
no. 23) in the British Museum is also a forgery.
* An unknown member of the Marcia gens, except for his coins. The cognomen Libo was
also used by members of the Annia, Julia, Livia, Statilia, Vibia, and more especially the
Scribonia gentes.
* The bronze coins of this moneyer differ from those of M. Atilius Saranus in bearing
generally the cognomen, which, like the dolphin on the previous issue, occupies the space on the
reverse usually allotted to the marks of value. Bahrfeldt thinks that the as (no. 705) without
the moneyer's cognomen belongs to a separate series, of which this denomination only appears
to be known.
CIRC. B.C. 172–151; A.U.C. 582–603 95
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
Sermis
706 | 169-0 || AE 1.05 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate ; Similar ; RoNAA; above
behind, S prow, O... MARC; before,
LIBO
707 || 146.0 | AF '95 || Similar. Similar.
Triens
708 || 136-0 | AF '95 | Head of Minerva, r., wear- || Similar.
ing crested Corinthian [Pl. xxi. 14.]
helmet ; above, * * * * (Blacas Coll.)
Quadrans'
709|101-0 | AF '85 | Head of young Hercules r., Similar; RoMA
wearing lion's skin; be-
hind, 3
710 | 80-0 || AE 75 | Similar. Similar.
| , SE /\/\ . TITIO
(LUCIUS SEMPRONIUS PITIO).”
Denarius
711 || 61-6 || AR 8 || Head of Roma r., wearing | Rolvº/N (on tablet). The
winged helmet, &c., simi- Dioscuri on horseback
lar to no. 660; the ear- charging r., &c., similar
ring is of three drops; to no. 660; below horses,
under chin, X; behind L. SEMW
head, TITIO [Pl. xxii. 1.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
712 || 59.5 | AR, 8 || Similar. Similar.
713 || 57-3 || AR 75 || Similar. Similar.
714 || 55-0 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
715 53-3 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
! Other denominations are the sextans and uncia (Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 183, 184, nos. 6, 7).
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 13) figures a variety of the as from the Bignami Collection
having LIBO only above the prow and the mark of value I before.
compared with no. 705, which gives the praenomen and the momen, and not the cognomen.
This coin should be
The
similarity between the coins of Q. Marcius Libo, M. Atilius Saranus, and L. Sempronius Pitio
has already been noticed (see p. 92).
Hybrids are formed of the obverse of the denarii of Q. Marcius Libo with the reverses of
those of C. Junius C. F. (p. 89), of M. Atilius Saranus (p. 92), of C. Terentius Lucanus
(p. 103), of M. Baebius Tampilus (Babelon, vol. i., p. 254, no. 12), of L. Appuleius Saturninus
(Babelon, vol. i., p. 208, no. 1), and of M. Plaetorius Cestianus. The reverse also forms a
hybrid with the obverses of the denarii of C. Terentius Lucanus and of L. Sempronius
Pitio (see below, no. 723).
2 Also an otherwise unknown moneyer, but probably a colleague of M. Atilius Saranus and
Q. Marcius Libo (see above, p. 92).
96 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
716 || 57.8 || AR 75 Similar ; earring of single | Similar.
drop. (Nott)
717 | 57-3 || AR 75 | Similar. Similar ; moneyer's name,
L • SEMW
[Pl. xxii. 2.]
As
718 || 519-0 | AF 1:4 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RoNWA below Prow r. ; be-
above, I dividing TI TIo fore, l ; above, 1 . SEMW
719 || 348-0 || AE 1:2 . Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxii. 3..]
Sermis
720 | 165-0 || AE 1.0 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate;
behind, S
Similar; before prow, S
[Pl. xxii. 4.]
Triers
721 92.0 | AF, 8 || Head of Minerva r., wear-
ing crested Corinthian
helmet; above, * * * *
Similar ; before prow,
Sextans”
722 || 70-0 | AF 8 || Bust of Mercury r., wear- Similar; before prow, ;
(broken) ing chlamys and winged
petasus; above, * *
TITIO : O . AARC
(LUCIUS SEMPRONIUS PITIO AND
QUINTUS MARCIUS LIBO)3
Denarius
723 59.4 || AR 7 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNWA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, &c., simi- | Dioscuri on horseback
lar to no. 660; the earring charging r., &c., similar
is of three drops; under to no. 660; below horses,
chin, X ; behind head, O. : WARC (same as no.
TITIo (same as no. 711). 700).
[Pl. xxii. 5.]
Varieties of the as and the triens read V. SEM R (Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 431, 432).
* The quadrans of this issue is also known (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 432, no. 8). The as of the
bronze coins alone bears the cognomen of the moneyer. This is the first occurrence of the
moneyer's name on the obverse of a bronze coin.
The attribution of the bronze coins to this moneyer rather than to the moneyer of a few
years later, who uses the same signature on the reverse (p. 119), is supported by the occurrence
of the older form of the letters /A and V in the inscriptions, and the difference in the form
of the earring on the denarius.
Hybrids were formed of the obverse of the denarius of L. Sempronius Pitio and of the
reverses of those of M. Atilius Saranus (p. 92) and Q. Marcius Pitio (see above); whilst the
reverse occurs with the obverse of the denarius of C. Terentius Lucanus (p. 103).
The denarii of L. Sempronius Pitio are a connecting link with those of Series II. They
show the two forms of earring, i.e. a triple and a single drop ; and the last letter in the name of
“Roma” is always of the older form /A, whereas on those of Series II, it is either /A or A.
* This is a hybrid of nos. 711 and 700.
CIRC. B.C. 172–151; A.U.C. 582–603 97
No. Weight Metal Obverse Reverse
and Size
| . ITI
(LUCIUS ITIUS or ITILIUS)1
Denarius
724 59.0 | AR 8 | Head of Roma r., wearing | RoNMA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, &c., simi- Dioscuri on horseback
lar to no. 660; the earring charging r., &c., similar
is of three drops; be- to no. 660; below horses,
hind, X |, . ITI
[Pl. xxii. 6.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
725 || 59-0 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
(de Salis Coll.)
| . /\ANA|-|
(LUCIUS MAMILIUS) 3
As
485-0 || AE 1.2 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RONA/A before Prow r.,
above, I above, I, and figure of
Ulysses * standing r., and
leaning on his staff;
below, 1 . WANAll I
* Very little is known of the Itia gens. It is occasionally mentioned in inscriptions, and
Itius Rufus was a legate of Augustus. Babelon (vol. i., p. 554) prefers to connect this moneyer
with the Itilia or Icilia gens, well known in the early period of Roman history. The same
writer draws attention to the similarity of these denarii to those of C. Junius C. F. (p. 89) and
C. Scribonius Curio (p. 98). This moneyer only struck in silver.
* An unknown member of the Mamilia gens, who, from the style, type, and weight of his
coins, of which only bronze are known, must have held the post of moneyer about B. c. 170. The
occurrence of the symbol (or figure) on the reverse, as well as the moneyer's name and the form
V for L would place these coins about the same period as those of Spurius Afranius (p. 91)
and Marcus Atilius Saranus (p. 92). They also show some variations of type, viz., on the as
and semis the marks of value are above the prow and the legend RONA/A in front, but on the
triens, quadrans, and sextans the positions are reversed. The uncia is not known of this issue.
Cohen (Mon. rép. rom., pp. 196, 197, pl. lviii.) gives this moneyer’s name as C. WANMI VI,
but this is an error (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 10).
* The Mamilia gens, which was plebeian and came from Tusculum, claimed descent from
Mamilia, the daughter of Telegonus, the reputed son of Ulysses and Circe, and the founder of
Tusculum. On later denarii of this gens the figure of Ulysses forms the main type of the
reverse (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 173).
O

98
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
Weight
108-0
54.7
54.2
59.3
60-2
59.5
61.7
351-0
Metal
and Size
AE -75
AR, 7
AR, 7
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR 75
AR, 75
AE 1:25
Obverse Reverse
Sextans
Bust of Mercury r., wear- || Similar ; above prow,
ing chlamys and winged RoNWA, divided by figure
petasus; above, * * of Ulysses; before, 3 ;
below [L. NANAll-I]
[Pl. xxii. 7 rev.]
SERIES II.1
C. SCR
(CAIUS SCRIBONIUS)?
Denarius
Head of Roma r., wearing RoNA/A (on tablet). The
winged helmet, &c., simi- | Dioscuri on horseback
lar to no. 660; the ear- charging r., &c., similar
ring is of three drops ; to no. 660; below horses,
behind, X C. SCR
Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxii. 8.]
Similar. Similar; RONMA
Similar; earring of single | Similar; RoNWA
drop. (Nott)
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar; RONAA
(Cracherode Coll.)
As
Head of Janus, laureate ; Rol\\A below Prow r. ; be-
above, I fore, l ; above, C. SCR
(Blacas Coll.)
* The denarii of this series are similar in fabric to those of Series I., but the earring worn
by Roma consists either of three drops or a single drop, most of the moneyers using both
forms, and the last letter in “Roma' in each case is either M or A. Also the tablet on the
reverse, on which the name of “Roma’’ is inscribed, is without the lower line (see above, p. 88).
* This moneyer was probably a son of Caius Scribonius Curio, who was aedile B.C. 196,
praetor B.C. 193, and curio maa'imus B.C. 174. The office of curio maa'imus was a priestly
dignity inferior to that of pontifex marimus, and Caius Scribonius was the first member of his
gens to receive it, and, in consequence, he assumed the cognomen Curio. Babelon (vol. ii., p. 424)
thinks that C. Scribonius Curio was a colleague at the mint of L. Itius and C. Junius C. F.
CIRC. B.C. 172—151; A.U.C. 582–603
99
No.
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
74.1
Weight
310-0
307-0
284.0
236.0
123-0
77.0
44-0
57.5
Metal,
and Size
AE 1.3
AE 1.3
AE 1.15
AE 1:1
•75
Obverse Reverse
Similar. Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xxii. 9.1
Similar.
Sermis
Head of Jupiter r., laureate; Similar; before prow, S
behind, S (Blacas Coll.)
Similar. Similar.
Triens
Head of Minerva F., wear- Similar; before prow, 3
ing crested Corinthian :
helmet; above, * * * * (Blacas Coll.)
Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxii. 10.]
Sextans l
Bust of Mercury r., wear- Similar ; before prow, ;
ing chlamys and winged
petasus; above, * *
SAR OR SAR
(ATILIUS SARANUS)”
Denarius
RoNWA (on tablet). Victory,
naked to the hips, in biga
r., horses galloping; she
holds whip with long
loose thong 8 in r. hand
and reins in 1. ; below
horses, SAR
[Pl. xxii. 11.]
(de Salis Coll.)
Head of Roma r., wearing
winged helmet, &c., simi-
lar to no. 660; the ear-
ring is of three drops;
behind, X
pe
* Other denominations are the quadrans and uncia (Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 425, 426, nos. 5, 7).
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 70) figures from the Bignami Collection a variety of the
quadrans with the prow to 1.
* This is another member of the Atilia gens, whom it seems impossible to identify, as he
cannot well be the moneyer who strikes coins a few years earlier, and who gives also his prae-
momem and nomen (p. 92).
date than those of M. Atilius Saranus.
The fabric and style of these denarii seem to be of a slightly later
The many points of resemblance between the denarii of
this moneyer and those following of Pinarius Nata and C. Juventius Talna (pp. 101, 102) are
so striking that it is probable that these moneyers formed a mint-triumvirate.
Their denarii
all have the same reverse type and the same indiscriminate use of A and A occurs in the
The forms A and A in the moneyer's name are also met with in the case of
name of “Roma.”
the denarii of C. Juventius Talna.
Babelon (vol. i., p. 226) thinks that this moneyer and C. Juventius Talna and C. Maianius
were colleagues, but Count de Salis has classed the coins of the last to Italy, assigning them,
however, to about the same date.
* The thong of the whip is sometimes loose and sometimes brought back nearly to the
These variations occur on the following issues.
hand of Victory.
100
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
Weight
57.5
60.6
51-5
54.7
58-8
53-0
369-0
387:0
339-0
221-0
214-0
229.0
120-0
86-0
Metal
and Size
AR, -75
AR,
AR.
.7
.75
AE 1:25
AE 1.3
AE 1-3
AE 1.0
AE 1.15
AE 1:1
AE 75
AE
.8
Obverse
Similar.
Similar; earring of single
drop.
Similar ; earring of three
drops.
Similar ; earring of single
drop.
Reverse
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xxii. 12.]
Similar; RoNWA and money-
er's name, SAR
[Pl. xxii. 13.]
Similar ; RoNWA
Similar. Similar ; RoNWA
[Pl. xxii. 14.]
Similar. Similar.
As
Head of Janus, laureate ;
above, I
Similar.
Similar.
[RoMA] below Prow r.,
before, l ; above, SAR
[Pl. xxii. 15.]
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; moneyer's name,
SAR
[Pl. xxii. 16 rev.]
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Sermis
Head of Jupiter r., laureate;
behind, S
Similar.
Similar.
Similar; before prow, S;
moneyer's name, SAR
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
Similar; moneyer's name,
SAR
Quadrans 1
Head of young Hercules r.,
wearing lion's skin ; be-
hind, 3
Similar.
Similar; before prow,
moneyer's name, SAR
(Blacas Coll.)
O ſº
O 5
O
Similar.
! Other denominations are the triens and sextans (Babelon, vol. i., p. 227, no. 5; and
ii., p. 593).
figured by Babelon (vol. i., p. 228, no. 7) has a laureate female head on the obverse and
an elephant with SAR above on the reverse.
On the sextans the caduceus is seen behind the bust of Mercury. The uncia
That writer, who describes the coin from
Riccio (Mon. amt. fam. rom., p. 31, pl. viii. 7), doubts its authenticity and attribution; but
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 51) cites an example (perhaps, however, the same) described
a v
* a
ſº
Jºe * - tº *
*
§ & º
* º, & *
*
CIRC. B.C. 172–151; A.U.C. 582–603
101
No. Weight ań. Obverse Reverse
NAT
(NATA) 1
Denarius
756 || 71.5 | AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wear- || RoMA (on tablet). Victory,
ing winged helmet, &c., naked to the hips, in biga.
similar to no. 660; the r., horses galloping, &c.,
earring is of three drops; similar to no. 741; be-
behind, X low horses, NAT
757 | 60-0 || AR, 7 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxiii. 1.]
(Nott)
758 || 61-8 || AR 75 | Similar. Similar ; Rolv[A
759 || 57.5 | AR, 75 Similar. Similar ; RONWA
760 | 55:1 | AR, 75 | Similar. Similar.
761 || 63-0 || AR “7 | Similar ; earring of single | Similar; RoNAA
drop. [Pl. xxiii. 2.]
762 | 58-4 || AR 65. Similar. Similar.
As
763 393-0 || AE 1.3 | Head of Janus, laureate ; ROMA below Prow r. ; be-
above, I fore, l ; above, NAT
[Pl. xxiii. 3..]
764|346.0 | AF 1:25 |Similar. Similar.
765 |312-0 || AE 1:25 Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Sermis
766 | 1620 AE 1:05 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; Similar ; before prow, S
behind, S
in the Jarry Catalogue of 1879. In any case, if genuine, the coin would be of local issue, and
not of the Roman series. In the name of “Roma, " the forms /A and A, and even A, occur;
but on the bronze coins the legend SAR (not SAR) appears to be limited to the as and
semis (Bahrfeldt, op. cit., pp. 50, 51). Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1900, p. 23, pl. i. 17) mentions a
variety of the denarius, now in the Capitol Collection at Rome, with the moneyer's name in
monogram, SAR.
* Nata or Natta was a cognomen of the Pinaria gens. L. Pinarius Natta was magister
equitum to the dictator L. Manlius Capitolinus, B.C. 363, and praetor, B.C. 349. There is no
record of any member of this family of the period of these coins. He may have had as
colleagues at the mint Atilius Saranus and C. Juventius Talna, the preceding and following
moneyers (see pp. 99, 102). The position of the thong of the whip held by Victory varies, as
on coins of M. Atilius Saranus. For other coins with NATA, see below p. 112.
I02
COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight cº, Obverse Reverse
Triens
767 | 160-0 || AE 85 | Head of Minervar., wearing Similar; before prow, ;
crested Corinthian hel- :
met ; above, * * * * ‘’’,
Quadrans '
768 65-0 | AF 8 | Head of young Hercules r., Similar ; RoNWA; before
wearing lion's skin; be- prow, ;
hind, : (Blacas Coll.)
C. AL OR C. W.L
(CAIUS TALNA)*
Denarius 3
769 || 61.2 | AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (on tablet). Victory,
winged helmet, &c., simi- naked to the hips, in biga
lar to No. 660; the ear- r.," horses galloping, &c.,
ring is of three drops; similar to no. 741; below
behind, X horses, C. Al (C. TALN)
[Pl. xxiii. 4.]
770 63-0 || AR 7 || Similar ; earring of single | Similar; whip with double
drop. thong.
[Pl. xxiii. 5.]
771 || 57.8 || AR 7 || Similar; earring of three Similar ; whip with single
drops. thong and moneyer's
name, C. AL; edge ser-
rated.”
[Pl. xxiii. 6.]
772 55-3 || AR, 75 | Similar. Similar; RoNMA; edge plain.
773 || 61.5 | AR 75 Similar; earring of single | Similar.
drop.
Other denominations appear to be the sextans and uncia (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 305,
nos. 7, 8).
* C. Juventius Talna (or Thalma), to whom the praenomen Manius is sometimes wrongly
given, and to whom these coins have been ascribed, was tribune of the plebs B.C. 170, praetor
B.C. 167, and consul with Ti. Sempronius Gracchus B.C. 163, in which year he died. If Count de
Salis's chronology of the coinage is correct, these coins must be given to another member of
the Juventia gens, who may have been a triumvir monetalis with Atilius Saranus and Pinarius
Nata. Another member of this family, whose coins are attributed to a local mint (see ITALy,
B.C. 196–173), used the two forms A and A, for his monogram, the form of the letter L being
V in that case.
* No bronze coins are known of this moneyer.
* The thong of the whip varies, as on coins of the two previous moneyers.
* The occurrence of this isolated instance of a serrated edge is inexplicable. The earliest
example in the Roman coinage of this treatment of the edge is met with on denarii classed
to Italy, and having the symbol a wheel (see ITALY, B.C. 216–197); but it does not appear
to have been adopted at the Roman mint till about B.C. 92, and then only occasionally (see
p. 159). Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 170) mentions four examples of the denarius of
C. Talna with the serrated edge.
CIRC. B.C. 172–151 ; A.U.C. 582–603 103
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
774 || 61-3 || AR -75 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxiii. 7.]
(Blacas Coll.)
C. T.R . LVC
(CAIUS TERENTIUS LUCANUS) '
Denarius
775 65.3 || AR 8 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, &c., simi- | Dioscuri on horseback
lar to no. 660; the earring charging r., &c., similar
is of single drop; behind, to no. 660; below horses,
X, and Victory holding C. T.R. LVC
wreath. (Cracherode Coll.)
776 | 62-3 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxiii. 8.]
777 | 60-3 || AR, 75 Similar. | | Similar.
778 || 55.8 || AR 75 Similar. Similar.
779 54-7 || AR 75 Similar. Similar.
780 || 54.5 | AR 75 | Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
781 || 54-0 || AR 8 || Similar. - Similar.
(Pembroke Coll.)
- As
782 |427-0 || AE 1:35 | Head of Janus, laureate ; [RoNAA] below Prow r.; be-
above, I fore, l; above, C.T.R.LVC,
and Victory, flying r.,
with wreath.
(Blacas Coll.)
783 302-0 || AE 1.3 Similar. Similar.
784 || 301-0 || AE 1-25 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxiii. 9..]
* This moneyer appears to be otherwise unknown to history. The Victory refers no doubt
to some important event connected with an ancestor of the moneyer. This symbol occurs at an
earlier date on bronze coins of the sextantal standard attributed to Italy (B.c. 268–217),
and also on earlier bronze coins struck at Rome, but in the latter case it is accompanied by
another symbol or the moneyer's monogram (see above, pp. 59, 65). Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit.,
1897, p. 81) mentions two specimens of the denarius at Vienna without the Victory, and
apparently treats them as hybrids. Babelon (vol. ii., p. 483) places the date of this issue circ.
B.c. 214; but the forms of the letters A and L and the general fabric and style favour a
considerably later date. It may be noticed that only the earring of a single drop is found on
these denarii.
Hybrids exist of the obverse of this denarius and the reverse of that of L. Sempronius
Pitio (p. 95); and of the reverse with the obverse of denarii of M. Atilius Saranus (p. 92);
and of Q. Marcius Libo (p. 94).
104 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight .# º Obverse Reverse
Sermis
785 203-0 || AE 1.05 | Head of Jupiterr., laureate; Similar; before prow, S
behind, S
786 173-0 | AF 1-1 || Similar. Similar.
Quadrans'
787 | 800 AE 75 | Head of young Hercules r., | Similar; before prow, ;
wearing lion's skin ; be- O
hind, 3
T . BLAS
(PUBLIUS BLASIO)*
As
788 |449.0 | AF 1:3 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RONMA below Prow r. ; be-
above, fore, l ; above, T. BLAS
789 || 370-0 || AE 1.3 | Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
790 || 339-0 || AE 1.3 Similar. Similar; moneyer's name
C. BLAS (tooled)?
[Pl. xxiii. 10.]
(Blacas Coll.)
Triens
791 90-0 || AE 85 | Head of Minerva r., wear- || Similar; before prow,
ing crested Corinthian
helmet ; above, * * * * [Pl. xxiii. 11.]
* Other denominations are the triens and sextans (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 484, no. 13;
Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 81). The sextans which Bahrfeldt figures from the Bignami
Collection is apparently unique. It weighs 103 grs., and was found in Rome.
* Livy (xliii. 7; xlv. 13) mentions a P. Cornelius Blasio, who was sent in B.C. 170 as
ambassador with two others to the Carni, Istri, and Iapydes, and two years later was
appointed one of the commissioners to settle the disputes between the Pisani and Lunenses.
Babelon (vol. i., p. 388) identifies the moneyer with that member of the Cornelia gens, and
further suggests that he was the son of Cn. Cornelius Blasio, who was practor in Sicily
B.C. 194. This attribution, however, does not coincide with Count de Salis's classification,
under which the coins are assigned to a somewhat later date. The moneyer may therefore
have been a son of the ambassador of B.C. 170.
Only bronze coins are known of this and the following moneyers to no. 827. Their
variation in weight and the absence of silver coins do not admit of their being arranged in any
precise chronological sequence. The forms of the letters A and L show that they belong to
about the middle of the 2nd cent. B. C.
* The inscription on this coin has evidently been altered by tooling, the initial T having
thus been changed into G. Babelon (vol. i., p. 390) and Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1900, p. 41),
both of whom had examined this coin, which came from the Blacas Collection, are of this
opinion, but the Duc de Blacas (Mommsen, Hust. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 280) does not appear to
have entertained any suspicion of the alteration, for he describes it as “being in superb
condition and thus leaving no doubt of the existence of the moneyer C. Blas.” An illustration
is given of the coin, the surface of which clearly shows traces of tooling.
CIRC. B.C. 172–151 ; A.U.C. 582–603 105
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
Sextans 1
792 || 65-0 | AF 18 Bust of Mercury r., wear- Similar; before prow, ;
ing chlamys and winged
petasus; above, * *
A
(ATILIUS or TATIUS)2
As 8
793 || 390-0 || AE 1:3 | Head of Janus, laureate; RoNWA below Prow r. ;
above, I before, l; above, Å (AT
or TA)
(Cracherode Coll.)
794 || 382-0 | AF 1:3 | Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
795 271-0 | AF 1:25 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxiii. 12.]
TVºD
(TURDUS) 4
As
796 || 457.0 | AF 1:3 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RONMA below Prow r. ; be-
above, I fore, l ; above, TV&D
797 || 292-0 | AF 1:25 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxiii. 13 rev.]
798 || 275-0 | AF 1:35 | Similar. Similar.
Sermis
799 || 1880 | AF 1:05 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; Similar; before prow, S
behind, S
| Other denominations of this issue are the semis and quadrans (Babelon, vol. i., pp. 389,
390, nos. 7, 9).
* This is an uncertain moneyer, as the monogram may be read as AT or TA. The former
is the more probable, as D'Ailly (Mon. rom., pl. lxxxxix. 8) figures a quadrans reading AI, which
seems to belong to this issue. A similar variation in the moneyer's name may be seen on the
denarii with the monogram AA (Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 208, 209, nos. 1, 2). On the other hands
the monogram A occurs in connection with the head of Tatius on the denarius of T. Wettip,
Sabinus (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 532, no. 2).
* Other denominations are the semis, triens, and quadrans (D’Ailly, Mon. Tom, pl. lxxxxix
4-7). On some of these D’Ailly transcribes the letter A in “Roma’’ as /A.
* The Turdi were a branch of the Papiria gens. Livy (xli. 6) mentions a C. Papirius Turdus,
who was tribune of the plebs B.C. 178. The moneyer may have been his son.
P
106 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
Triers
800 | 130-0 || AE 9 Head of Minerva r., wear- Similar; before prow, ;
- ing crested Corinthian :
helmet ; above, * * * * (Blacas Coll.)
801 | 114-0 || AE 9 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxiii. 14.]
802 || 103-0 | AF 9 || Similar. Similar.
(broken)
Quadrans 1
803 || 65-0 | AF, 8 || Head of young Hercules F., Similar; before prow, .
wearing lion's skin ; be-
hind, 3
O
CINA
(LUCIUS CORNELIUS CINA 2)2
As
804 || 462-0 | AF 1:25 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RoNWA below Prow r. ; be-
above, l fore, l ; above, CINA 8
[Pl. xxiii. 15.]
805 || 439-0 | AF 1:25 | Similar. Similar.
806 || 392-0 | AF 1:25 Similar. | Similar.
Quadrans 4
807 95.0 | E 85 Head of young Hercules r., Similar ; before prow, ;
wearing lion's skin; be- C
hind, 3
1 Another denomination is the sextans (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 287, no. 5).
2 Lucius Cornelius L. F. Cina or Cinna was consul B.C. 127, and the father of the famous
Cornelius Cinna, the ally of Marius and Sertorius. He may have been the moneyer of these
coins. +
3. A variety reads CINA (Babelon, vol. i., p. 391, no. 11), thus resembling the coins with
SAR or SAR (see p. 99), and C , AL or C : AL (see p. 102). Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 94)
doubts this form of Cl NA. Count de Salis appears to have known of a specimen.
4. Other denominations are the semis, triens, and sextans (Babelon, vol. i., pp. 391, 392,
nos. 12, 13, 16). That author figures also a quadrans with reverse type a rudder and the
legend CINA ROMA, but Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 94) shows that this piece is wrongly
described, and that it is in fact a quadrans of the moneyer M. Cipius M.F., the legend CINA
being wrongly read for M CIPI M F.
CIRC. B.C. 172–151; A.U.C. 582–603 107
Metal
No. Weight a...a Obverse Reverse
NAAENA
(MURENA) i
As 2
808 || 368-0 || AE 1.3 Head of Janus, laureate ; RoNW/A below Prow r. ; be-
above, I fore, l ; above, NWRENA
809 || 353.0 AE 1.3 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxiv. 1.]
C. SAK.
(CAIUS SAENIUS 2)3
As
810 |492-0 || AE 1:35 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RoNWA below Prow r. ;
above, before, l; above, C. SA-
[Pl. xxiv. 2 rev.]
(Blacas Coll.)
A. CA.
(AULUS CAECILIUS 2) 4
As
811 589-0 | AF 1:45 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RONAA below Prow r. ;
above, l before, l ; above, A. CA.
812 || 536-0 | AF 1:35 | Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
* Murena was the cognomen of a branch of the Licinia gens, which came originally from
Lanuvium. P. Licinius Murena attained the rank of praetor, and was a contemporary of the
orator L. Crassus. His father, who bore the same name, was also praetor, but in what year it
is uncertain. These coins may have been struck by the elder member of the Licinia gens.
* Other denominations are the semis, triens, quadrans, sextans, and uncia (Babelon, vol. ii.,
pp. 127, 128, nos. 2-6).
* The Saenia gens is little known, and only one member appears to be mentioned in
Roman history, L. Saenius, a senator at the time of the Catilinarian conspiracy, B.C. 63, who
was consul suffectus, B.C. 30. The as is the only denomination known of this issue, and the
specimen in the British Museum from the Blacas Collection appears to be unique. Bahrfeldt
(Num. Zeit., 1900, p. 77) thought at one time that this must be an altered piece of the moneyer
C. S/X (see above, p. 84), but after examining the coin in the British Museum he was convinced
that it is genuine, and that there are no signs of the legend having been altered by tooling.
* An aedile of the plebs of this name in B.C. 189 is mentioned by Livy (xxxviii. 35). The
moneyer of these coins may have been his son. The attribution of these coins to a member
of the Caecilia rather than to one of the Caecina gens is preferable, as no member of the
latter is mentioned in Roman history before the middle of the 1st cent. B.C. Members of the
Caelia gens at this time give their nomen as Coilius.
108
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
Weight
527.0
477.0
446.0
322-0
208-0
182.0
172.0
132-0
89.0
456-0
Metal
and Size
AE 1:35
AE 1.4
AE, 1-3
AE 1.3
AE 1.05
AE 1.0
AE 1.0
AE 1-3
Obverse Reverse
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxiv. 3 rev.]
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar.
Sermis
Head of Jupiter r., laureate; Similar; before prow, S
behind, S (Blacas Coll.)
Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxiv. 4.]
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar. Similar.
Triens
Head of Minerva r., wear-
ing crested Corinthian
helmet ; above, * * * *
Similar ; before prow, 3
Quadrans 1
Head of young Hercules r.,
Similar; before prow, ;
wearing lion's skin; be- O
hind, 3
O. . NAAR! OR O. . /\AR
(QUINTUS MARIUS)?
As
Head of Janus, laureate ; RONA/A below Prow r.; be-
above, I fore, l ; above, O.. NAARI
[Pl. xxiv. 5.]
(Blacas Coll.)
* The sextans also is known of this issue. Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 60) questions the
accuracy of Riccio's description (Catologo, p. 53, no. 15) of the uncia with head of a female on
the obverse and C. CA.
not belong to this issue, but it would more probably be a local coin of Sicily.
* A moneyer unknown except for his coins. He was probably not an ancestor of the great
warrior, C. Marius, the rival of Sulla, who was born in B.c. 157, and whose parents were of
humble origin, and had never held any public office.
(or A . CA P) within a wreath on the reverse. In any case it would
CIRC. B.C. 172–151; A.U.C. 582–603 109
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
823 443-0 | AF 1-25 | Similar. Similar.
824 268-0 | AF 1:25 Similar. Similar ; moneyer's name,
O. NAR 1
[Pl. xxiv. 7 rev.]
Quadrans
825 | 135-0 || AE 9 Head of young Hercules r., Similar; before prow, 3
wearing lion's skin; be- Q
hind, 3
Sextans ?
826 67.0 AE 75 Bust of Mercury r., wear- || Similar; before prow,
ing chlamys and winged [Pl. xxiv. 6.]
petasus; above, * *
S. Wºl
(SPURIUS FURIUS)3
As 4
827 428.9 AE 1.3 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RoNAA below Prow r. ;
above, l before, l ; above, S. Wºl
(S. FVRI)
* This is possibly the same moneyer as the one who signs himself O. MARI. If so, it
would be another instance of a moneyer slightly altering the form of his signature. Bahrfeldt
(Num. Zeit., 1900, p. 65) is, however, of opinion that the two signatures belong to different
moneyers. In support of Bahrfeldt's view it may be remarked that the style of lettering is
different, and also that the coins with O. . /\AR are lighter in weight. If separate issues they
are, however, of about the same time. The as appears to be the only denomination known
with O. . /VAR.
* Other denominations are the semis, triens, and uncia (Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 200, 201,
nos. 2, 3, 6).
* The Furia gens was patrician and one of the most ancient at Rome. From the earliest
times its members filled the highest offices of the state. This moneyer may have been a son
of Lucius Furius Purpureo, who was consul B.C. 196, and whose father and grandfather both
bore the praenomen Spurius.
( * Babelon (vol. i., p. 524, no. 17) figures also a triens of this issue. Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit.
1896, p. 127), though admitting the genuineness of the as in the British Museum, of which he
had seen a cast, expresses doubt about the inscription, and thinks that it has been altered by
the graving tool from T SVLA to S - Vºl. Though the coin has suffered from oxidation,
there are, however, no signs of tooling on the reverse, and the monogram does not appear to
have been in any way changed.
The as and triens, with the moneyer's name, L - FVRI, which Babelon (vol. i., p. 523, nos. 14,
15) figures from Riccio (Mon. fam. rom., pl. xxi., nos. 6, 7), have been doubted, and are also
suspected of bearing altered legends, perhaps from coins with Wº. These suspicions, however,
may also be groundless. These coins are of about the same date as those of S. Furius, and if
the legends have not been altered they may have been struck by L. Furius Philus, who was
consul B.C. 136, and who is described by Cicero in his dialogue, De Republica, as a man
“ moderatissimus et continentissimus.”
110
COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
SERIES III.'
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
Tº . SV.A
(PUBLIUS SULLA)?
Denarius
828 59-0 | AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (on tablet). Victory,
winged helmet, &c., simi- naked to the hips, in
lar to no. 660; the ear- || biga r., horses galloping,
ring is of three drops; &c., similar to no. 741; the
behind, X thong of the whip which
she holds encircles the
handle; 3 below horses,
Tº . SVA
[Pl. xxiv. 8.]
829 58.3 || AR 75 Similar. Similar.
As
830 || 416.0 | AF 1:2 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RONAA below Prow r., the
above, stem post (acroterium)
of which is ornamented
with a female head to
r. ; before, l ; above,
Tº . SVVA
831 || 368-0 | AF 1:25 | Similar. Similar.
832 308-0 || AE 1:2 . Similar. Similar.
Sermis 4
833 181-0 | AF 1-0 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; Similar; before prow, S
| behind, S [Pl. xxiv. 9 rev.]
* The chief characteristics of the coins of this series, consisting mainly in the fabric of the
denarius, the shape of the earring worn by Roma, and the forms of the letters A and L have
been mentioned above (see p. 88).
* This moneyer is uncertain, as he cannot be Publius Cornelius Sulla, the grandfather of
the dictator Sulla, who was praetor B.c. 186. He may, however, have been a son of the
praetor, of whom there is no historical record.
* The thong of the whip held by Victory on these and the other denarii of this series is
never loose, but encircles the handle.
* Other denominations are the triens and quadrans (Babelon, vol. i., p. 388, nos. 4, 5).
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 93) thinks that the female head on the stem post of the prow
is that of one of the sibyls, and is therefore a reference to the name of Sulla, which Macrobius
(Saturn. i. 17) tells us was derived from Sibylla, and which he says was given to P. Cornelius
Rufinus, the great-grandfather of the dictator, because he was the first to introduce the celebra-
tion of the Ludi Apollinares, in accordance with the commands of the Sibylline books; Sibylla
being shortened into Sulla. It seems, however, much more probable that it is the head of
Venus, .."; cult was specially honoured by the Cornelia gens (see coins of Sulla, Babelon,
vol. i., p. 406).
The denarii of P. Sulla and the following of L. Saufeius and Pinarius Natta bear so strong
CIRC. B.C. 172–151; A.U.C. 582–603
111
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
| . SAVE
(LUCIUS SAUFEIUS)1
Denarius
834 62-7 || AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (on tablet). Victory,
winged helmet, &c., simi- naked to the hips, in biga.
lar to no. 660; the ear- r., horses galloping, &c.,
ring is of three drops; similar to no 828; be-
behind, X low horses, V . SAM’
[Pl. xxiv. 10.]
(Nott)
835 | 59.3 || AR 7 || Similar; middle drop of ear- || Similar.
ring long, the side ones [Pl. xxiv. 11.]
represented each by a | (Cracherode Coll.)
pellet.
As
836 |320-0 || AE 1:2 . Head of Janus, laureate ; RONAA below Prow r. ; be-
above, I fore, l ; above, V . SAV"
and crescent.
837 ||237.0 AE 1:2 . Similar. Similar.
838 || 338.0 | AF 1:2 . Similar. Similar ; L. SAVE
[Pl. xxiv. 12.]
(Blacas Coll.)
- Sermis
839 261-0 || AE 1.05 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; Similar ; before prow, S.;
behind, S moneyer's name, V. SAVE
(Blacas Coll.)
840 210-0 || AE 1-0 | Similar. Similar ; L. SAV’
841 || 97.0 | AF 9 || Similar. Similar.
(worm)
Triens
842 123-0 | AF '85 | Head of Minerva, r., wear- | c. 31... . :
- ing crested Corinthian Similar; before prow, :
helmet ; above, * * * * moneyer's name, V . SAVF
(Blacas Coll.)
a resemblance even in minor details to one another that it is probable that these moneyers
formed a mint-triumvirate. Babelon (vol. i., p. 386) would associate Spurius Afranius with
these three moneyers, who would thus form a quatuorvirate of the mint, but for reasons given
above (see p. 88) the coins of Afranius are here classed to a somewhat earlier date, nor is
it at all probable that at this time we should meet with a quatuorvirate of the mint.
1 The Saufeia gens, which appears to have come from Praeneste, is not mentioned in
Roman history before the beginning of the 1st cent. B.C., when C. Saufeius was quaestor,
B.C. 100. From that time the name of the family frequently occurs. L. Saufeius held the
office of moneyer in conjunction probably with P. Sulla and Pinarius Natta (see pp. 110, 112).
112 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
Quadrans 1
843 102-0 || AE 85 | Head of young Hercules r.; Similar; before prow, ; ;
wearing lion's skin; be-
hind. : moneyer's name, L. SAV'
NATA
(NATTA)?
Denarius 3
844 || 650 | AR 7 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoMA (on tablet). Victory,
winged helmet, &c., simi- naked to the hips, in biga
lar to no. 660; the ear- r., horses galloping, &c.,
ring is of three drops; similar to no. 828; be-
behind, X low horses, NATA
[Pl. xxiv. 18.]
(de Salis Coll.)
845 56-0 || AR, 7 || Similar. Similar.
846 || 55.8 || AR, 7 Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
847 54-0 || AR 7 || Similar; middle drop of ear- Similar.
ring long, the side ones re- [Pl. xxiv. 14.]
presented each by a pellet. (Blacas Coll.)
* Another denomination is the sextans (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 69). This moneyer
uses indiscriminately the letters V and L, but A only and not /A. Bahrfeldt (loc. cit.) says
that L never occurs on these coins, but those in the British Museum show that this is not the
case. The same writer (Num. Zeit., 1900, p. 78) describes and figures a semis, three specimens
of which he has met with, with the moneyer's name L. SAF, which is without the crescent, but
which he would attribute to a later date, as it is of a different standard. These coins probably
belong to the semuncial series and would therefore not have been struck before B.C. 89.
* This moneyer is otherwise unknown. It is, however, not improbable that he is the same
person who held a similar office a few years earlier, and who placed the signature NAT on his coins
(see p. 101). The similarity of the coins of the above issue and those of P. Sulla and L. Saufeius
has been noticed (see above, p. 110). The necessity for separating the denarii reading NAT
from those reading NATA, and for attributing them to different issues, is apparent on a close
examination of the two series. Those with NAT have the older form of /A in the name RONA/A,
and in this respect and also in style and fabric they resemble very closely similar coins of
Atilius Saranus (p. 99) and C. Juventius Talna (p. 102). On the other hand, on the coins
reading NATA the form A only is used in ROMA, and in fabric they are precisely similar to
those of P. Sulla and L. Saufeius. The shape of the earring becomes irregular, and these
irregularities are seen on coins of L. Saufeius and on those of Flavus which follow. The two
issues were, however, only separated by a few years, which favours the suggestion that they are
of the same moneyer. Zobel (Annale dell' Inst. di Corr. Arch., 1863, p. 32) held also this
opinion, and in drawing attention to the somewhat later fabric of the NATA denarii, mentions
their similarity to the coins of Flavus and P. Sulla. Mommsen (loc. cit.), though acquiescing
in Zobel’s classification, adds “certainly it is very strange to find the double consonant
on a denarius, which cannot be brought down later than the end of the 6th cent. (A.U.C.):
it is, however, not impossible, for similar duplications are met with on some epitaphs
of the Scipios of that time (C.I.L., vol. i., nos. 33, 34, 35), and on the monuments of
L. Mummius, who was consul A.U.C. 609 (cf. Ritschl, de titulo Mumm., p. iv.; and de titulo
Aletr., p. v.).” Babelon (vol. ii., pp. 303-305) classes the two series together. There is a hybrid
with the reverse type of the denarius of Natta and the obverse of that of L. Manlius, the
proguaestor of Sulla (see Babelon, vol. ii., p. 178, no. 7).
* No bronze coins are known of this issue.
CIRC. B.C. 172–151; A.U.C. 582–603 113
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
FL-AVS
(FLAVUS)1
Denarius
848 || 56-8 Head of Roma r., wearing | RoNWA (on tablet). Diana,”
winged helmet, &c., simi-
lar to no. 660; the ear-
ring is of three drops;
her head surmounted by
crescent, and naked to
the hips, in biga r., horses
behind, X galloping ; she holds
whip with thong encircled
around the handle in r.
hand and reins in 1. ; be-
low horses, FVAVS
[Pl. xxiv. 15.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
849 | 668 || AR 7 || Similar; middle drop of ear- || Similar.
ring long, the side ones re-
presented each by a pellet.8
| . CNſ'
(LUCIUS CUPIENNIUS 2) 4
Denarius 5
850 62-0 || AR 7 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, &c., simi- | Dioscuri on horseback
lar to no. 660; the ear-
ring is of three drops;
under chin, X ; behind V. . CVn
head, cornucopiae. [Pl. xxiv. 16.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
charging r., &c., similar
to no. 660; below horses,
* Flavus was a cognomen of the Decimia gens. Caius Decimius Flavus was a military tribune
B.C. 209, and praetor urbanus B. c. 184. The moneyer may have been his son. He struck no
bronze coins.
* This is a revival of a former type, but Diana is represented in precisely the same way as
Victory on contemporary pieces, i.e., naked to the hips, and holding a whip.
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 107) figures a denarius in the Lisbon Collection of Flavus
with the reverse type of Victory in a biga instead of Diana. On that coin Roma wears an
earring with triple drop. Though unusual, it is quite possible that this moneyer used two
types, which were general at this time. A similar variation is met with on the coins of
A. Spurilius, who was a moneyer a few years later (see p. 127).
* The earring shows the same variations as on the coins of L. Saufeius and Pinarius Natta.
* This moneyer is otherwise unknown, and his name is not certain, as the monogram might
also be read as “Cupitus,” a L. Cocceius Cupitus being known to history. Borghesi (CEuvres
compl., t. i., p. 466f) prefers to attribute the coins to a member of the Cupiennia (or Copiennia)
gens, and to see in the cornucopiae (copia) a punning allusion to the name, though the
Cºwpiennii are not mentioned by Roman authors before the middle of the 1st cent. B.c. This
is the only member of this gens of whom coins are known. They are of silver only. It seems
probable that this moneyer, with C. Antestius and M. Junius Silanus, formed a mint-triumvirate.
They all use the same type of reverse, and place a symbol behind the head of Roma,
transferring the mark of value to the front.
* Only denarii are known of this moneyer. It is possible that the earlier coins with the
symbol, a cornucopiae, may have been struck by a member of the same gens. The semis with
C. CV’ and the quadrans with D. CV2, described by Cohen (Mon. rép. rom., p. 118), have been
shown by Babelon (vol. i., p. 444) and Bahrfeldt (Num. Zewt., 1896, pp. 103-105) to be mis-read
coins of C. Curiatius Trigeminus or C. Curiatius f. Trigeminus (C - CVR or C : C\R - F). See
below, pp. 123, 134.
Q
114 COIN AGE OF ROME
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
851 | 53-0 | AR 75 Similar. Similar; moneyer's name,
V. . CVn
(Nott)
852 59.5 | AR 75 Similar ; earring of two Similar; moneyer's name,
drops only. y. CVn
[Pl. xxiv. 17.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
853 59-0 || AR 75 Similar. Similar.
(de Salis Coll.)
854 55-0 | AR 75 Similar. Similar.
C . AESTI
(CAIUS ANTESTIUS)1
Denarius
855 580 | AR 7 | Head of Roma r., wearing | Ron/A (on tablet). The
winged helmet, &c., simi- Dioscuri on horseback
lar to no. 660; the earring charging r., &c., similar
is of two drops; under to no. 660; below horses,
chin, X; behind, dog walk- C. ANESTI
ing to r. (i.e., upwards). [Pl. xxv. 1.]
856 63-0 || AR 8 Similar; earring of pellets in Similar.
form of bunch of grapes. [Pl. xxv. 2.]
857 57.5 | AR 75 ' Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
858 59.5 | AR 7 || Similar; dog walking to 1. Similar.
(i.e., downwards). [Pl. xxv. 3..]
859 64-0 | AR 75 Similar ; behind head of Similar; below horses, dog
Roma, C. AES TI running r.”
[Pl. xxv. 4.]
* C. Antestius Labeo, the senator, was one of the ambassadors sent to Macedonia in B. c. 167.
The moneyer of the above coins may have been his son, and may have held office with
L. Cupiennius and M. Junius Silanus. The dog was evidently the symbol of the Antestia gens,
and consequently the earlier coins, which have that symbol and are without moneyer's name,
may have been issued by a member of this gens (see p. 58). The interchange of the moneyer's
name and symbol on the obverse and reverse is an innovation. When the nomen occurs on the
obverse it is variously divided by the crest of the helmet, as AES TI, AE STI, and AEST I.
In describing these denarii we have specially noted a slight change in the form of the visor
of the helmet on some and in that of the earring on others. These variations are also found on
the coins of M. Junius Silanus, next described, and in this respect these two issues form the
connecting link with the coins of the following Period. These denarii are also of inferior
workmanship as compared with the earlier ones of this Period, which is another characteristic
of the succeeding issues.
* Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1900, p. 10) describes a denarius in Sig. Sarti's collection with
the dog on the obverse and reverse, and without the moneyer's name. This is probably only a
combination of nos. 855 and 859.
CIRC. B.C. 172–151; A.U.C. 582–603 115
Metal
and Size
860 | 63-5 | AR 75 Similar; the visor of the Similar.
helmet less peaked, the
pieces being more sepa-
rated; moneyer's name,
No. Weight Obverse Reverse
C. ANE STI
861 71-5 | AR 75 Similar ; earring of single | Similar.
drop and spiral in form ; [Pl. xxv. 5.]
moneyer's name, C. AES (Nott)
T
As
862 399-0 || AE 1:25 | Head of Janus, laureate ; RoNAA below Prow r. ; be-
above, I fore, l ; above, C. AESTI
and dog running r.
863 || 312-0 || AE 1-25 | Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Sennis
864 | 161-0 || AE '95 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; Similar; before prow, S
behind, S (Blacas Coll.)
Quadrans '
865 119-0 || AE 9 || Head of young Hercules r., | Similar; before prow, 3
wearing lion's skin ; be- O
hind, 3 [Pl. xxv. 6.]
866/1080 E 85|Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
NA. VNI
(MARCUS JUNIUS SILANUS)?
Denarius
867 61.8 || AR 75 Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (on tablet). The
- winged helmet, &c., similar Dioscuri on horseback
to no. 660; the earring is charging r., &c., similar
of pellets in form of bunch | to no. 660; under horses,
of grapes; under chin, NA. IVNI
X; behind, ass's head, l. (Cracherode Coll.)
* Babelon (vol. i., p. 145, no. 6) describes also the triens, which he says occurs with or
without the dog on the reverse, but Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 22) doubts the accuracy of
this statement, and also the non-occurrence of the symbol on the quadrans.
* The ass’s head, a symbole parlant, shows that this member of the Junia gens bore the
cognomen Silanus. He may have been a son of M. Junius Silanus, who served during the
second Punic war, was praetor in Etruria B.C. 212, commanded in Spain B.C. 210, and was
killed in battle against the Boii B.C. 196. He may also have been the father of M. Junius
Silanus, who was consul B.C. 109. He was probably a colleague at the mint with C. Antestius
and L. Cupiennius (see above, p. 113), and the resemblance between his coins and those of
C. Antestius, and also those of the following issues (see next Period) has already been noted
(see p. 114). Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 163) mentions a denarius of this moneyer without
the ass's head on the obverse, and suggests that it is probably a hybrid.
There are no bronze coins of this moneyer.
116
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
868
869
870
871
872
873
874
Weight
60-3
59-7
58-7
58-3
56.0
55-5
56-0
Metal,
and Size
.4? -7
AR -75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR -75
AR.
.75
Obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; the visor of the
helmet less peaked, the
pieces being more sepa-
rated (as no. 860).
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse
Similar.
[Pl. xxv. 7.]
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xxv. 8.]
Similar.
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
117
PERIOD V.
Circ. B.C. 150–125; A.U.C. 604—629
DENOMINATIONs.—The denarius is still the only silver coin struck at Rome,
and in the bronze we meet with the same denominations as in the previous Period,
with the exception of the as, the issue of which appears to have ceased about
B.C. 150, and not to have been resumed for nearly sixty years, i.e. until circ.
B.C. 91. It is difficult to account for this almost sudden cessation of the issue
of this denomination, but it may have been due either to the large supply of
bronze money which had hitherto been kept up, or to a scarcity of the metal.
More probably the latter was the cause, since from this time the bronze money
is light in weight, considerably under the true uncial standard, and mostly
ill-struck and of inferior workmanship. The sextans and the uncia rarely
occur; but of most of the moneyers who struck bronze coins as well as silver,
the semis, triens, and quadrans are known. There are no issues of bronze
coins only.
TYPEs.—The head of Roma turned to the right continues to be the only
obverse type, but in one instance it is turned to the left, and in another it is
encircled by a wreath. With the reverse types the case, however, is very
different. In the previous Period several changes were noted, but now the
change is constant in the case of nearly every moneyer. There is, however,
a certain amount of recurrence. The types of the Dioscuri, and of Diana,
or Victory in a biga, still survive, but as we proceed their place is taken by
others of considerable variety. Most of them are of a general character,
but already several may be noticed which record events more or less intimately
connected with the early history of the moneyers' families. After this time
these changes become more and more frequent, and the original type of the
Dioscuri is quite abandoned. No variation occurs in the types of the bronze
money.
With one exception the moneyers' names are found on all the issues. The
momen or cognomen only is never met with. When two names are given they
are either the praenomen and momen or the praenomen and cognomen, but more
often all three, the praenomen, momen, and cognomen, occur, to which is
sometimes added the patronymic initial. The use of the cognomen and the
patronymic is much more general than in the previous Period. The exception
to this rule is the occurrence in one instance of the moneyer's symbol only
(see nos. 895-898). Similar exceptions may be noticed even in later times,
but they are exceedingly rare. At first the name of RoNAA is, as hitherto,
placed within a tablet on the reverse, but as already mentioned (see p. 88),
the lower line is not indicated. Towards the end of the Period the tablet
is omitted and the name is placed beneath an exergual line, thus dividing
it from the rest of the field of the coin. In one instance, on account of
the pictorial nature of the reverse type, it is transferred to the obverse, and
in another it is omitted altogether, to make room for the moneyer's cognomen.
These later changes are, however, the exception, but they show that already
the coin types were in a very transitional state, thus preparing us for still
greate modifications.
118 COINAGE OF ROME
In the inscriptions, A is the only form of that letter used, /A and its variants
having quite disappeared; L becomes more frequent than 1-, and P is still
T or P. The mark of value X (= ten asses), on the denarius, for a short time
is changed to XVI (= sixteen asses). It has been noticed (see above, p. 44)
that when in B.C. 217 the uncial standard was adopted for the bronze coinage,
the current value of the denarius was raised from ten to sixteen asses, but the
pay of the soldiers continued to be reckoned at ten asses to the denarius.
Although the current value of the denarius was thus raised, no alteration was
made in its mark of value, but about the time that the sign XVI is first met
with the bronze money had fallen very considerably under its legal weight, and
the issue of the as had ceased, and was not resumed for a long time. This
falling off in the weight of the bronze coinage may have occasioned the adoption
of this new mark of value, but the change was only temporary and occasional,
and appears to have been limited to six issues only. As a rule a moneyer
uses either the sign X or XVI, but in two instances during this Period the
same moneyer employs both (see pp. 121, 124, and 127). During the next
Period (circ. B.C. 124–103) a further change occurs, and another mark of value
for the denarius, X, is introduced, which has often been considered to be the
equivalent of XVI, but this interpretation is doubtful. In epigraphy, in order to
distinguish the letters which were employed as numerals from the ordinary
letters, a line was often placed above them, and thus five is expressed by
V, and ten by X. Instead, therefore, of surmounting the X with a stroke it
was placed horizontally across the centre, and it was in this way that ancient
writers identified the value of the denarius by the sign X. After B.C. 125 this
new sign becomes general, and that of XVI is no longer met with. It does not,
however, exclude entirely the old form X, for in B.C. 92 two moneyers use X,
and three, X (see p. 184 f.).
CLASSIFICATION.—Taking the denarius again as the basis of our classification,
the coins of this Period may be divided into three series, each one showing some
special characteristics. &
Series I.-The denarii of this series correspond in many particulars to those
classed to the end of the previous Period. The head of Roma is rather wide-
spread and in low relief, the letters of the legends are somewhat larger and more
straggling, the earring consists either of a mass of pellets in the form of a bunch
of grapes or of a single spiral-shaped drop. Most of the moneyers use both
forms. The form A is exclusively used throughout this and the next two
series in the name of “Roma.” The types of the Dioscuri and of Victory
in a biga, as in the previous Period, are at first alone represented, but others
immediately follow, some relating to events connected with the history of the
moneyers' families.
Series II.-It is a little difficult to determine the precise order of the issues
of this group. In the fabric of the denarius there is a slight improvement,
being similar in that respect to denarii of the middle of the last Period.
The head of Roma is smaller and more realistic, the workmanship is good and
the letters of the legends are neat and small. The earring is either in the form of
a bunch of grapes, or spiral-shaped, or of two beaded drops or a single drop, the
last two forms being characteristic of the next series. The earlier pieces have the
CIRC. B.C. 150–125; A.U.C. 604–629 119
mark of value XVI for X, but this change is only a temporary one, and a return
is soon made to the original form X. The types are the same as in Series I.,
but there is a still further tendency to vary them.
Series III.-Several important changes or developments now occur. The
head of Roma is more spread, the fabric is inferior, and there is a return to the
style of the denarii of the first Series. The letters of the legends are larger
and more upright, the earring is either spiral-shaped or consists of two beaded
drops or a single drop, the mark of value is again X, and the name of “Roma. "
is no longer on a tablet, but below an exergual line, which separates it from
the general type. This last is a peculiarity of the issues which follow. In the
types there are still further signs of development, that of the Dioscuri occurring
only once, whilst the others are evidently of a personal nature to the moneyers.
Some are difficult to explain and others impossible, as the records of the
families of the moneyers are so incomplete. In one instance the head of Roma
is turned to the left instead of to the right (see nos. 935-940, pp. 133, 134);
in another, the name of “Roma,” occurs on the obverse instead of on the
reverse (see nos. 952-954, pp. 135, 136); and again, it changes its place with
that of the moneyer (see nos. 985-940, pp. 133, 134).
There are several groups of coins so similar in type that it is possible these
may be indications of mint-triumvirates, or at all events of successive issues.
SERIES I. 1
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse - Reverse
L. SE/N/\\
(LUCIUS SEMPRONIUS)?
Denarius
875 46-7 || AR “75 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (on tablet), The
winged helmet orna- | Dioscuri on horseback
mented with gryphon's charging r. ; each holds
head; the visor in three | couched spear, and wears
pieces and peaked ; ear- chlamys, cuirass, and
ring of pellets in form pileus, surmounted by
of bunch of grapes and star ; below horses,
necklace; hair arranged L. SEMW
in three symmetrical (Wilmer)
locks; behind, X
876 44-7 || AR 7 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxv. 9..]
* For particulars of this series see above (p. 118).
* This moneyer is otherwise unknown.
It is, however, possible that he may be the same
member of the Sempronia gens who held the office of moneyer a few years before (see p. 95),
120
COINAGE OF ROME
Metal,
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
T. TAETVs
(PUBLIUS PAETUS) i
. Denarius
877 59-3 || AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoMA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, &c., simi- | Dioscuri on horseback
lar to no. 875; the ear- charging r., &c., similar
ring is of pellets in form | to no. 875; below,
of bunch of grapes; be- T. TAETVS
hind, X [Pl. xxv. 10.]
(Nott)
878 61-0 || AR 8 || Similar ; earring of single | Similar.
- drop, spiral-shaped. [Pl. xxv. 11.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
- C. VA, . C. F. FLAC
(CAIUS VALERIUS CAII FILIUS FLACCUS)?
Denarius
879 62.2 | AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (on tablet). Victory,
winged helmet, &c., simi- naked to the hips, in biga.
lar to no. 875; the ear- r., horses galloping; she
ring is of pellets in form holds whip with thong in
of bunch of grapes; be- outstretched r. hand and
hind, X reins in 1. ; below horses,
C. VAv. C. F.; above, FLAC
880 || 55-3 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxv. 12.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
881 60-7 || AR 8 || Similar ; earring of single | Similar.
drop, spiral-shaped. [Pl. xxv. 13.]
but in that instance the cognomen was given. The style and fabric of the denarii now
described, the use of the letters A for /A and L for V, and the change in the form of the earring
from one with a triple drop to one in the form of a bunch of grapes, all favour a somewhat
later date for this issue. In all these particulars they are similar to the following coins of
P. Paetus. These denarii of L. Sempronius are not plated, nor can they be hybrids. They
appear to be unknown to Mommsen, Babelon and Bahrfeldt, and we have not met with any
other denominations of this issue; since, for reasons already stated (see p. 96, note 2), the
bronze coins reading V . SE/W and V. , SE WV DITIO have been assigned to the earlier coinage
of this gens. -
* This moneyer was most probably a member of the Aelia gens, several of whom held high
offices a little before and about the time of the issue of these coins. P. Aelius Paetus, a jurist,
was plebeian aedile B.C. 204, praetor B.C. 203, magister equitum B.C. 202, consul B.C. 201, and
censor B.C. 199. He died B.C. 174. Sextus Aelius Paetus, his brother, and also a general, was
curule aedile B.C. 200, consul B.C. 198, and censor B.C. 193. Q. Aelius P. f. Q. m. Paetus, son of
P. Aelius Paetus, was augur B.C. 174 and consul B.C. 167. This moneyer may have been a son
of the last-mentioned member of this family. -
No brouze coins are known of this issue.
* The date attributed to the issue of these coins does not admit of the identification of the
moneyer with any known member of the Valeria gens. C. Valerius P. f. L. n. Flaccus was
flamen. Dialis B.c. 209, when still young, and curule aedile B.C. 199. Another C. Walerius
Flaccus was praetor urbanus B.C. 98, consul B. c. 93, and shortly afterwards pro-consul in Spain.
The above coins are of too early a date to be attributed to the latter, but it is possible that this
moneyer may have been a son of the elder Valerius Flaccus mentioned.
CIRC. B.C. 150–125; A.U.C. 604—629 121
No. Weight a.º. Obverse - Reverse
882 59.2 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
883 : 59-0 | AR “75 Similar. Similar.
884 || 57-0 | AR 7 | Similar. Similar. ; C. VAL. C. F
Sennis 1
142-0 | AF '95 Head of Jupiter r., laureate; RoNWA below Prow r. ; be-
behind, S fore, S; above, C. \Av. C. F
[Babelon, vol. ii., p. 510, no. 9..]
C . RENI
(CAIUS RENIUS)?
Denarius
885 61-3 || AR 65 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (on tablet). JunoCa-
winged helmet, &c., simi- protina in biga of goats,
lar to no. 875; the ear- galloping r. ; the goddess
ring is of pellets in form is draped and holds whip
of bunch of grapes; be- with thong in r. hand and
hind, X Sceptre and reins in 1.,
below goats, C. RENI
(Nott)
* Another denomination is the quadrans (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 510, no. 10). On the bronze
coins the cognomen is omitted. The coins, denarii, with probably the same moneyer's name, but
bearing the mark of value XVI for X are described below (see p. 124). Mommsen (Hist. mon.
rom., t. ii., p. 344, no. 152), Babelon (vol. ii., p. 511), and Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 92) all
mention a quadrans in the Borghesi Collection (afterwards in that of Sig. Bignami) reading
C. V., C above the prow. Mommsen suggests they may be the initials of C. Valerius Catullus:
Babelon thinks the coin may belong to the above issue; but Bahrfeldt does not venture to
explain. As the coin weighs only 52 grs. it is probably of the semuncial standard, and would
therefore be of a later date.
* The Renia gens is only known to us from coins and from an inscription which mentions
a C. RENNIVS C. F. LAETVS, and which was found on the site of the ancient city of
Lanuvium (Marini, Arval, p. 62). From this inscription it may be inferred that the family
originally came from that city, and this would explain the reverse type of the denarii, as it
was there that Juno Caprotima, who is represented wearing a goat’s skin on her head, was
specially worshipped. This form of head-dress is found on coins of the Papia and Thoria gemtes
(Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 280, 488), which also came from Lanuvium. This explanation of the type
seems more probable than to connect it with Juno of Sparta (Borghesi, (Euvres compl., 5. i.,
p. 335), who was called ‘Hog aiyodayos (who eats goats) or with the Greek word 5%v (a sheep)
which would be a rebus of the name of Renia (Minervini, Bull. arch. map., vol. vii., p. 116).
This appears to be one of the earliest instances of the type of the denarius being directly
connected with the history of the moneyer's family; and this is the only member of the
Renia gens of whom coins are known. - -
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 64) mentions and figures a denarius in Dr. Haeberlin’s
collection reading C : R EN IV. -
R

122 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
886 60:8 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
- [Pl. xxv. 14.]
887 | 60-5 | AR 7 | Similar. Similar.
- (Cracherode Coll.)
888 59°5 | AR 7 || Similar ; earring cf single | Similar.
drop, spiral-shaped. [Pl. xxv. 15 obv.]
889 || 52.5 | AR 65 | Similar. Similar.
890 || 46-7 || AR 65 | Similar. Similar ; Juno holds reins in
r. hand and sceptre in 1.
Sermis
128-0 | AC 1-0 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; RoNAA below Prow r. ;
behind, S above, goat standing r. ;
before, C. REN)
C. CVR . TRIGE
(CAIUS CURIATIUS TRIGEMINUs)?
Denarius
891 58.8 || AR “75 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoMA (on tablet). Goddess
winged helmet, &c., simi- (Juno 2) in quadriga r.,
lar to no. 875; the ear- horses galloping ; she
ring is of single drop, holds long sceptre in l.
spiral-shaped ; under hand and reins in r. ; she
chin, X; behind, TRIGE is crowned by Victory,
who stands behind her;
below horses, C. CV&
[Pl. xxv. 16.]
* Minervini (loc. cit.) publishes also the quadrans.
He suggests that the goat on the
reverse relates to the moneyer, who may have had the cognomen Capella, which at a later
date is found on coins in connection with the Naevia gens (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 251).
2 The Curiatia gens was patrician and came to Rome from Alba.
This moneyer may have
been the C. Curiatius who was tribune of the plebs B.C. 138. He is characterized by Cicero
(De Leg., iii. 9) as homo omnium infimus et sordidissimus.
He was probably the father of the
moneyer of the same name who strikes coins a few years later (see p. 134). At an early date
the Curiatia gens adopted the cognomen Trigeminus, claiming descent from one of the Curiatii
who fought with the Horatii.

CIRC. B.C. 150–125; A.U.C. 604–629 123
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
892 52.7 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
893 59-7 || AR, 8 || Similar. Incuse of obverse."
Sermis 2
894 | 108-0 | AF '85 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; RoNWA below Prow r. ; be-
behind, S - fore, S.; above, C. CVR
CRESCENT 3
Denarius
895 || 63.5 || AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (on tablet). Diana,
- winged helmet, &c., simi- with her quiver slung to
lar to no. 875; the ear- her shoulders, in biga of
ring is of pellets in form stags, galloping r. ; she
of bunch of grapes; be- holds torch in r. hand and
hind, X - reins in 1. ; below stags,
Crescent.
[Pl. xxv. 17.]
(Blacas Coll.)
896 602 || AR 75 Similar ; earring of single | Similar.
drop, Spiral-shaped. [Pl. xxv. 18.]
897 57.4 AR, 7 || Similar. Similar.
898 || 57-0 || AR, 7 || Similar. Similar.
* It seems scarcely necessary to mention that this is only a mis-strike, the previous flan
which had been placed on the die and struck not having been removed before the next one was
put in place. -
* This appears to be the only denomination in bronze known of this moneyer. Bahrfeldt
(Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 106) says that there are no bronze coins which read C - CVR only, but in
the above specimen there is no trace of the letter F after the name. The coins of this gens
with the moneyer's name C - CVR F are described below (p. 134).
* Though these denarii do not bear a moneyer's name it is very probable that they were
struck by a member of the Axia gens, as a similar reverse type is found on the coins issued at a
later period by L. Axsius L. f. Naso (Babelon, vol. i., p. 247). The absence of the moneyer's
name is unusual at this period, but the fabric and the obverse type show that these coins
must be classed with the preceding. No mention is made in history of a member of the
Axia gens at this time. There are no bronze coins which can be attributed to this issue.
In connection with the coins of L. Axsius L. f. Naso, Cavedoni (Rev. Num., 1857, p. 192)
thought that the type of Diana in a biga of stags may be an allusion to the origin of the Axia.
gens, which came probably from the district of Perusia or of the Sabini, where the cult of that
divinity was specially honoured. Longpérier (Mém. de la Soc. des Amt. de France, t. xxi.,
p. 357) has, however, suggested a much more probable explanation, viz., that the chariot is
drawn by awes, a species of stag, and that they are thus a direct allusion to the name of the
Axia gens. The crescent moon, the symbol of Diana, appears to have been adopted as the
badge of the Axia gens.
124 COINAGE OF ROME
SERIES II."
Metal,
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
L. IV.]
| |
(LUCIUS JULIUS) *
Denarius
899 || 63-3 | AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (on tablet). The
winged helmet, &c., simi- | Dioscuri on horseback
lar to no. 875; the ear- charging r., &c., similar
ring is of single drop, to no. 875; below horses,
spiral - shaped ; behind, L. IV.]
XVI 3 (=16 asses).
900 58.5 | AR “S | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxv. 19.]
C. VA, . C. F. FLAC
(CAIUS VALERIUS CAII FILIUS FLACCUS) 4
Denarius
901 64-0 || AR 7 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (on tablet). Victory,
winged helmet, &c., simi- naked to the hips, in biga
lar to no. 875 ; the ear- r., horses galloping; she
ring is of single drop, holds whip with thong in
spiral - shaped ; behind, outstretched r. hand and
XVI reins in 1. ; below horses,
C. VAv. C. F.; above, FLAC
* For particulars of this series see above (p. 118).
* This moneyer, Lucius Julius, is uncertain, but it is very probable that he was the son of
Sextus Julius Caesar, who was consul B.C. 157. He married Popillia, the widow of Q. Lutatius
Catulus, and was the father of L. Julius Caesar, who was consul B.C. 90. He is the first member
of the Julia gens of whom coins are known. He struck only denarii, which in style and fabric
are similar to those of C. Valerius C. f. Flaccus, L. Atilius Nomentanus and C. Titinius. The
as reading L, IVLl (Riccio, Catalogo, p. 100, no. 11) may be attributed to the moneyer of the
~~ --- - - - - - - - - ---|- ~ 7- - - -- Cr' -- - - -- - - --
Still lº Ildulil C WW II U. Ilt: i\ll U1 il U tº Ulli U. Its. U, . OS 7.
* This is the earliest occurrence of the denarius bearing the mark of value XVI for X (see
above p. 118). This new mark of value first occurs circ. B.C. 140. Babelon (vol. i., Introd.,
p. xxiii.) puts it circ. B.C. 144.
* There seems little doubt that the moneyer C. Valerius C. f. Flaccus, who issued these
coins, struck also those of the same type described above (see p. 120). With the exception
CIRC. B.C. 150–125; A.U.C. 604—629 125
* * * Metal
No. Weight and Size
902 ſ 58.5 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Obverse Reverse
903 57.2 | AR, 75 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxv. 20.]
L. All_i . NONA
(LUCIUS ATILIUS NOMENTANUS)1
Denarius
904 58.5 | AR 7 | Head of Roma r., wearing | Victory, naked to the hips,
winged helmet, &c., simi- in biga, r., &c., similar to
lar to no. 875; the ear- no. 901 ; her r. hand,
ring is of single drop, holding whip, is raised ;
spiral - shaped; behind, below horses, L - Al Ll ;
XVI on tablet, NONA (No-
- mentanus).
[Pl. xxv. 21.]
(Blacas Coll.)
905, 545. A 7 similar. Similar.
| (Nott)
of the change in the mark of value, XVI for X, the types of the two series are practically
the same. The question therefore arises whether these coins and those with the mark
of value X were issued in the same year, or whether C. Walerius Flaccus may have held
the office of moneyer on two separate occasions but within a short period of each other.
Zobel (Ann. de l’Inst. Arch., 1863, p. 40) has placed both series together, and classes them with
the coins of C. Renius and C. Curiatius Trigeminus (see pp. 121-123). Mommsen (Gesch. Röm.
Münz., pp. 528, 529) makes also one series of them, but classes them with the coins of L. Julius
(p. 124), C. Titinius (p. 126) and M. Aufidius Rusticus (p. 130), which also bear the mark
of value XVI, Count de Salis, however, separates the two issues, placing that with the mark
of value X somewhat earlier, and like Zobel he supposes them to be of the same period as the
coins of C. Renius and C. Curiatius Trigeminus; with Mommsen, however, he would assign those
denarii bearing the mark of value XVI to the same time as the coins of L. Julius, C. Titinius,
and M. Aufidius Rusticus. In support of Count de Salis's classification it may be urged that,
though the reverse types are identical in the two series, there is a slight change in the obverse
type, the head of Roma on the later pieces being smaller, and in this respect corresponding more
closely to the denarii of L. Julius, C. Titinius, and L. Atilius Nomentanus; whilst on the other
hand the denarii with the mark of value X are more allied in the obverse type to the coins of
P. Paetus and C. Renius. This is an interesting question, and one which can only be decided
by the fabric of the coins themselves. It can hardly be admitted that these coins are hybrids.
No such division can be made in the case of the bronze coins with this moneyer’s name, so
they are classed with the earlier denarii (see p. 121).
* A Nomentanus is mentioned several times by Horace (Sat. i., l. 102, i. 8, 11 et pas.) as noted
for his extravagance and riotous mode of life. The Scholiasts tell us that his full name was
L. Cassius Nomentanus. As the name of Nomentanus is, however, nowhere mentioned in Roman
history in connection with the Atilia gens, there has been a difference of opinion respecting the
letters NOM on the above coins, which fill the place usually occupied by ROMA on the reverse.
Borghesi (CEuvres compl., t. ii., p. 269) recognized in the abridged form NOM the cognomen
Nomentanus of L. Atilius, but Mommsen (Hist, mon. rom., t. ii., p. 290) thought that NOM
was an engraver's blunder for ROMA. As, however, all the coins known of this moneyer
bear this legend it must have been intentional and not a blunder. The Duc de Blacas
(Mommsen, loc. cit.), whilst agreeing with Borghesi, thought he detected the letter A before
126 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
g bverse Reverse
and Size Obv
No. Weight
C. TITINI
(CAIUS TITINIUS) '
Denarius
&-
º
906 || 59.5 | AR 7 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoMA (on tablet). Victory,
winged helmet, &c., simi- naked to the hips, in biga
lar to no. 875; the ear- r., &c., similar to no. 904;
ring is of single drop, her r. hand, holding whip,
spiral - shaped ; behind, is raised ; below horses,
XVI C. TITINI
[Pl. xxv. 22.]
907 || 58-7 || AR, 75 | Similar. Similar.
- (Blacas Coll.)
908 || 57.8 || AR, 7 || Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
909 || 59.4 || AR “75 Similar ; earring of two Similar.
drops, formed of beads, [Pl. xxv. 23 obv.]
and necklace of pen- -
dants.”
NONA on the specimen in his collection, which is now in the British Museum (no. 904), and is
figured on Pl. xxv. 21. An examination of this coin, however, shows that what the Duc de Blacas
thought was a letter is only a flaw in the metal. If therefore we read NOM as part of the
moneyer's name, this would be the earliest instance in the Roman Republican silver coinage
of the omission of the name of “Roma, ’’ on the denarius. Such an omission is not surprising,
seeing that at this time so many changes were taking place, not only in the types, but also in
the moneyers’ names and their positions, and even in the mark of value. Borghesi (loc. cit.)
identifies this moneyer with L. Atilius, who served in the fleet of Cn. Octavius, when the latter
was sent to Samothrace in B.C. 168 to demand Perseus, who had taken refuge there. This
identification, however, does not coincide with the date assigned by Count de Salis to this
issue. The shape of the head of Roma, the form of the earring, and the general fabric of the
coins would fix the date of the issue of L. Atilius Nomentanus about the same time as those of
L. Julius Caesar and C. Titinius.
Only denarii are known of this issue.
* Mention is made of several members of the Titinia gens with the praenomen Caius.
Caius Titinius was tribune of the people, B.C. 193; C. Titinius Gadaeus was one of the leaders of
the slaves in Sicily who betrayed an important fort to the praetor, P. Licinius Nerva, B.C. 103;
and C. Titinius Sisenna served during the Social War under Marius. The second mentioned
may have been the moneyer of these coins. -
* Similar changes in the forms of the earring and necklace are seen on the coins of
M. Aurelius Cota (see p. 128). The obverse dies of the coins of these two moneyers may have
been engraved by the same hand. At all events, these varieties would make the two issues
almost contemporary.
Babelon (vol. ii., p. 496) and Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 87) are of opinion that the
semis, triens and quadrans with C. TITINI, figured and described by Riccio (Cat. mon, fam.
rom., pl. xlvi. 3, 4; Catalogo, p. 192, nos. 18, 19), are altered coins of M. TITINI (see p. 85),
the NA having been changed into C. .
CIRC. B.C. 150–125; A.U.C. 604–629 127
Metal
r - e
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
A . STV&I
(AULUS SPURILIUS) '
Denarius *
910 61-7 || AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing | RoNAA (on tablet). Diana,
winged helmet, &c., simi- naked to the hips, herhead
lar to no. 875; the ear- surmounted by crescent,
ring is of single drop, in biga r., horses gallop-
slightly spiral - shaped ; ing; she holds goad in
behind, X r. hand and reins in l. ;
below horses, A. STV’l
[Pl. xxv. 24.]
(Blacas Coll.)
911 || 59-0 | AR “7 Similar. Similar.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
912 58-7 || AR 7 Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
913 57.0 | AR 7 | Similar. Similar.
* The Spurilia gems is only known from coins. It has, however, been proposed to correct
the name of the famous tribune Sp. Icilius, mentioned by Livy (iv. 42) into that of Spurilius.
Borghesi (CEuvres compl., t. i., p. 167), from resemblance of fabric and type, has classed
the coins of A. Spurilius with those of Flavus (see above, p. 113) and Furius Purpureo (see
Coins of ITALY, circ. B.C. 172–151; Babelon, vol. i., p. 522), and supposes them to have been
colleagues at the mint. This view has been accepted by the Duc de Blacas (Mommsen, Hist.
mom. roºm., t. ii., p. 268, note 1), and by Babelon (vol. ii., p. 465), but it does not quite agree
with the arrangement proposed by Count de Salis, who considered the issue of A. Spurilius
to be of a slightly later date than the others, and moreover attributed that of Furius Purpureo
to a local mint. A comparison of the form of the head of Roma shows that, in spite of the
similarity of the reverse type, the coins of A. Spurilius are some years later than those of
Flavus. It is a revival of a former type of reverse. Also the coins of A. Spurilius, for
similar reasons, cannot be separated from those of L. Atilius Nomentanus and C. Titinius,
since Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 77) describes two varieties of the denarius of A. Spurilius
in the Bignami Collection, both with the reverse type of Victory instead of Diana in a biga,
but one having the mark of value XVI, and Roma wearing a single earring, the other with
the mark of value X and with the earring in the form of a bunch of grapes. The coins
are not plated. This use of two types by the same moneyer had occurred shortly before in
the case of the coinage of Flavus (see above, p. 113, note 2). Unless A. Spurilius held office
on two separate occasions, which does not appear probable from the style of his coins (see also
those of C. Valerius Flaccus, pp. 120, 124), we have here another instance of a moneyer using
two types and in addition two marks of value for the denarius in the same year of office.
Bahrfeldt (loc. cit.) agrees with Count de Salis in attributing the coins of A. Spurilius to a
later date than those of Flavus and Furius Purpureo, but he does so because he associates them
with the other denarii bearing the mark of value XVI.
* Riccio (Mon. fam. rom., p. 215, pl. lxiv.) describes and figures a triens of this issue. It is
of the usual type.
128 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
* Revers
and Size e?"Se
No. Weight Obverse
M . ARELI COTA
(MARCUS AURELIUS COTA)
Denarius
914 61-0 || AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (on tablet). Her-
winged helmet, &c., simi-
lar to no. 875; the earring
is of single drop, spiral-
shaped ; behind, X; be-
cules, with lion's skin on
his head, in biga of Cen-
taurs, galloping r., each
holding a branch over
fore, COTA 2 his shoulder; Hercules
has his club in his
r. hand and holds reins
with 1. ; below Centaurs,”
NA. ARELI
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
[Pl. xxvi. 1.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
915 58.2 | AR “75 Similar.
916 58.2 | AR 8 Similar ; earring of two | Similar.
drops, formed of beads,
and necklace of pendants.
Similar.
[Pl. xxvi. 2.]
(Nott)
917 57.4 || AR “75 Similar.
* There were several members of the Aurelia gens bearing the cognomen COTA or COTTA,
who held high positions about the period of the issue of these coins. Amongst these were
M. Aurelius Cotta, who was legate of L. Cornelius Scipio, B.C. 189, during the war against
Antiochus the Great; L. Aurelius Cotta, who was tribune of the plebs B.C. 154, and consul
B.C. 144; and another L. Aurelius Cotta, who was consul B.C. 119. The moneyer may have
been a son or grandson of the first-mentioned.
* Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 286) says “COTA, rarement sur l’argent,” but
we have not seen any denarii without this cognomen. Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 56)
confirms this, and adds, “if it does exist it can only be a hybrid.”
* The type of Hercules and the Centaurs has not been satisfactorily explained. Babelon
(vol. i., p. 240) suggests that it may refer to the victories of M. Aurelius Cotta, the legate
of Scipio, over Antiochus the Great, on the confines of Thessaly and Epirus, where it is
related the combat between Hercules and the Centaurs took place. Eckhel (Doct. num, vet.,
t. v., p. 147) describes small bronze coins of Horreum in Epirus having the head of Hercules on
the obverse and a galloping Centaur on the reverse ; and on the bronze coins of Magnetes in
Thessaly, the common type of the reverse is a Centaur advancing and holding a branch over his
shoulder (Brit. Mus. Cat. Gr. Coins, Thessaly, p. 34). If Babelon's conjecture is right, this
would be another early instance of a moneyer selecting for the type of his coins a subject
illustrating an event connected with his family. That author (loc. cit.) further suggests that
on account of a certain resemblance in the reverse types of the denarius, Marcus Aurelius
Cota, C. Renius (see p. 121), and the moneyer of the anonymous coins with the crescent
(see p. 123) were colleagues at the mint.
CIRC. B.C. 150–125; A.U.C. 604–629 129
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
Sennis |
163-0 || AE '95 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; RoNWA below Prow r. ; be-
behind, S fore, S ; above, NA. ARELl
[Cf. Babelon, vol. i., p. 241, no. 17.]
CN . GEL
(CNAEUS GELLIUS) 3
Dermarius
918 587 | AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing | RoMA (on tablet). Mars,
winged helmet, &c., simi- helmeted, with shield
lar to no. 875; the ear- on 1. arm and with r.
ring is of pellets in form encircling the goddess
of bunch of grapes; be- Nerio, in quadriga r.,
hind, X; the whole within horses galloping ; the
laurel-wreath. hands of the goddess
appear to be bound be-
hind her ; * below horses,
CN . GEL 4
919 || 58.5 | AR 75 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxvi. 3..]
* The semis is figured by Riccio (Mon. fam. rom., pl. viii. 3) from a specimen in his
collection. The weight is not recorded. Babelon (loc. cit.) in the illustration of the coin gives
the moneyer's name wrongly as M . AVRE Ll for NA. ARE Ll. He also attributes to this
issue a quadrans of the usual type with moneyer's name M AVR.
* The Gellia gens was of Samnite origin, and appears to have settled at Rome soon after
the conclusion of the second Punic war. Two personages of the same name as the moneyer are
mentioned in history during the second century B.C.: Cn. Gellius, the accuser of L. Turius, who
was defended by Cato the Censor, and Cn. Gellius, the historian, who was a contemporary of
the Gracchi. It is not impossible that the historian was the moneyer of these coins.
* This type has been explained by the poet Aulus Gellius, a later member of the family (see
Aul. Gel.., xiii. 23; Suet., Tib. i.). It refers to the rape and subsequent marriage of Nerio to
Mars, who was worshipped specially by the Sabines as the god of marriage and conjugal life.
Nerio, whose name in the Sabine language is synonymous with fortis or strenwus, has been
identified at one time with Minerva, at another with Venus. The type of these coins is
therefore an allusion to the origin of the Gellia gens, two of whose members commanded
against the Romans: Gellius Statius in the second Samnite war, and Gellius Egnatius in the
third war. The addition of the wreath on the obverse is the first departure from the con-
ventional form of the simple head of Roma. Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 131) mentions a
hybrid without the wreath on the obverse.
* Varieties of the denarius read CN . G E and CN , GE LI (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1896,
p. 130).
S

130 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
N .
O and Size
Weight Obverse Reverse
Sermis
920 149-0 | AF 9 Head of Jupiter r., laureate; RoMA below Prow r., be-
behind, S fore, S.; above, CN. GEL!'
Triens
921 Head of Minerva r., wearing Similar ; before prow,
crested Corinthian hel-
met ; above, * * * *
104-0
Quadrans
922 || 67.0 ‘75 | Head of young Hercules r.,
wearing lion's skin; be-
hind, 3
©
Similar ; before prow, ;
O
923 | 66-0
Similar ; moneyer's name,
CN. GEL
[Pl. xxvi. 4.]
Similar.
NA. Aſ . RVS
(MARCUS AUFIDIUS RUSTICUS) a
Denarius
924
925
57.8
59.4
.75
.75
Head of Roma r., wearing
winged helmet, &c., simi-
lar to no. 875; the ear-
ring is of single drop and
plain; behind, XVI read-
ing upwards; before,
RVS
Similar ; mark of value
reading backwards IVX*
RoNAA (on tablet). Jupiter,
naked to the hips, in
quadriga r., horses gallop-
ing ; he hurls thunderbolt
with r. hand and holds
sceptre and reins in 1. ;
below horses, NA. Aſ
Similar.
[Pl. xxvi. 5.]
(Nott)
* Varieties of the semis and triens read CN. G E L (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1896, pp. 130,
131).
pl. lvii. 2).
* This is the only moneyer of the Aufidia gens, which was plebeian, and which appears to
Its members were little known till the 2nd cent. B.C., when M.
Aufidius, an architect, was charged in B.C. 179 with the preservation of the temple of the
have come from Umbria.
Capitol : tutelae Capitolio redemptor (Pliny, Hist. mat., xxxv. 4).
That writer questions Riccio's reading CN, GE LLl on the triens (Mon. fam. rom.,
Cn. Aufidius Cr. f. was
tribune of the people B. c. 170. This moneyer may have been a son of the architect, the type of
his coins referring to his father's appointment connected with the temple of Jupiter on the
Capitol.
* A variety reads XVI, downwards (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 53).
CIRC. B.C. 150–125; A.U.C. 604—629 131
No. Weight ..., Obverse Reverse
Sennis |
138-0 || AE 9 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate ; RoMA below Prow r.; be-
behind, S fore, S ; above, NA. Aſ
[Cf. Babelon, vol. i., p. 233, no. 2.]
SERIES III.”
SEX. DOM. FOSTLVS
(SEXTUS POMPEIUS FOSTLUS) 3
Dermarius
926 60:8 || AR 75 | Head of Roma, r., wearing RoNWA (in exergue). Wolf
winged helmet, &c., simi-
lar to no. 875; the ear-
ring is of two drops
formed of beads; behind,
one-handled jug (capis);
under chin, X
standing r., head turned
back, suckling the twins,
Romulus and Remus ; in
the background, fig-tree,
in the branches of which
are perched three birds;
behind the wolf stands
the shepherd Faustulus
leaning with 1. hand on
staff and raising r. ;
around, SEX. To NA. FOS
TLVS
* Of this issue there is also the triens (Babelon, vol. i., p. 234, no. 3). The uncia figured
by Babelon (loc. cit.) with obverse type, helmeted head of Roma, before it SCAEVA; and with
reverse, Centaur and AAF, belongs to some local issue, not to this one. -
Varieties of the semis read M.AF or A/F only (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1896, pp. 53, 54).
* For the classification of the coins of this series see above, p. 119.
* This moneyer may have been Sextus Pompeius, who married Lucilia, a sister of the
poet C. Lucilius, and who was the grandfather of the triumvir Cn. Pompeius Magnus.
The Pompeia gens, which was plebeian, is not mentioned till the 2nd cent. B.C., and it
would appear from the above coins that it claimed descent from Faustulus, the royal shepherd
of Amulius, who found the twins suckled by the wolf at the foot of the Palatine, the cradle in
which they had been borne down the Tiber having been overturned under a fig-tree. The jug
(capis) for milk and the birds on the tree (woodpeckers) are also connected with the myth.
Garrucci (Mon. ital. ant., pl. lxxx. 21) figures a bronze coin with Faustulus leaning on his
staff on the obverse and the wolf and twins before a tree on the reverse. The coin, which
was of local issue, was found in Palestrina. Babelon (vol. ii., p. 336) suggests that Sextus
Pompeius Fostlus was a colleague at the mint of C. Minucius Augurinus (see below, p. 135)
and Ti. Veturius, whose coins are attributed to a period considerably later (circ. B. c. 93) and are
classed with the local issues by Count de Salis (see under ITALY). We can see little if any
resemblance in fabric between the coins of Sextus Pompeius and those of Ti. Veturius, but

132 COIN AGE OF ROME
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
927 | 60-0 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar; moneyer's name,
- SEX . Tº O . FOSTLVS
[Pl. xxvi. 6.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
928 59.3 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
Sennis |
1580 AE '95 | Head of J upiter r., laureate RONWA below Prow r. ; be-
behind, one-handled jug fore, S.; above, SEX.
(capis). ToM and one-handled
JUg.
[Babelon, vol. ii., p. 337, no. 2.]
CN. VVCR. TRIO
(CNAEUS LUCRETIUS TRIO)3
Denarius
929 || 605 || AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (in exergue). The
- winged helmet, &c., simi- Dioscuri on horseback
lar to no. 875; the earring charging r., &c., similar to
is of single drop, spiral- no. 875 ; below horses,
shaped, and with two CN . VVCR
leaves near the base; * un- [Pl. xxvi. 7.]
der chin, X; behind, TRIO
930 60-3 || AR 75 Similar. Similar.
- (Blacas Coll.)
there is a close similarity with those of Cn. Lucretius Trio (see above) and C. Curiatius
f. Trigeminus (p. 134).
, Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 45, and 1896, pl. ix., 221, 222) describes and figures two
varieties of the denarius of Sextus Pompeius, one reading SEX, D MO (for DOM); the
other with the mark of value X for X. Though he describes the latter as “well struck and
altogether not barbarous,” it would appear to be an imitation of a slightly later date, for the
Visor of the helmet and the jug are of different forms from those on the original coin, and on
the reverse the legend ROMA seems, from the illustration, to be omitted. The other piece
with the blundered legend may be of the same character.
' Another denomination is the quadrans, which has the mark of value above the head of
Hercules on the obverse (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 337, no. 3).
* An otherwise unknown person. The cognomen Trio in conjunction with the Lucretia
gens occurs only on coins. Another member of this gens with the same cognomen, L. Lucretius
Trio, struck coins circ. B.C. 76 (Babelon, vol. ii., p. I53). This gens was originally patrician,
but some of its branches became plebeian, adding the cognomina of Carus, Gallus, Ofella,
Trio and Vespillo. A variety of the denarius reads TRI only.
There is a hybrid with the reverse type of this issue and the obverse of the denarius of
C. Renius (see p. 121), and another with the laureate head of Apollo.
.* The earring is composed of beads and is only slightly spiral-shaped; the leaves are a
Variety Which somewhat survives into the next Period. :

CIRC. B.C. 150–125; A.U.C. 604–629 133
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
931 604 || AR 75 Similar ; earring of two Similar.
drops formed of beads." [Pl. xxvi. 8 obv.]
932 60-3 || AR “75 Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
933 59.7 | AR “75 | Similar. Similar.
(Nott)
934 59.3 | AR 75 Similar. Similar.
NA. BAEB) . O. . F. TANAT|,
(MARCUS BAEBIUS QUINTI FILIUS
TAMPILUS) *
Denarius 3
935 | 60:8 || AR “75 | Head of Roma 1., wearing NA. BAEBI. O. , F (in ex-
winged helmet, &c., simi- ergue). Apollo in quad-
lar to no. 875; the ear- riga r., horses galloping ;
ring is of single drop, he holds in r. hand
plain ; under chin, X; branch, and in 1. reins,
behind, TANAT IV. bow and arrow ; 4 below
horses, RONAA
936 60.8 || AR “75 Similar. Similar.
937 || 60-5 | AR “75 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxvi. 9..]
* The earring with two drops connects the coins of this moneyer with those of the
preceding one, Sextus Pompeius Fostlus.
No bronze coins are known of this issue. Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, pl. viii. 180,
and 1897, p. 8) figures and describes an as with the name TRIO on the reverse, which
he would class to this issue. The coin, however, seems to belong to a somewhat earlier date :
firstly, because only the cognomen is given, which is not the case with bronze coins of this
time; and secondly, because it is evident from all the other issues of this Period that the as
was no longer struck. -
* This moneyer was of too recent a date to be identified with M. Baebius Tampilus (or
Tamphilus), who was praetor B. c. 192, and consul B.C. 181; nor could he well be a son of
Q. Baebius Tampilus, who was sent on missions to Hannibal in Spain and Africa circ. B.C. 219.
* These denarii show two important innovations: one being the turning of the head of
Roma to the left instead of to the right, and the other in changing on the reverse the usual
positions of the name of ROMA and that of the moneyer. These variations and a slight
difference in the style of the head of Roma, which is smaller and in rather higher relief than on
other denarii of this time, render their classification a little uncertain. The reverse type, how-
ever, is very similar in style to that of the coins of the next moneyer, C. Curiatius f. Trigeminus.
* The reverse type of Apollo in a quadriga has been connected with Apollo Arnasius, who
is figured at a later date on coins of the emperors Trebonianus Gallus and Volusianus, and
who was specially worshipped at Arna in Umbria. As in the case of those emperors, Cavedoni
(Nuovi Studi, p. 16) suggests that the Baebia gens may have originally come from that city
and introduced the cult of Apollo Arnasius at Rome. This is very conjectural. M. R. Mowat
(Rev. Num., 1898, p. 287 f.), from an inscription found at Tunis, thinks that Armasius was a
Roman gentile name. It has been suggested (Babelon, vol. i., p. 254) that the type of the
denarius may be connected with the institution of the ludi Apollinares in B.C. 212, and in
which Q. Baebius Tampilus, an ancestor of the moneyer, may have taken an active part.
134
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
938
939
940
941
Weight
61.5
60-4
58-7
60-3
Metal
and Size
AR 75
AR. •75
•75
•75
Obverse
Similar; the head of Roma is
Smaller and the necklace
is composed of pendants
instead of plain beads."
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse
Similar.
[Pl. xxvi. 10 obv.]
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
C , CVA . F. TRIGE
(CAIUS CURIATIUS FILIUS TRIGEMINUS)?
Denarius
Head of Roma r., wearing
winged helmet, &c., simi-
lar to no. 875; the ear-
ring is of single drop
and spiral-shaped; under
chin, X; behind, TRIGE
RoNWA (in exergue). God-
dess (Juno 2) in quadriga.
r., horses galloping ; she
holds long sceptre in 1.
hand and reins in r. ; she
is crowned by Victory,
who stands behind her ;
below horses, C. CVR . F
[Pl. xxvi. 11.]
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
[Pl. xxvi. 12.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
942 || 60-8
Similar ; moneyer's name,
TRIG
943 || 54-5 Similar.
Sennis
944 | 161-0 Head of Jupiter r., laureate; RoNAA below Prow r., on
behind, S which stands Victory hold-
ing wreath with fillets ;
before, S ; above, C. CVR. F
(Blacas Coll.)
* The change in the form of the necklace has already occurred in more than one instance
(see above, no. 909, p. 126; and no. 916, p. 128).
Only silver coins are known of this issue. A variety of the denarius in the Masera hoard
reads TANA Pl for TANAD l V. There are hybrids, consisting of the reverse of the denarius
of M. Baebius and of the obverses of those of Q. Marcius Libo (see above, p. 94) and of
Gargilius (see Babelon, vol. i., p. 532, no. 1).
* There can be little question that this moneyer was a son of C. Curiatius Trigeminus, who
filled the same office a few years previously (see above, p. 122). The types of the denarii of the
two issues are the same, but small differences show that there was an interval of a few years
between them. On the above coins the head of Roma is more spread, the letters of the legends
are larger, and the name of ROMA is in the exergue and not on a tablet. Besides, on the bronze
coins we have the addition of Victory holding a wreath, and on all the issue, silver and bronze,
the letter F after the nomen. The separation of the two issues is also supported by Mommsen
and Zobel (Hist, mom. rom., t. ii., p. 296), but Babelon (vol. i., pp. 446-448) describes both series
together. Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 105) also notes the differences in type and fabric
between the coins bearing the legends C. CVR and C , CV8. F.
Babelon (vol. i., p. 445) suggests that C. Curiatius f. Trigeminus, M. Baebius Q. f.
Tampilus, and Q. Fabius Labeo formed a triumvirate of the mint, but Count de Salis has
classed the coins of the last moneyer with the local issues (see ITALY, circ. B.C. 102–100).
CIRC. B.C. 150–125; A.U.C. 604—629
135
No.
945
946
947
948
949
950
951
Weight
129-0
121-0
85-0
52-0
81.0
76-0
72.0
60.5
Metal
and Size
AE -85
AE -95
AE •8
AE •65
AE 8
AE 8
AE -8
AR. 75
Obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse
Similar.
[Pl. xxvi. 13.]
Similar; without Victory
on prow.
Quadrans'
Head of young Hercules r., | Similar; Victory on prow ;
wearing lion's skin; be- before which, 3
hind,: [Pl. xxvi. 14.]
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar; without Victory
on prow.
(Gnecchi)
Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
C. AVG
(CAIUS [MINUCIUS] AUGURINUS) 3
Denarius
Head of Roma r., wearing
winged helmet, &c., simi-
lar to no. 875; the ear-
ring is of single drop
and spiral-shaped ; under
chin, X; behind, RONAA
C. AVG (above in the field),
divided by Ionic column,
surmounted by a figure
holding Sceptre and ears of
corn ; the shaft is formed
of torus-shaped blocks;
to the capital is attached
on either side a bell (tin-
tinnabulum); at the base
of the column are two
lions' heads, each sur-
mounted by an ear of
corn; on the right of the
column stands a togate
figure, M. Minucius Fae-
sus, holding a lituus in his
r. hand; and on the left,
anotherfigure, also togate,
L. Minucius Augurinus or
P. Minucius Augurinus,
holding a dish and a loaf,
his foot resting on a
measure (modius).
(Blacas Coll.)
* The denominations in bronze are—with Victory: the semis, triens, quadrans, and sextans;
without Victory: the semis, triens, quadrans, and uncia (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 106).
Babelon (vol. i., p. 448, no. 10) figures and describes a semis in the D'Ailly collection of the
usual type, and above the prow on the reverse the moneyer's name /\A, CVR.
If correctly
described, this coin must be of a later date, and probably of the semuncial standard.
* This moneyer may have been a son of C. Minucius Augurinus, who was tribune of the
136 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight a.º. Obverse Rel'en'se
953 59.5 | AR “75 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxvi. 15.]
954 59.3 | AR 75 Similar. Similar.
Sermis
955 133-0 || AE 9 Head of Jupiter r., laureate; RoNWA below Prow r. ; be-
behind, S fore, S ; above, C - AVG
[Pl. xxvi. 16.]
Quadrans'
956 82-0 | AF. 75 | Head of young Hercules r., Similar; before prow, ;
wearing lion's skin ; be- [Pl. xxvi. 17.1"
hind, 3
L.T.EBAI
(LUCIUS TREBANIUS)?
Denarius
957 | 61-0 || AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (in exergue). Jupi-
winged helmet, &c., simi- ter, naked to the hips,
lar to no. 875; the ear- in quadriga r., horses
ring is of single drop galloping; he hurls thun-
and spiral-shaped; lock derbolt with r. hand, and
of hair on 1. shoulder ; holds in l. long sceptre
behind, X and reins; below horses,
L.REBAI
(Nott)
plebs B.C. 187, and who unsuccessfully proposed the imposition of a fine upon L. Scipio
Asiaticus. He was also probably the father of Ti. Minucius C. f. Augurinus, who was
a moneyer a few years later, and who struck denarii of similar type (see below, p. 148). The
Minucia gens, which at an early date adopted the name of Augurinus, evidently derived from
Awgur, was originally patrician, but subsequently became plebeian.
The reverse design of the denarius is a representation of the bronze monument, erected
outside the Porta Trigemina to L. Minucius Augurinus in commemoration of his successful
attempt in B.C. 439, when praefect of the corn-market, to reduce the price of corn, as the
people were suffering from a grievous famine. His statue surmounted the column. The figure
on the right of the column is probably that of M. Minucius Faesus, one of the first augurs
elected from the plebs after the extension of the law de Sacerdotiis in B. c. 300; and that on the
left is either of L. Minucius Augurinus, the praefect, or of P. Minucius Augurinus, who, when
consul B.C. 492, was chiefly engaged in obtaining supplies of corn from different countries on
account of the famine at Rome. The lions’ heads at the base of the column probably represent
the two fountains in the corn-market, and the bells attached to the capital may have been used
to announce the opening and closing of the market (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 228).
The pictorial nature of the type has necessitated the transfer of the name ROMA to
the obverse. This is the first occurrence of such a change.
* Other denominations are the triens, sextans, and uncia (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 230,
nos. 5, 7, 8). That writer questions the genuineness or accuracy of description of the as with
C. AVG given by Cohen (Mon. Yép. rom., p. 219, no. 8), as that denomination was not struck at
this time. Sig. Fr. Gnecchi (Riv. Ital., 1900, p. 155), however, describes a specimen in his
collection; but, after a careful examination, it is evident that the legend on this coin has been
altered by tooling, probably from a coin of L. Saufeius (see above, p. 111). Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit.,
1900, p. 34) had already placed this coin amongst the forgeries of bronze pieces of the Republic.
* The Trebania gens is only known to us from coins; it must not be confused with
the Trebonia. From similarity of type Babelon (vol. ii., p. 500) suggests that there was
a mint-triumvirate of L. Trebanius, Aurelius Rufus, and Papirius Carbo. On account of
CIRC. B.C. 150–125; A.U.C. 604—629 137
No. Weight .*. Obverse Reverse
958 60.5 | AR, 75 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxvi. 18.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
959 59.5 | AR 75 Similar. Similar.
960 59.3 || AR “75 Similar ; earring of beaded Similar.
single drop, with two [Pl. xxvi. 19.]
beads at base.
Sermis
961 141-0 || AE '95 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; RoNAA below Prow r. ; be-
behind, S fore, S; above, L.REBAI
[Pl. xxvi. 20.]
(Blacas Coll.)
Quadrans '
962 81-0 | AF. 75 | Head of young Hercules r., Similar; before prow, ;
º lion’s skin ; be- [Pl. xxvi. 21.]
their barbarous fabric, Count de Salis has classed the coinages of the last two with the local
issues (see ITALY, B.C. 150-125). It is possible that all these moneyers borrowed the reverse
type of their coins from those of M. Aufidius Rusticus, which were struck a few years previously
(see above, p. 130). The difference in the shape of the earring and the fact of the name
of ROMA being in the exergue and not on a tablet, point to a rather later date for the
coins of L. Trebanius. Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 90; and 1896, pl. xi. 268) describes and
figures a hybrid with the obverse of the denarius of C. Minucius Augurinus and with the
reverse of that of L. Trebanius. He also mentions a denarius from the Maserå hoard which
has the blundered legend, L. RER ANI.
* Other denominations are the triens and sextans (Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 501, 502, nos. 3, 5).
On the sextans there is a caduceus behind the shoulders of Mercury on the obverse.
It is to this time that the quadrans with the moneyer's name T , NAT on the reverse may
be attributed (Cohen, Mon. rép. rom., pl. lix., no. 4; cf. Babelon, vol. ii., p. 212, no. 9). The
moneyer is uncertain, but he may have been a son or grandson of P. Matienus, the military
tribune in Sicily to P. Scipio (B.C. 205). The quadrans is the only denomination known of
this issue.
138
PERIOD WI.
Circ. B.C. 124–103 ; A.U.C. 630–651
DENOMINATIONs.—These are the same in silver and bronze as during the
previous Period, with the exception that an attempt is made to introduce two
new coins in bronze, the dodrans and the bes (see pp. 153, 154). The issue
of the as is still in abeyance.
TYPES.—The helmeted head of Roma is still the only obverse type of the
denarius. It is turned to the right; but in one instance, as in the previous
Period, it is encircled by a wreath. The reverse types, however, show constant
change, each moneyer selecting a design according to his fancy: in most
instances illustrating some event connected with the history of his family.
Some record events of long past years, but others commemorate those of more
recent date. Diana in a biga does not occur, and the Dioscuri on horseback
and Victory in a biga are only met with when bearing some special reference
to the moneyer's family history.
The bronze coins show little change, and are mostly very light in weight,
being considerably under the uncial standard. In one case, that of the coins of
Publius Calpurnius (see p. 141), a complete ship, not merely the prow, is
figured on the reverse, and special obverse types are given to the dodrans and
the bes, thus assimilating them in this respect to the other denominations of
the bronze money. They also have special marks of value.
The moneyers' names are given in a similar manner to those of the previous
Period, and no attempt at any precise order is introduced, but the praenomen
and momen or the praenomen, momen and cognomen usually occur. In some
cases the patronymic initial is found on the bronze and not on the silver coins
(see pp. 145, 146, 149); and in one issue the moneyer's name is omitted, and
he can only be identified by his symbol (see p. 155). Frequently on denarii
a portion of the legend is placed behind the head of Roma on the obverse,
in which case the mark of value is transferred to the front, under her chin. The
name of Rolv A on the denarius now no longer occurs on a tablet, but in
general is below an exergual line on the reverse. When, however, it is
displaced by the moneyer's name, it is usually transferred to the obverse. The
mark of value on the denarius, which during the previous Period was changed
from X to XVI, now assumes the form X, which has been already explained
(see above, p. 118). A only is used in all the inscriptions, both in the name
of RoNAA and in those of the moneyers; L or V appears indiscriminately, even
in the same issue (see coins of M. Acilius Balbus, p. 150; and M. Porcius
Laeca, p. 151), and there is no change in the letter P, which continues to be
T or T. In general the letters of the legends are well formed, being somewhat
large and more upright than hitherto.
CLASSIFICATION.—If we except the first two issues, those of L. Minucius
and P. Calpurnius, the head of Roma is so similar in style throughout that
it is not possible to divide the denarius into several series as hitherto. It
CIRC. B.C. 124–103 ; A.U.C. 630–651 139
is in somewhat high relief and it wears the usual peaked helmet, but the
features are rigid and hard, with little expression, which gives the design
a somewhat crude and conventional appearance. These characteristics become
more marked towards the end of the Period, and are still further accentuated
in the next one. The earring is at first of the same shapes as in the previous
Period, viz., in the form of a bunch of grapes, spiral-shaped, or consisting of
two drops, but these soon give way to a plain single drop, which form is then
almost continuous. As already stated, other characteristics of this Period are the
constant change of the reverse type, the disappearance of the tablet on which
the name of Rol\\A was placed, the unexceptional use of the form A, and
the substitution of the mark of value X on the denarius for X or XVI.
Further, history comes to our assistance, and the recording by types of events
of somewhat recent occurrence enables us in some cases to identify the moneyers,
and so to assign approximate dates to their coinages.
There are no certain traces of a triumvirate of the mint, such as we
meet with on the local coins of this Period (see ITALY, B.C. 124–103), but
similarity of fabric and peculiarities of type often point to a succession of issues
if not actually contemporaneous. Of these, mention may be made of the coins
of Publius Maenius Antiaticus, M. Aburius Geminus, and C. Aburius Geminus
(see pp. 145-147); and of M. Porcius Laeca, Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus, and
C. Cassius (see pp. 151-153).
Metal
No. Weight a...a Obverse Reverse
L. NAINVCI
(LUCIUS MINUCIUS) '
Denarius
963 60-0 || AR 8 | Head of Roma r., wearing | L. MINVCI (in exergue).
winged helmet, Orna- Jupiter, naked to the hips,
mented with gryphon's
head; the visor in three
separate pieces, slightly
peaked; earring in form
of bunch of grapes, and
necklace ; hair falling in
three loose locks; an-
other lock on 1. shoulder;
behind, ×
his mantle hanging on 1.
arm and floating behind
him, in quadriga r.,
horses galloping ; with r.
hand he hurls thunder-
bolt, and in 1. holds long
Sceptre and reins; below
horses, RONMA
* This moneyer is uncertain, as the praenomen Lucius was borne by several branches of the
Minucia gens.
L. Minucius Thermus, who served as legate under the consul A. Manlius Vulso in Istria,
B. c. 178; but later he attributed the coins to a more recent period (Amm. dell' Inst.
arch., 1863, p. 45).
Mommsen (Gesch. des rom. Munz., p. 525) at one time identified him with
Babelon (vol. ii., p. 233) suggests that the moneyer may be identified with
140 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight ..". Obverse Reverse
964 58.7 AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxvii. 1.]
(Nott)
Sermis
965 116-0 || AE 9 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; RoNAA below Prow r. ;
behind, S before, S.; above, L. NAIN
VCI
Quadrans'
966 53-0 || AB 8 | Head of young Hercules F., Similar; before prow, ;
wearing lion's skin ; be- (Blacas Coll.) *
hind, 3
967 52-0 | ZE -75 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxvii. 2.]
Tº . CALTY
(PUBLIUS CALPURNIUS)?
Denarius
968 604 || AR 8 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNWA (in exergue). Fe-
winged helmet, &c., simi- male figure, Venus,
lar to no. 963; the visor draped, in biga r., horses
is even at the ends, not galloping; she holds reins
peaked ; no lock of hair in r, hand, and whip with
on 1. shoulder; and ear- loose thong in 1. ; above,
ring in form of bunch of Victory flying l. with
grapes; behind, × wreath ; the flank of the
near horse is ornamented
with a star; below horses,
Tº . CALT
(Nott)
Minucius Thermus, who was with L. Valerius Flaccus in Asia, B.C. 86, but that date would be
correspondingly too late.
These denarii, which have some points of resemblance to those of L. Trebanius (see above,
p. 136), viz., the same type of reverse and the same lock of hair on the 1. shoulder of Roma, yet
bear the mark of value X, and thus form a connecting link between the two Periods. They vary,
however, from the main class of the denarii of Period VI. in having the head of Roma wide-
spread and in low relief, and in her wearing an earring shaped like a bunch of grapes. These
characteristics are also found on the coins of P. Calpurnius, next described, which show that
the issues were either of the same time or followed close on after each other. Their fabric
somewhat suggests local issues.
A variety of the denarius from the Masera hoard reads L. M.INVCIV (Bahrfeldt, Num.
Zeit., 1897, p. 23).
* Another denomination is the triens (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 234, no. 17).
* This moneyer is otherwise unknown. Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 314) suggests
that he may be the P. Calpurnius Lanarius who took part in the revolt of Sertorius B. c. 73, but
he was more probably connected with the Piso branch of the Calpurnia gens, the types both of
the silver and bronze coins referring to the triumph of C. Calpurnius Piso B.C. 184, after his
victory over the Lusitani and Celtiberi. Both Mommsen (loc. cit.) and Babelon (vol. i.,
CIRC. B.C. 124–103 ; A.U.C. 630–651 141
No. Weight gº. Obverse Reverse
969 59-3 || AR 85 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxvii. 3..]
(de Salis Coll.)
Sermis "
970 141-0 | AF '95 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; Ship to r. ; on which stands
behind, S Victory holding wreath,
and behind her, pilot
holding rudder; the side
of the ship is inscribed
RoNAA; below, dolphin ;
before, S.; above, T .
CALT
C. NVNAITORI
(CAIUS NUMITORIUS)?
Denarius
971 || 59.5 | AR 75 | Head of Roma r., in high C. N.V.M.I.To RI (in ex-
relief,” wearing winged ergue). Victory, naked
helmet Ornamented with to the hips, in quadriga
gryphon's head ; the r., horses galloping ; she
visor in three pieces and holds wreath in r. hand
peaked ; earring of single and reins in 1.
drop, spiral-shaped, and [Pl. xxvii. 4.]
necklace; hair falling in (Blacas Coll.)
three symmetrical locks;
under chin, X; behind,
RONMA
p. 286, no. 2) have mistaken the star on the flank of the near horse for the mark of value X.
Garrucci (Mom. dell' Italia amt., pp. 66, 67) has identified the figure in the chariot as that of
Venus, and the star as her symbol. Of what may have been the connection between the Calpurnia
gems and the goddess Venus we do not appear to have any record. The similarity in the
obverse type and in fabric between the coins of P. Calpurnius and L. Minucius has already been
noticed (see above, p. 140).
* Another denomination is the quadrans, which has the same type of reverse as the semis.
Babelon (vol. i., p. 286, no. 3) figures a variety of the semis with the legend ROMA under the
ship in the place of the dolphin, but Bahrfeldt (Num. Zent., 1896, p. 71) says he has never met
with a specimen. This is the first instance of a substantial variation in the type of reverse of
the bronze money. This change of type and the rude fabric of the denarius rather suggest a
local issue.
* This moneyer has been identified as Caius Numitorius, who was a distinguished member
of the aristocratic party (i.e. of Sulla), and who was put to death by Marius and Cinna, B.C. 87
(Babelon, vol. ii., p. 261). This attribution is somewhat uncertain, if the issue of the coins took
place circ. B.C. 124. He appears to be the only member of the Numitoria gens of whom coins
are known.
* This is the typical head of Roma on the denarii of this Period. It is in rather
high relief, and the features are rigid and hard, with little expression, which gives the design
a somewhat crude and conventional appearance. This treatment of the head becomes more
accentuated in the next Period. The spiral-shaped earring, which was a marked peculiarity of
the previous Period, is only continued for a short time, and it then becomes again a plain single
drop. The mark of value is always X.
142 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
Sermis
972 143-0 || AE '95 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; RoNWA below Prow r. ; be-
behind, S fore, S.; above, C. NVNA
ITORI
973 || 136-0 || AE 9 || Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Triens
974 97-0 || AB 85 | Head of Minerva r., wear- Similar; before prow, ;
ing crested Corinthian :
helmet; earring in form [Pl. xxvii. 5.]
of bunch of grapes;
above, * * * * ,
Quadrans?
975 | 72-0 | AF. 75 | Head of young Hercules r., Similar ; before prow, ;
wearing lion's skin ; be- O
hind, 3 [Pl. xxvii. 6.]
| . AES. GRAG
(LUCIUS ANTESTIUS GRAGULUS)3
Denarius
976 617 | AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoNAA (in exergue). Ju-
winged helmet, &c., simi- piter, naked to the hips,
lar to no. 971; the earring hurling thunderbolt with
is spiral-shaped ; under r. hand and holding scep-
chin, X; behind, GRAG tre and reins in l., in
quadriga r., &c., similar
to no. 963; below horses,
V. . AES
(Nott)
* This earring is precisely similar to that on the denarii of L. Minucius and P. Calpurnius.
* The sextans is also known of this issue (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 263, no. 6). The moneyer's
name on it reads C, NV N1 ITOR, as also on varieties of the semis and quadrans. The triens
and quadrans, reading C, NVNA only, appear to belong to another moneyer (see Bahrfeldt,
Nwm. Zeit., 1897, p. 26), and they are probably of a little later date. They may have been
struck by a member of the Numonia gens.
* This moneyer is not mentioned in history. Babelon (vol. i., p. 146) suggests that he
may have been a son of C. Antestius, who filled the office of moneyer a few years previously
(see p. 114), and whose denarii he somewhat copied, viz., in the shape of the earring, in
placing the mark of value under the chin and the cognomen behind the head of Roma, and in
having a symbol on the reverse of the bronze coins. That his cognomen was “Gragulus ” and
not “Gracchus,” as Vaillant conjectured (Num. fam. rom., vol. i., p. 71), is proved by the unique
quadrans in the Paris Cabinet from the D’Ailly Collection, inscribed GRAGV (see p. 143). The
bird (gragulus or graculus, a jackdaw) is a punning allusion to the moneyer's cognomen.
Similar symboles parlants have already been noticed, notably in the case of the moneyer who
signs his coins TOD and has as symbol a bird (Todillus, see p. 76), and of M. Junius Silanus,
whose symbol is an ass’s head (see p. 115). Later the coins of C. Fabius C. f. Buteo have a
heron or buteo (Babelon, vol. i., p. 486).
CIRC. B.C. 124–103 ; A.U.C. 630–651
143
No.
977
978.
979
980
981
Weight
59.7
59.3
59.0
51.0
56-0
50-0
Metal
and Size
AR. 8
AR 7
AR, 75
AE 7
AE -75
AE -75
Obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; earring of double
drop, beaded.
Reverse
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
[Pl. xxvii. 7.]
Similar.
[Pl. xxvii. 8.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Triers
Head of Minerva r., wearing RoNWA below Prow r., on
crested Corinthian hel-
met ; behind, 3 ; above,
GRAG :
which stands a jackdaw
(gragulus) r. ; before, . ;
above, [V - AEIS C
Quadrans'
Head of young Hercules
r., wearing lion's skin ;
above, * * * ; behind,
GRAG
Similar; no marks of value;
below head of Hercules,
RONMA
Similar ; before prow, ;
Similar; below prow, GRA
GV; no marks of value
before prow, and no
moneyer's name above.
[Babelon, vol. i., p. 147, no. 13.]
* Babelon (vol. i., p. 148) describes also the sextans and uncia, the existence of which
Bahrfeldt questions (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 24).
A variety of the quadrans reads L., ANTES not
in monogram ; another is without the cognomen on the obverse; and a third has LANES and
no bird for V . AES and bird. The weights of the triens and quadrans in the British Museum
show how irregular these were at this time. Babelon (loc. cit.) figures a hybrid with the reverse
type of the denarius of L. Antestius, but reading E . AES, and with the obverse type of that
of Q. Antonius Balbus, viz., head of Jupiter, laureate, and behind, S. C.; and mentions
another with the obverse of L. Antestius and reverse of M. Aburius Geminus (see p. 146).
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 24) describes a third piece with the obverse of L. Antestius
and the reverse of C. Antestius, i.e. with the Dioscuri and a dog below (see p. 114).

144
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
982
983
984
985
986
987
Weight
99-0
85-0
72-0
66-0
64-0
50-0
Metal
and Size
AE 8
AE 75
AE 75
AE 8
AE 75
AE 8
Obverse Reverse
NA. FABRINI
(MARCUS FABRINIUS) '
Triers
Head of Minerva r., wearing RoNAA below Prow r. ; be-
crested Corinthian hel- f 3; ab NA. FABRI
met ; behind, 3 ore, ; above, N.
: [Pl. xxvii. 9..]
(Blacas Coll.)
Quadrans
Head of young Hercules | Similar ; before prow, 3
r., wearing lion's skin ; tº e ©
below, club ; behind, 3 [Pl. xxvii. 10.]
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar. Similar.
Sextans?
Bust of Mercury r., wear- || Similar ; before prow, ;
ing chlamys and winged
petasus; behind shoul-
ders, caduceus, and :
* The only mention of the Fabrinia gens is on coins, and M. Fabrinius is the only member
who filled the office of moneyer. Denarii of M. Fabrinius have not been met with, but it is
probable that some were struck, as at this period it would be quite unusual for a moneyer
to issue bronze coins only. On account of their light weight the bronze coins of M. Fabrinius
are generally attributed to a somewhat later date than that given here, but as their fabric and
style correspond with other coins classed to this date they are included with them.
* The semis is also known of this issue (Babelon, vol. i., p. 489, no. 1), on which Bahrfeldt
(Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 119, and 1900, p. 47) notes variations in the reading and placing of the
moneyer’s name, as also on the triens and quadrans.
CIRC. B.C. 124–103 ; A.U.C. 630—651 145
Metal
- bverse • *, **
dºnd. Size O Reverse
No. Weight
T. Mºl. AT. Nº
(PUBLIUS MAENIUS ANTIATICUS
MARCI FILIUS) '
Denarius
988 || 61-0 || AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoMA (in exergue). Vic-
winged helmet, &c., simi- tory, naked to the hips,
lar to no. 971; the ear- in quadriga r., horses
ring is of plain single galloping; she holds in
drop ; behind, X r. hand wreath and in 1.
goad and reins; below,
Tº . AA, . AT
(Cracherode Coll.)
989 || 60.8 || AR 75 | Similar. Similar.
(Nott)
990 || 60-4 || AR -75 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxvii. 11.]
Quadrans ?
991 || 87.0 | AF '85 | Head of young Hercules | RoNAA below Prow r.; be-
r., wearing lion's skin ; fore, 3; above, T. W&. AT.
behind, 3 WE *
992 || 44-0 | AF 7 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxvii. 12.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
993 56-0 || AE 7 || Similar ; below head, club. Similar.
994 || 51-0 || AE 75 | Similar. Similar ; moneyer's name
incorrectly given, T NE
AT AW
(Borrell)
* This moneyer is only known from his coins. He was probably a descendant of
C. Maenius, who was consul B.C. 338, and who, on account of his victory over the Latin army
near Antium in that year, appears to have obtained the surname of Antiaticus. The type of
the reverse may refer to this victory. It is similar to that on coins of C. Numitorius (see
p. 141). The patronymic initials Mº (Marci Filius) occur only on the bronze coins, and are
placed after the cognomen. Both these circumstances are unusual.
* Other denominations are the triens and uncia (Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 164, 165, nos. 8, 10).
On the latter the moneyer's name reads T. NA . AT only. There are hybrids formed of the
reverse of the denarius of P. Maenius and of the obverse of that of M. Porcius Laeca (see
p. 151), and of the obverse of P. Maenius and the reverse of M. Aburius Geminus (see p. 146).
U
146 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
NA. ASV&I. Wº . GENA
(MARCUS ABURIUS MARCI FILIUS GEMINUS)"
Denarius
995 || 61-0 | AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wearing | RoNAA (in exergue). Sol,
winged helmet, &c., simi- draped, his mantle float-
lar to no. 971; the ear- ing behind him, in quad-
ring is of plain single | riga r., horses galloping;”
drop ; under chin, X ; he holds whip with loose
behind, GENA? thong in r, hand and
reins in 1. ; below horses,
NW. ASVRI
(Cracherode Coll.)
996 | 60.7 | AR 8 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxvii. 13.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
997 || 59.9 || AR 75 Similar. Similar.
Quadrans “
998 | 89.0 AE 75 | Head of young Hercules r., RoNAA below Prow r.;
wearing lion's skin ; be- before, . ; above,
hind, : NA. AS Vºl. Mr
GENA
(Cracherode Coll.)
* An unknown moneyer, but not improbably a son of M. Aburius, who was tribune of the
plebs B.C. 187, and praetor B.C. 176, and a brother of the next moneyer, C. Aburius Geminus.
The cognomen Geminus was given to the supposed father of the moneyer, M. Aburius, and his
twin-brother, C. Aburius, who was tribune of the plebs B.C. 185 and ambassador to Masinissa,
in Africa, B.C. 171.
* A variety is without the legend GEM, and has the mark of value x behind the head.
It may be a hybrid formed of the obverse of the denarius of the previous moneyer, P. Maenius
Antiaticus. Other hybrids exist with the obverses of denarii of Cn. Lucretius Trio (see
p. 132) and L. Antestius Gragulus (see p. 142). Also the obverses of denarii of M. Aburius,
or C. Aburius, are known with the reverses of L. Antestius Gragulus, P. Maenius Antiaticus
(see p. 145), and M. Vargunteius (see p. 163, and Babelon, vol. i., pp. 96, 97).
* This type may have a general significance like those of Jupiter or Diana in a quadriga.
Numismatists have, however, sought to connect it with the name Aburius, supposing it to be
derived from amburere (to burn), sometimes written abwrere (Eckhel, Doct. num. vet., t. v.,
p. 118). This suggestion, however, seems a little fanciful. On some denarii the thong of the
whip is not loose but encircles the handle.
* Varieties of the quadrans read M. A.VR1, GEM or M., ABVR only. The only other
denomination known is the uncia. Babelon (vol. i., p. 97) says that the semis reading
NA, ºvk is an altered piece of M. Fabrinius (see p. 144), but Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896,
p. 6) does not question the genuineness of the specimen in the Berlin Cabinet, and adds that
Friedländer and the present curators defend it. As in the case of the previous moneyer, the
patronymic initials M (Marci Filius) only occur on the bronze coins.
CIRC. B.C. 124–103 ; A.U.C. 630–651
147
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
C. AbMºl. GEM
(CAIUS ABURIUS GEMINUS) '
Denarius
999 || 602 || AR 8 | Head of Roma r., wearing RoMA (in exergue). Mars
winged helmet, &c., simi- in armour, in quadriga
lar to no. 971; the ear- r., horses galloping; he
ring is of plain single holds trophy in r. hand,
drop ; under chin, X ; and spear, shield, and
behind, GENA (same as reins in 1. ; below horses,
no. 995). C. ASV&I -
[Pl. xxvii. 14.]
(Nott)
1000 || 57.5 | AR 75 Similar. Similar.
Triens
1001 || 111-0 || AE '85 | Head of Minerva r., wear- || RONAA below Prow r. ; be-
ing crested Corinthian : . C. ASV& I
helmet ; behind, 3 fore, : above, GENA
Quadrans?
1002 || 65-0 || AE 75 Head of young Hercules r., Similar; before prow, ;
wearing lion's skin ; be- O
low, club ; behind, 3
1003 || 53-0 || AE 75 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxvii. 15.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
1004 || 31-0 | AF 7 || Similar. Similar.
* As mentioned above, this moneyer was probably a brother of M. Aburius Geminus, and
may have been a colleague of his at the mint. The obverse type of the denarius of each is
identical. That of the reverse of C. Aburius may allude to some military triumph connected
with the Aburia gens, of which very little is known. Babelon (vol. i., p. 94) suggests that
C. Aburius, M. Aburius, and M. Porcius Laeca (see p. 151) formed a mint-triumvirate. He
also mentions hybrids formed of the reverse of the denarius of C. Aburius and the obverses of
those of Cn. Lucretius Trio (see p. 132), L. Antestius Gragulus (see p. 142), and M. Porcius
Laeca. It may be only a coincidence that the hybrids of the coins of Caius and Marcus
Aburius are so similar.
* There are several varieties of the quadrans. One has the legend on the reverse differently
divided, C. ASV&I, º: ° and another has GEM above the prow and ROMA below. Other
denominations are the sextans and the uncia as the above described triens (Babelon, vol. i.,
p. 95, nos. 4, 5). -
148 - COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
y * ... ."
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
T] . NAINVCI . C. F. AVGVR INI
(TIBERII MINUCII CAII FILII AUGURINI).
Denarius
1005 || 61-0 || AR 8 || Head of Roma r., wearing RoNWA (above, in the field)
winged helmet, &c., simi- divided by Ionic column,
lar to no. 971; the earring surmounted by a statue ;
is of plain single drop; the shaft is formed of
behind, 3K torus-shaped blocks; at
the base of the column are
two ears of corn; on the
r. of the column stands
M. Minucius Faesus, to-
gate and holding a lituus
in his r. hand; and on
the left, L. Minucius Au-
gurinus, or P. Minucius
Augurinus, holding a dish
and a loaf, his foot resting
on a modius; around,
T] . NAINVCI . C. F. AVG
VR INI
1006 || 60-6 || AR “75 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxvii. 16.]
(Nott)
Triers *
1007 || 87.0 AE 8 Head of Minerva, r., wear- || RONMA below Prow r. ; be-
ing crested Corinthian ... s. TI.AVGVR
helmet; behind, 3 fore, : above, |N|
: and lituus.
[Pl. xxvii. 17.]
* This moneyer is evidently a son of C. Minucius Augurinus, who struck coins a few years
earlier (see p. 135). The types of the reverses of the denarii of the two issues are similar,
but those of the obverses vary according to the characteristics of the Period to which each is
assigned, viz., in the style of the head of Roma, the shape of the earring, and the form of the
mark of value. Varieties of the denarius read MI NVC for NAINVCI and AVGV RNI for
AVGVR IN I.
* Other denominations are the semis and quadrans (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 232, nos. 11, 14).
Varieties of the semis have the legends, T1, AVGVR, TI AVGVRI and TI, AVGVRINI. It
is evident from these coins and also from the denarii that this moneyer's name was in the
genitive case, and not in the nominative as usual. The lituus is a symbole parlant of the
cognomen Attgwrimws.
CIRC. B.C. 124–103; A.U.C. 630—651
149
No.
1008
1009
1010
1011
1012
1013
1014
1015
1016
Weight
61.2
60-6
60-0
59.9
56.4
49-7
112-0
111-0
97.0
Metal
and Size
AR. 75
AR •75
AR -8
AR •8
AR 7
AR 7
AE '85
AE '85
AE •8
Obverse
Reverse
NA. NAC] . /VVP
(MARCUS MARCIUS MANII FILIUS) '
Denarius
Head of Roma r., wearing | Victory, naked to the hips,
winged helmet, &c., simi- in biga r., horses gallop-
lar to no. 971; the ear- ing; she holds whip with
ring is of plain single | close thong in r. hand and
drop ; under chin, X; reins in 1. ; below, divided
behind, modius. by two ears of corn and
in two lines, A & ‘
* R O NAA
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxvii. 18.]
(Nott)
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Triens
Head of Minerva r., wear-
ing crested Corinthian
helmet; above, * * * *
Similar.
Similar.
RONAA below Prow r. ; be-
O NA. NACI
AWE
fore, 3; above,
[Pl. xxvii. 19.]
Similar.
Similar ; legend, §ºc
(Blacas Coll.)
* This moneyer is evidently the son of Manius Marcius, who during his aedileship, circ.
B.C. 154, was the first to distribute corn to the people at one as per modius (Pliny, Hist. Nat.
xviii., 3, 15, Manius Marcius aedilis plebis primum frumentwm populo in modios assibus
datavit).
circumstance.
The symbol on the obverse and the type of the reverse of the denarius refer to this
150
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
1017
1018
1019
1020
1021
1022
Weight
93-0
76-0
61.3
59-9
59.7
620
Metal
and Size
AE •8
AE •8
AR •75
AR -7
AR 7
AE -85
Obverse
Reverse
Quadrans'
Head of young Hercules r.,
wearing lion's skin; be-
hind, 3
Similar.
Similar ; before prow, ; ;
O
moneyer's name, M./\ACl
AWAT
Similar; moneyer's name,
NW. Nº.Cl
AWAT
[Pl. xxvii. 20.]
/VV, ACILI, BA-BVS
(MANIUS ACILIUS BALBUS) 2
Denarius
Head of Roma r., wearing
winged helmet, &c., simi-
lar to no. 971 ; the
earring is of plain single
drop ; under chin, X;
behind, BA-BVS ; below,
RONMA ; the whole within
laurel-wreath.
Similar.
Similar; moneyer's name,
BALBVS
W . ACILI (in exergue).
Jupiter, accompanied by
Victory, in quadriga r.,
horses galloping; the god
hurls thunderbolt with r.
hand and holds sceptre
in 1. ; Victory holds whip
with loose thong in r.
hand and reins in 1. ; be-
low horses, Macedonian
shield.
[Pl. xxviii. 1.]
(Nott)
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
(Hume)
Quadrans 3
Head of young Hercules r., RoNAA below Prow r.; be-
wearing lion’s skin; be-
hind, 3
C
fore, 3; above, W. ACIL
[Pl. xxviii. 2.]
1 Only the triens and quadrans in bronze are known of this issue.
A variety of the latter
has the moneyer's name, M . Nº-Cl . /W. F., on the reverse in one line above the prow
(Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 13).
* Possibly a son of Manius Acilius Balbus, who was consul B.C. 114, and a grandson of
the consul M. Acilius L. f. K. n. Balbus, B.C. 150, who appears to have commanded in the
Macedonian war, which terminated in the defeat of Perseus at Pydna B.C. 168, an event to
which the type of the reverse and the wreath on the obverse may relate.
* The semis of this issue, reading /W. ACI, is figured by Babelon (vol. i., p. 102, no. 2),
who also notes a variety of the quadrans with /W, ACI Ll. -
CIRC. B.C. 124–103; A.U.C. 630—651 151
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
NA. TORC. LAECA
(MARCUS PORCIUS LAECA).
Denarius
1023 61-8 AR 75 Head of Roma r., wearing | RoNAA (in exergue). Li-
winged helmet, &c., simi- bertas, crowned by
lar to no. 971 ; the ear- || Victory, in quadriga r.,
ring is of plain single horses galloping ; she
drop; under chin, X; holds cap of Liberty in
behind head, VAECA r. hand and reins in 1. ;
behind her, sceptre; be-
low horses, M. ToRC
[Pl. xxviii. 3..]
1024 61-5 | AR 75 Similar; moneyer's name, Similar.
LAECA [Pl. xxviii. 4.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
CN. DONA, DOM., OR DOMI
(CNAEUS DOMITIUS [AHENOBARBUS])
Denarius
1025 | 61.5 | AR 7 | Head of Roma, r., wear- CN DoNA (in exergue).
ing winged helmet, &c.; Victory, naked to the
similar to no. 971; the hips, in biga r., horses
earring is of plain single galloping; she holds whip
drop ; under chin, X; with close thong in r. hand
behind head, ear of corn. and reins in 1. ; below
horses, a man attacking
a hound with a spear;
above biga, Rolv A
[Pl. xxviii. 5.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
#
* This moneyer, who is only known from his coins, was a descendant of P. Porcius Laeca,
who was praetor in B.C. 195, and who proposed and carried the law de Provocatione, which
granted to the people the right of appeal in criminal matters. This circumstance, as Eckhel
(Doct. num. vet., t. v., p. 286) pointed out, is evidently commemorated in the reverse type of
the denarius. M. Porcius Laeca may have been a colleague at the mint of Cn. Domitius
Ahenobarbus and C. Cassius; but Babelon (vol. ii., p. 368) would associate with him Marcus and
Caius Aburius (see above, pp. 146, 147). There is a hybrid consisting of the obverse of this
denarius and the reverse of the denarius of P. Maenius Antiaticus (see p. 145). No bronze
coins are known of this moneyer. .*
* Cnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, to whom these coins may be attributed, was the grandson
of the consul suffectus of the same name in B.C. 162, who had also been a moneyer (see above,
p. 82), and a son of Cr. Domitius Ahenobarbus who was consul B.C. 122 and proconsul
B.C. 121. The above moneyer was tribune of the plebs B.C. 104, pontifex maximus some time
after the passing of the lea, Domitia, by which the right of election was transferred from the
priestly colleges to the people : consul B.C. 96 with C. Cassius (see p. 153); and censor B.C. 92
with L. Licinius Crassus, the orator (see p. 184). -
Count de Salis seems to have attributed to this moneyer three different issues of coins
bearing his name : (i.) the above described; (ii.) that struck in conjunction with Quintus Curtius
and Marcus Silanus, which from its fabric is classed to a local mint (see ITALY, B.C. 124–103);
and (iii.) that struck when censor with L. Licinius Crassus and others (see p. 184).
152 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight ..". Obverse Reverse
1026 602 || AR 8 Similar. Similar; the man appears
to be attacking a female
hound.
[Pl. xxviii. 6.]
Sermis
1027 170-0 || AE '95 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; RoNWA below Prow r.; be-
behind, S fore, S; above, CN. DoNA| |
1028 || 121-0 || AE 9 || Similar. Similar; CN. Do ME
[Pl. xxviii. 7.]
(Blacas Coll.)
Triens
1029 68-0 || AE 75 | Head of Minerva r., wear- Similar; before prow, ; ;
- ing crested Corinthian | above, CN . DoNAI :
helmet ; behind, 3 [Pl. xxviii. 8.]
Quadrans
1030 78-0 | AF 18 Head of young Hercules r., Similar ; before prow, ; ;
wearing lion's skin; be- above, CN . Dolvil O
hind, 3 [Pl. xxviii. 9..]
1031 90.0 | AF 8 Similar. Similar; CN.DOME
[Pl. xxviii. 10.]
Babelon (vol. i., pp. 460-465) appears to agree with Count de Salis, but Bahrfeldt, who has
gone minutely into the chronology of the coinages of the Domitii Ahenobarbi (Zeit. f. Num.,
1895, pp. 53-71), favours Mommsen's view, and attributes the above coins to the consul of
B.C. 122; and those struck in conjunction with Quintus Curtius and Marcus Silanus and also as
censor to the consul of B.C. 96. -
The reverse type probably relates to the defeat in B.C. 121 of the Gallic tribes, the
Allobroges and the Arverni, under Bituitus, near Windalium, by the Roman consul Ch. Domitius
Ahenobarbus, the moneyer's father. In this engagement Bituitus is said to have sent against
the Roman soldiers packs of enormous hounds in order to frighten them (see Babelon, vol. i.,
p. 461). If this explanation is correct these coins cannot be attributed, as Mommsen has done
(Hist. 'mon. rom., t. ii., p. 326), to the consul of B.C. 122, but rather to his son, who wished to
record the great deeds of his father. The reference of the ear of corn on the obverse has not
been explained. Babelon (vol. i., p. 461) draws attention to the similarity of the types of the
denarii of Cn. Domitius and M. Marcius Mn. f. (see above, p. 149), and suggests that they
were colleagues in the mint. As the denarii are throughout so like in fabric during this
Period, and the types often similar, it is difficult to say who may have held joint office at the
mint. Count de Salis appears, however, to have associated M. Porcius Laeca, Cn. Domitius
and C. Cassius in a mint-triumvirate.
1 This and the following coins reading CN, DOMI or CN , DONE have been classed by
Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 249) and by Babelon (vol. i., pp. 458-9) to the member
of the Domitia gens who struck denarii at the beginning of the 2nd cent. (see p. 82). Though
the as and the sextans with CN , DONA probably do belong to that time, the denominations
here described, from their style, fabric and weight are of a later date, and in these respects
correspond precisely with other bronze coins classed to the end of that century (B.C. 124–103).
They therefore form part of the first coinage struck by the Cn. Domitius who was consul in
B.C. 96 and censor in B. c. 92. The form “Dometianus’’ for “Domitianus * appears only to
occur on coins.
CIRC. B.C. 124–103; A.U.C. 630–651 153
Metal
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
C. CASSI
(CAIUS CASSIUS)1
Denarius
1032 602 || AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wear- RoNAA (in exergue). Li-
ing winged helmet, &c., | bertas, naked to the
similar to no. 971; the waist, in quadriga r.,
earring is of plain single horses galloping ; she
drop ; behind, 3K and holds cap of Liberty in
voting urn. r. hand and long sceptre
and reins in 1. ; below
horses, C. CASSI
1033 60-0 || AR, 75 | Similar. Similar. -
[Pl. xxviii. 11.]
1034 || 59.8 || AR “7 | Similar. Similar,
- (Nott)
DOdrans”
1035 || 238-0 | AF 1:1 | Bust of Vulcan r., draped RoNAA below Prow r. ; be-
and wearing laureate fore, S.; above, C. CASS
pileus ; behind, pincers [Pl. xxviii. 12.]
and marks of value S.
(i.e. nine unciae).
* This moneyer was probably C. Cassius L. f. Longinus, the younger son of L. Cassius
Longinus Ravilla, who, as tribune of the plebs in B.C. 137, proposed and carried the lea,
tabellaria, which established the right of voting by ballot in criminal cases tried in the
comitia by the whole body of the people. He was consul B.C. 127, and in B.C. 113 was one of
the judges in the trial of the vestal virgins. C. Cassius was himself consul B. c. 96 with Cn.
Domitius Ahenobarbus, but little else is known of his life. The urn on the obverse evidently
refers to the trial of the vestal virgins (see Mommsen, Hist, mon, rom., b. ii., p. 348), and the
reverse type, like that of the coins of M. Porcius Laeca (see p. 151) to the liberal views held by
the Cassia, gens. Like Ch. Domitius Ahenobarbus, C. Cassius records on his coins an event
connected with his family which had happened only a few years previously. From this, and
also from similarity of type, it is suggested that he was an officer of the mint with Cn.
Domitius Ahenobarbus and M. Porcius Laeca.
The obverse of the denarius of C. Cassius forms a hybrid with the reverse of that of
M. Vargunteius (see p. 163), and Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 81) mentions another in the
Vienna Collection with the reverse of that of M. Aemilius Scaurus (Babelon, vol. i., p. 120,
no. 8); and a third, with the reverse of the denarius of Tiberius with seated figure of the
emperor. This last piece is curious, as the two issues were so far apart.
* The issue of the dodrans and the bes was quite exceptional. They may have been
intended to supply the place of the as, which had been suspended at this period. This is the
only instance of the striking of the bes at Rome ; later, another attempt was made to issue
the dodrans (see below, coins of M. Metellus, attributed to B.C. 94, p. 177). Bahrfeldt (Num.
Zeit., 1896, p. 81) figures the quadrans of this series. It was in the Bignami Collection, and
appears to be unique. It is of the usual type.
-- X
154
COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight º'.
190-0 || AE •9
1036 80-0 || AE 75
1037 74-0 || AE -75
1038 || 61.2 | AR, 75
Obverse Reverse
Bes
Head of young Bacchus r.," | Similar; before prow, S:
[bound with ivy;] hair in
ringlets ; behind, marks
of value S3 (i.e. eight
unciae).
[Babelon, vol. i., p. 326, no. 3..]
C. CANP
(CAIUS CAMPANIANUS 2)2
Quadrans
Head of young Hercules r., RoNWA below Prow r. ; be-
wearing lion's skin ; be- fore, 3; above, C. CAN’
hind, 3 . O
Similar.
[Pl. xxviii. 13.]
Similar.
T. O.
(TITUS QUINCTIUS [FLAMININUS])3
Denarius
Head of Roma r., wear- RoNAA (in exergue). The
ing winged helmet, &c.,
similar to no. 971 ; the
earring is of plain single
drop ; under chin, × ; be-
hind head, flamen's cap.
Dioscuri on horseback,
charging r. ; each holds
couched spear and wears
chlamys, cuirass, and
pileus, surmounted by
star; below horses, T O.
divided by a round Mace-
donian shield.
(Blacas Coll.)
1 Borghesi (CEwvres compl., t. i., p. 241) says it is the head of Bacchus bound with ivy, but
Riccio (Mon. fam. rom., p. 48, no. 5) identifies it as of Venus with wreath of flowers.
* The interpretation of this monogram is somewhat uncertain. The cognomen Campanianus,
or Campanius, occurs somewhat frequently in inscriptions. Mommsen (C.I.L. Neap., no. 6801)
mentions a Julius Felix Campanianus who was praefectus Urbi ; also C. Campanianus, who
commanded in the First Legion.
It is, however, not possible to identify the moneyer of these
coins, which do not seem to have been hitherto noticed. They appear to belong to the time to
which they are assigned, as they are similar in fabric and weight to other bronze pieces of the
Period.
The quadrans is the only denomination in the British Museum.
* The magistrate who struck these coins has usually been identified with Titus Quinctius

CIRC. B.C. 124–103: A.U.C. 630–651 155
No. Weight cº, Obverse Reverse
1039 || 60:1 | AR 75 Similar. Similar.
1040 || 59.8 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxviii. 14.]
1041 58-3 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Sermis l
1042 148-0 || AE 9 Head of Jupiter r., laureate; RoNWA below Prow r. ;
behind, S before, S.; above, T. O.
[Pl. xxviii. 15.]
1043 | 129-0 | AF 9 Similar. Similar.
ELEPHANT'S HEAD 4
Denarius
1044 59-0 || AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wear- Female figure, Pax, in biga.
ing winged helmet, &c., r., horses galloping ; she
similar to no. 971; the is fully draped, and holds
earring is of plain single | Olive-branch in r. hand
drop ; behind, × and sceptre and reins in
1. ; below horses, ele-
phant's head r., with
bell attached, and below
it, RONAA -
[Pl. xxviii. 16.]
Flamininus, who was consul in B.C. 123. If, however, Count de Salis’s classification is correct,
we must seek for this moneyer amongst the members of the next generation of the Quinctia gens.
The type of the reverse and also the symbol, the shield, relate to the great victory of
T. Quinctius Flamininus over Philip W. of Macedon at Cynoscephalae in B.C. 197, after which
that general offered up special vows to the Dioscuri at the temple of Delphi. This would
account for the recurrence on the reverse of this type of the Dioscuri which had fallen out of
use for some time. The flamen’s cap on the obverse is a symbole parlant of the cognomen of
the moneyer.
! Other denominations are the triens and quadrans (Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 392, 393,
nos. 4, 5).
* The occurrence of the moneyer's symbol only without his name is exceptional at this
time. -
The elephant’s head shows that these coins were struck by a member of the Caecilia gens,
of which it was the special symbol, but by which member is uncertain, as so many held high
state offices at the end of the 2nd cent. B. c. Babelon (vol. i., p. 272) has identified these coins
with Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius, to whom the following issue is assigned. As both issues were
struck about the same time, and as they have different types of reverse, it is more probable
that they belong to separate moneyers.
The head of the elephant commemorates the victories of L. Caecilius Metellus over the
Carthaginians in Sicily during the first Punic War, more especially that at Panormus in
B. c. 251, in which engagement he captured all Hasdrubal's elephants. The figure in the
chariot is more likely that of Pax than Pietas (Babelon, vol. i., p. 272), as Q. Caecilius Metellus
did not receive the title of Pius till after B.C. 99 (see next issue), and the coins were struck
before that date. The usual attributes of Pax on later coins are the olive-branch and sceptre.
The type may refer to the peace which followed the first Punic War.
156.
COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
1045 58.8 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
1046 || 58-7 || AR 75 | Similar. Similar.
1047 58.7 | AR “75 Similar. Similar.
Sermis
1048 145-0 | AF 9 Head of Jupiterr., laureate; RoNAA below Prow r. ; be-
behind, S fore, S.; above, elephant's
head r., with bell.
1049 || 93-0 | AF '85 Similar. Similar.
1050 | 84-0 | AF '85 Similar. | Similar.
Quadrans'
1051 || 71.0 | AF 75 | Head of young Hercules r., Similar ; before prow, ;
wearing lion's skin; be- O
hind, 3 [Pl. xxviii. 17.]
1052 || 45-0 | AF 8 || Similar. Similar.
O . A/V Tº
(QUINTUS ICAECILIUS] METELLUS) '
Denarius
1053 | 602 || AR 7 | Head of Roma r., wear- || RoNAA (in exergue). Ju-
* ing winged helmet, &c., | piter, naked to the waist,
similar to no. 971; the in quadriga r., horses
visor is in three pieces, walking; he holds branch
even at the ends; the in r, hand and thunder-
earring is of plain single | bolt and reins in 1.
drop ; under chin, X ; [Pl. xxviii. 18.]
behind head, O.. WET: -
! Other denominations are the triens and sextans, of the usual types, but on the latter
there is a caduceus behind the bust of Mercury (Babelon, vol. i., p. 274, nos. 40, 42).
* Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius, to whom these coins may be ascribed, was the son of
Q. Caecilius Metellus Numidicus.
of the affection he displayed for his father when in banishment.
He received circ. B.C. 99
the surname of Pius on account
At the age of twenty he
accompanied his father to Numidia (B.C. 109), was praetor B.C. 89, commanded in the Social
War, was consul B.C. 80 with Sulla, went as proconsul in the following year to Spain to
prosecute the war against Sertorius, when he was proclaimed imperator by his army (Plut.,
Sertorius, xxii.) and struck coins with that title (see SPAIN, B.C. 79–77), and was elected
Pontifex Maximus B.C. 65. He died at the end of the following year or at the beginning of the
year after. The reverse type of his denarii probably refers to the splendid triumph accorded
to his father in B.C. 107 on his return from Numidia. The forms of the visor of the helmet of
Roma are exceptional at this time.
CIRC. B.C. 124–103 ; A.U.C. 630—651 157
No. Weight gºi, Obverse Reverse
1054 59.4 AR 75 Similar. Similar.
: (de Salis Coll.)
1055 609 || AR 75 Similar ; the visor is in Similar.
two pieces, even at the [Pl. xxviii. 19 obv.]
ends.
Sennis
1056 156-0 || AE 9 | Head of Jupiterr., laureate; RoNAA below Prow r. ;
behind, S before, S.; above, Ol. METE
1057 136-0 | AF '85 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxviii. 20.]
1058 || 99-0 || AE 8 || Similar. Similar.
1059 || 120-0 | AF 9 || Similar. Similar ; moneyer's name,
O. NATE
Triers
1060 580 AE 7 | Head of Minerva r., wear- || Similar ; before prow, ;
ing crested Corinthian :
helmet; behind, 3
Quadrans '
1061 | 66-0 || AE 75 | Head of young Hercules r., Similar; before prow, 3
wearing lion's skin; be- O
hind, 3 [Pl. xxviii. 21.]
1062 59-0 || AE 6 || Similar. Similar.
1063 || 57-0 || AE •75 Similar. Similar.
1064 || 56-0 | AE 7 | Similar. Similar.
1065 || 42-0 || AE '65 || Similar. Similar.
1066 43-0 || AE 7 || Similar. Similar ; moneyer's name,
(Blacas Coll.)
1067 42-0 || AE 6 || Similar. Similar.
* Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1881, pp. 165-169; and 1896, pp. 61, 62) gives other readings of
the moneyer's name on the semis, as O. NE, O. MT, and O. , METEL; and on the quadrans
as O. , METE, O. , MET, and O. MTE. He would class to this issue the as of the usual type
with the moneyer's name O. , Mº. on the reverse (see above, p. 79), but this attribution is
impossible, as that denomination was not struck when Q. Caecilius Metellus held office at the
mint. It belongs to the beginning of the 2nd cent. B.C., not to the end. He notes a specimen
at Revanna of the uncia quoted by Babelon from Riccio (vol. i., p. 267, no. 27) with reverse
type O . Nºt in a wreath; but he condemns the example at Berlin. The weights of the
bronze coins of this issue are very irregular, some of the quadrantes in the case of the
British Museum series being heavier than the triens.
158
PERIOD VII.
Circ, B.C. 102–92; A.U.C. 652–662
DENOMINATIONs.—The chief occurrence to be noticed under this heading is
the revival of the issue of the silver quinarius, which had been in abeyance at the
Roman mint for about a century or a little more (see above, pp. 36,44). The re-
issue of this coin was ordered by the Lea Clodia, the date of which, though some-
what uncertain, was about B.C. 104; but Count de Salis did not consider that
the new law came into operation till B.C. 102, to which year he attributes the
coinage of C. Egnatuleius, which consists only of the earliest pieces of this
denomination. From the evidence of finds it seems that this new coin soon put
out of circulation the old victoriatus, as it is only in the earliest finds, those of
Maserä, Riccia and S. Giovanni Incarico, that these pieces were met with in
any number. As will be seen below, these hoards were buried at the end of
B.C. 93, or very early in the following year. The principal silver coin is still
the denarius, and in the bronze money no change occurs, except that in a single
instance an unsuccessful attempt is made to continue the dodrams, which with
the bes was first struck at Rome a few years before (see above, pp. 153, 154).
The other bronze coins are the semis and its divisions to the uncia, ; but the last
denomination is rarely met with. The issue of the as was not yet resumed. The
weights of the majority of the bronze coins are considerably below the uncial
standard.
TYPEs.—The type of the reverse of the denarius now changes in the case
of each moneyer or group of moneyers, that of the Dioscuri being quite
abandoned. These types of reverse are of the same character as those of the
previous Period, as they usually relate to some event connected with the history
of the moneyer's family. For the first time since the introduction of the
denarius new obverse types are introduced on two occasions, the head of Roma.
being displaced for that of another divinity. The first instance occurs in the
special issue of L. Calpurnius Piso and Q. Servilius Caepio, which took place in
B.C. 100 (see below, p. 170). These coins provide us with the precise date of
this important change. The second instance was in the case of the joint-issues of
M. Caecilius Metellus Q. f., Q. Fabius Maximus, and C. Serveilius (circ. B.C. 94),
who still further varied their coinages by issuing two types for the obverse of their
denarius, the head of Apollo as well as that of Roma (see pp. 175-180). After
B.C. 92 the head of Roma as the type of obverse becomes rather the exception
than the rule. The mark of value on the denarius is X, but during B.o. 92
there is a partial return to the older form of X. In two cases, on the coins of
T. Cloulius (p. 165), and on those of L. Calpurnius Piso and Q. Servilius Caepio
(p. 170), the mark of value is omitted, the first being the earliest instance of this
omission. The type of the reverse of the new quinarius was copied from that of
the old victoriatus, and that of the obverse on the earlier issues is either the
head of Apollo or of Jupiter, the latter being also the type of the victoriatus.
This new coin also bears its mark of value, O for quinarius, the older
form V (= 5 asses) not being applicable, as it was now current for eight
asses. Ancient writers appear to have applied the name of victoriatus to this
CIRC. B.C. 102–92; A.U.C. 652–662 159
new coin, probably from its type of reverse, for Pliny (Hist. Nat., xxxiii. 3, 46)
Says, Is qui nunc victoriatus appellatur lege Clodia percussus est. Varro and
later historians of the empire also gave to the victoriatus the value of the
quinarius: Victoriatus nunc tantum dem valet quantum quinarius (Maecianus,
Distributio, § xlv.). Another innovation of this Period is the use of symbols or
letters as privy marks of the mint, probably intended as a check on the number
of dies supplied to each officina. This would seem to be the purpose of these
marks rather than to denote the amount of bullion used by each die, since after
careful comparison of coins bearing the same mint-marks, it has been found that
Such duplicates have always been struck from the same dies.
A further innovation is the serrating or dentating of the edge of the
denarius, of which hitherto only three solitary instances appear to have occurred
in the Roman republican coinage. The first was in the case of the denarii bear-
ing the symbol a wheel, which Count de Salis has attributed to local issue (see
ITALY, B.C. 217–197); the second, in the coinage of C. Juventius Talna, circ.
B.C. 172–151 (see above, p. 102); and possibly, a third, in the coinage of M.
Sergius Silus, which Count de Salis has also attributed to local issue (see ITALY,
B.C. 99–94). In the last two instances the serrated edge was quite exceptional,
as most of the denarii of those moneyers have the edges plain. Amongst the
Romans these denarii were known as mummi serrati, and Tacitus (Germ. 5),
in speaking of the Germans, his contemporaries, says: Pecuniam, probant
weterem et diu notam, serratos bigatosque. No further instance of the serrated
edge on Roman coins occurs till B.C. 92, in which year all the denarii are thus
treated. The most ancient serrated coins are gold and silver pieces of Carthage,
circ. B.C. 240–200; and the bronze money, probably of Antiochus III., the
Great, of Syria (B.C. 222–187), and of Philip V. of Macedon (B.C. 220–179).
From B.C. 92 it was generally adopted at the Roman mint, but not at all
to the exclusion of the plain edge, and continued intermittently till about
B.C. 70, when it fell into disuse. It is therefore evident that the serrating of
coins was only practised occasionally in certain countries and during short
periods. Numerous suggestions have been made as to the purpose this
peculiar mode of treating coins may have served. It could certainly not have
been adopted to prevent the clipping of coins, since a ragged edge would
have lent itself more readily to this species of fraud than a plain one; nor could
it have been with the object of proving the genuineness of the metal, for, as
we have seen, bronze coins were also treated in this manner; and, moreover,
plated Roman denarii sometimes have the edge serrated. Svoronos (Bull. de
Corr. Hell., 1894, p. 122) suggests that in this shape these coins represent
“astral bodies,” and Babelon (vol. i., Introd., p. liii.), in remarking on the rude
fabric of some of the serrated denarii, concludes that they were struck at local
mints and specially intended for commercial purposes outside Italy. Count de
Salis, however, did not share this view with Babelon, for with the two exceptions
above mentioned, he has attributed all the nummi Serrati to the Roman mint.
It is therefore evident that the Serrating of the coins had no particular sig-
nificance, but was only a fashion, which may have been considered ornamental
and which was sporadic, occurring at certain epochs and then vanishing. In
what manner the Serration was done is also a question. The readiest way
160 COINAGE OF ROME
would no doubt have been to cut the flan or blank with a dentated punch, but
the great irregularity of the cuts shows that this could not well have been the
process, although the actual striking of the coin might have caused some
irregularity of edge. Bahrfeldt (Berliner Münzblatter, 1904, p. 441) thinks
that each cut was made with a file, the flan being thus treated either before or
after the actual striking of the coin. Another suggestion is that each piece
was separately treated, and that the indentations were made with a chisel. As
filing the edge of a coin would have considerably altered its weight, the chisel
process seems the more probable one if that of the dentated punch be not
accepted. It can be well understood that such a tedious process of Serrating
the edge piece by piece did not meet with much favour, and that in consequence
it was only occasionally practised. As a rule the serrated denarii are larger and
Somewhat thinner than those with plain edges.
In the bronze coinage several variations are met with of more or less
importance : such as the occurrence of symbols relating in some way to the
history of the moneyers' families, variations in the spelling of the moneyers'
names, and the use of a new type, as shown in the case of the quadrans of
L. Opeimius (see p. 173). A few bronze coins without the moneyers' names are
attributed to this Period (see p. 168).
The moneyers' names are of the same character as in the previous Period.
With one exception, that of the joint issue of L. Calpurnius Piso and Q. Servilius
Caepio (see p. 170), the nomen or cognomen is always accompanied by the prae-
nomen, and the first is generally followed by the patronymic initial, and in a few
instances by the cognomen. The coinage attributed to B.C. 94 was struck by a
triumvirate of the mint, M. Caecilius Metellus Q. f., Q. Fabius Maximus, and
C. Serveilius, and in B.C. 92 we have the most unusual instance of a union of five
moneyers, quinquevirate (see p. 184). These are the only instances of a union
of moneyers during this Period. The only epigraphic point to be noticed is the
Occasional occurrence of the letter L for L.
CLASSIFICATION.—Independently of any historical evidence or other data the
denarius of this Period with the head of Roma appears to fall into three series
or groups. In Series I. it closely resembles in style and type that found on
coins of the previous Period; in Series II. it is in higher relief, and the features
are rigid and have a hard and conventional appearance; and in Series III.
there is a return to a style somewhat approaching that of the denarius of
Series I. Minor varieties connecting the issues of these different series will be
noted in the descriptions of the coins. Direct historical evidence for the
classification of the coins of this Period is supplied by the issue of the quinarius
under the provisions of the Lea: Clodia, the special coinage of L. Calpurnius
Piso and Q. Servilius Caepio (B.C. 100), and the quinquevirate of the mint of
M. Aurelius Scaurus, L. Porcius Licinus, L. Cosconius, L. Pomponius, and
C. Publicius Malleolus, which Count de Salis attributed to B.C. 92.
In addition to the evidence of fabric and history, we have from this time
that of finds, which is of the highest importance for the determination of the
succession of the issues. In ascertaining the date of burial of a hoard it is
necessary not only to note the various issues which it contains, the number of
specimens of each issue and their state of preservation, but also to take
CIRC. B.C. 102–92; A.U.C. 652–662 161
into consideration changes in the coinage, such as the introduction of new
denominations, the cessation of others, and any alteration in the standard of
weight, and the circumstances under which the hoard may have been concealed.
For purposes of comparison the contents of the chief finds of coins of the
Republican and early Augustan times have been set out in tabular form, and
will be found in the “Tables of Finds” at the end of this work. In the
Introduction an account of each deposit, in chronological order, will be given;
but, for convenience of reference, under each Period such finds as specially refer
to the coinage of that epoch will be separately mentioned.
The hoards which would appear to have been concealed between
B.C. 102–92 are those of Masera (near Padua), Riccia (near Beneventum),
S. Giovanni Incarico (near the ancient site of Fregellae), Roncarolo (Piedmont),
and Pozoblanco (Andalusia).
The Maserá hoard, discovered in 1881, consisted of 1,034 denarii and 169
victoriati. According to Count de Salis's classification the latest coins in the
find are those of M. Caecilius Metellus and Q. Fabius Maximus (B.C. 94), and N.
Fabius Pictor and C. Caecilius Metellus (B.C. 93), struck at the Roman mint; and
of C. Serveilius M. f. (rev. Dioscuri) and Ti. Weturius (B.C. 93) struck in Italy. As
there were no specimens of the coinages of the quinquevirate of the mint (B.C. 92),
M. Aurelius Scaurus, L. Porcius Licinus, L. Cosconius, L. Pomponius, and C.
Poblicius Malleolus, the burial of the hoard probably took place late in B.C. 93, or
during the early part of the next year. On account of the large number of well-
preserved early denarii and victoriati without symbols or moneyers' names in
this hoard, Garrucci (Scavi, 1883, p. 224) was of opinion that it seemed to be
rather a numismatic collection of a private individual than representative of the
coinage which was in circulation at the time of its burial. .
The contents of the Riccia hoard, which was unearthed in 1873, were
precisely similar to those of Maserä, as it comprised 3,005 denarii and 150
victoriati, and no quinarii; 89 denarii of the Dioscuri type, and 121 victoriati
being of the early period, without symbols or moneyers' names. The latest
issues represented were similar to those in the Masera hoard, and there were no
specimens of the coinage of the quinquevirate of B.C. 92. It is therefore evident
that the Maserā and Riccia hoards were buried within a few months of each
other. On account of the presence of so many specimens of the victoriatus
and the absence of the quinarius, which was revived under the Lea, Clodia
(circ. B.C. 103–102), Mommsen (Zeit, für Num., 1875, p. 44) was of opinion
that this hoard was buried about B.C. 125, in which year the revolt among
the Italian cities was suppressed by the praetor L. Opeimius, and the town
of Fregellae was razed to the ground. It was not far from the site of that city
that the hoard was unearthed. -
The S. Giovanni Incarico hoard, found in 1892, though of the same period
as those of Maserā and Riccia, differed somewhat in its contents, as, with the
exception of perhaps a few early victoriati, it was composed of denarii only. It
originally consisted of about 800 pieces, which were quickly dispersed; but of
these, 202 specimens, including one early victoriatus without symbol, came into
the hands of Prof. G. de Petra, who has supplied a list of them (Riv. Ital., 1893,
p. 99). The latest pieces of the Roman mint are those of M. Caecilius Metellus
Y
162 COINAGE OF ROME
and Q. Fabius Maximus (B.c. 94), and of N. Fabius Pictor and C. Caecilius
Metellus (B.C. 93), the coinage of the quinquevirate of B.C. 92 again not being
represented; whilst of the local mints there were specimens of the issues of
C. Serveilius M. f. and Ti. Veturius (B.c. 93). All these coins are described
by Prof. de Petra as being “new,” i.e. unworn by circulation. The burial
of this hoard therefore coincides in date with those of Masera and Riccia.
Though none of these three hoards was known to Count de Salis, it
would appear that, in spite of Mommsen's view, they confirm the former's
classification of the coins of this Period.
The Roncarolo hoard, found in 1853, was of much less extent than the
preceding, and comprised only about 150 pieces, of which 93 were carefully
examined and described by Sig. Luigi Bruzza (Mommsen, Hist, mon, rom., t. ii.,
p. 123). It contained only two early denarii without symbols; but of the latest
issues struck in Rome there were present the coins of Q. Fabius Maximus
(B.c. 94) and N. Fabius Pictor (B.C. 93), and most important of all, those of
L. Porcius Licinus, L. Cosconius, and L. Pomponius, three members of the
quinquevirate of the mint (B.C. 92); and of the issues struck in Italy, there
were coins of Ti. Veturius and M. Fourius Philus (B.C. 93–92). The presence
of the coins of the three members of the quinquevirate of B.C. 92 and of those of
M. Fourius Philus proves that the Roncarolo hoard is a little later in date
than the preceding ones, and that it was buried shortly after B.C. 92 or at the
end of that year.
The Pozoblanco hoard bears the same similarity to that of Roncarolo as the
Riccia and S. Giovanni Incarico hoards do to that of Masera. It is said to
have contained about 1,000 pieces, but only 84 were submitted to Señ. Zobel at
Madrid for examination (Mommsen, Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., pp. 131, 132). The
latest issues represented were practically the same as those in the Roncarolo
hoard, except that specimens of the coinage of each member of the quinquevirate
of B.C. 92 occurred. Of the coinage of M. Fourius Philus (ITALY, B.C. 92) there
were no less than sixteen specimens à flewr de coin. This hoard was therefore
buried also in B.C. 92 or soon after. -
Up to this point Count de Salis has arranged the coins struck at the Roman
mint in Periods, each one extending over several years, but from B.C. 102 down
to B.C. 37, from which date the placing of the moneyers' names on the coins was
for a time discontinued, he has attempted a more minute classification, i.e.
year by year. An exception has been made in the issues which are attributed to
B.C. 99–95 (see pp. 171 f.). From this it is evident that Count de Salis was of
opinion that the mint was always in operation, though the appointment of the
moneyers or the exercise of their duties was irregular, for in many cases he
attributes only one ordinary issue to a year, and often only two, and in some
instances he exceeds the number of three. Special issues are exceptional, as
they were not struck by the ordinary moneyers. Whilst preserving Count de
Salis's classification, we shall continue to group the coinages in Periods, the
extent of each one being based on the evidence of finds, on changes in the
monetary system, or on other historical data.
CIRC. B.C. 102 ; A.U.C. 652 163
SERIES I."
Metal
* * Obverse Reverse
cºnd Size
No. Weight
Circ. B.C. 102 ; A.U.C. 652
NA. VARG
(MARCUS WARGUNTEIUS) :
Denarius
1068| 60-0 || AR 85 | Head of Roma r., in high RoMA (in exergue). Ju-
relief, wearing winged piter, naked to the waist,
helmet, ornamented with in quadriga r., horses
gryphon's head ; the walking; he holds branch
visor in three pieces in r. hand and thunder-
and peaked; earring of bolt and reins in 1.
plain single drop, and [Pl. xxix. 1.]
necklace; hair falling in (de Salis Coll.)
three close locks; under
chin, X ; behind head,
NA. \A\G
1069 59-0 || AR “S | Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Sermis
1070 || 130-0 | AF 1-0 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; RoNAA below Prow r. ;
behind, S before, S.; above, M .
V&G
(Cracherode Coll.)
* The denarii of this series resemble in fabric those of the preceding Period (see above,
p. 160).
* This moneyer is only known to history from his coins. He may have been the father of
L. Wargunteius, an accomplice of Catiline. He is the only member of his gens of whom coins
are known. -
The type, fabric and style of his denarii are so precisely similar to those of Q. Caecilius
Metellus Pius, whose coins are placed at the end of the previous Period, that Borghesi (CEuvres
compl., t. ii., p. 156) was of opinion that with Cnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (see p. 151)
they formed a triumvirate of the mint. Babelon (vol. ii., p. 525) would, however, associate
M. Acilius M. f. with the two first-named moneyers, but Count de Salis has attributed the
coins of Acilius to a slightly later date (see below, p. 169). The head of Roma is in high
relief, of somewhat crude design, and with the features rigid and hard.
There are hybrids, consisting of the obverse of the denarius of M. Wargunteius and the
reverses of those of L. Antestius Gragulus (see p. 142) and of M. Sergius Silus (Babelon,
vol. ii., p. 442); of the reverse of the denarius of M. Vargunteius and the obverse of that of
C. Cassius Longinus (see p. 153); and another, with the obverse of the denarius of Marcus
or Caius Aburius (see p. 146, note 2).
164 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight cº, Obverse Reverse
Triens
1071 93.0 AE 75 | Head of Minerva r., wear- Similar; before prow, 3
ing crested Corinthian :
helmet; behind, 3
1072 | 69-0 | AF, -85 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxix. 2.]
Quadrans'
1073 64-0 | AF 75 Head of young Hercules | Similar; before prow, :
r., wearing lion's skin;
behind, 3 [Pl. xxix. 3..]
1074 59-0 || AE 75 Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
1075 44-0 || AE 6 || Similar. Similar.
C. EGATVE|. C. F
(CAIUS EGNATULEIUS CAII FILIUS)?
Quinarius 3
1076 29.5 | AR 65 | Head of Apollo r., laureate; RoNAA (in exergue). Vic-
below, O (Quinarius); tory standing 1., inscrib-
w behind, C. EGATVEl. C. F. ing shield attached to
trophy, which is sur-
mounted by a helmet,
ornamented with the
horns of a bull; at the
foot of the trophy is a
Gaulish military trumpet
(carmya); in the field
before Victory the letter
O. (Quinarius).
| There is also the sextans of this issue with the caduceus behind the bust of Mercury
(Babelon, vol. ii., p. 526, no. 5). A variety of the quadrans reads, on the reverse, M. V&
(Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 96).
* This moneyer appears only to be known from his coins, and to have been the sole
member of his gens who held office at the mint. The only other member of the Egnatuleia
gens of whom there is any record during the period of the Republic is L. Egnatuleius, who
was quaestor B.C. 44, and commanded the 4th Legion under Mark Antony, and later on under
Octavius. C. Egnatuleius struck only the quinarius in silver.
* The revival of the quinarius, the issue of which at the Roman mint had been in abeyance
since about B.C. 217, appears to have been due to the provisions of the Lea, Clodia, circ.
B.C. 103 (see above, p. 158). The date of the Lea Clodia is a little uncertain, but as it is very
probable that these quinarii of Egnatuleius were struck soon after the passing of that law, it
may be placed at some time during B.C. 103–102. The initial O. (Quinarius), the mark of
value, is given in the earliest issues of this coin. Lenormant (Mom. dans l’Ant., vol. ii., p. 293)
CIRC. B.C. 101 ; A.U.C. 653 165
No. 71 eight dº. Obverse Reverse
1077 | 28.5 | AR 65 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxix. 4.]
(de Salis Coll.)
1078 || 19.8 || AR 6 || Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Circ. B.C. 101 ; A.U.C. 653
T. CLOVL) OR CLOV|
(TITUS CLOULIUS)
Denarius
1079 || 61-0 || AR 75 | Head of Roma r., wear- T. CLOVLl (in exergue).
ing winged helmet, &c., Victory in biga r., horses
similar to no. 1068; the galloping with high
earring is of plain single action; she holds reins
drop ; behind, wreath ; with both hands and
below, RONAA ; no mark restrains the horses; be-
of value. low which, ear of corn.
(Cracherode Coll.)
interpreted the letter O. under the head of Apollo as the initial of Quaestor, and therefore
suggests that C. Egnatuleius may have been one of the quaestors of Marius in the wars against
the Teutones and the Cimbri, and that his coins were struck for the use of the army in B. c. 102.
What favours Lenormant’s view is that the reverse type certainly refers to some Gaulish
victory, in which, no doubt, a member of the Egnatuleia gens had taken part. Comparing, how-
ever, the coins of C. Egnatuleius with those of T. Cloulius (see p. 167) in regard to fabric,
there is every reason to believe that both issues were struck at Rome, and moreover, it will be
seen that the letter O on the obverse of the coins of Egnatuleius never actually follows his
name, as it would in the case of its being a title, but is placed slightly apart and immediately
under the head of Apollo. We are therefore disposed to consider that this letter on the
obverse is intended for the mark of value as it is on the reverse. As to the association of
C. Egnatuleius, T. Cloulius, and P. Vettius Sabinus in a triumvirate of the mint see below,
p. 166, 221.
R Eckhel (Doct. mum. vet., vol. v., pp. 92, 94) mentions a hybrid with the obverse of the
quinarius of Egnatuleius and the reverse of the quinarius of T. Cloulius; and another with the
reverse of the denarius of Manius Acilius Glabrio (Babelon, vol. i., p. 106, no. 8). Bahrfeldt
(Num. Zent., 1896, p. 112) describes a third with the reverse of the quinarius of C. Fundanius
(see below, p. 233).
1 This moneyer is uncertain. Borghesi (CEuvres compl., t. ii., p. 306) has identified him
with T. Cloulius, a native of Terracina, who a little before B. c. 80 was murdered by his sons,
this crime being the subject of a famous lawsuit (see Cicero, pro Sec. Rosc., c. xxiii.; Wal.
Maximus, viii. 1, 13). Very little is known of the Cloulia (or, as it is otherwise given, Cloelia
or Cluilia) family beyond that it was patrician and of Alban origin, and that it derived its
name from Clolius, a companion of Aeneas. The last king of Alba is said to have been C.
Cluilius or Cloelius.
The reverse type of the denarius and the wreath on the obverse evidently record some
victory gained by an ancestor of the moneyer, and it is quite possible that the trophy from its
form on the reverse of the quinarius relates to the same event, which we may gather occurred
166 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight º º Obverse Reverse
1080 59.5 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxix. 5.]
1081 58.8 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
(de Salis Coll.)
in Gaul. No attempt appears to have been made to explain the ear of corn on the reverse of
the denarius, which may, however, be connected with some special distribution of corn in the
year that Cloulius held the office of moneyer. This would in some way account for the large
issue of quinarii.
The coinage of T. Cloulius marks two important circumstances. One is the omission for
the first time of the mark of value on the denarius; the other, the use of mint-letters, i.e.
privy marks of the mint, probably connected with the issue of the dies for striking the coins.
These mint-letters, which soon become very general, evidently occurred for the first time on
these quinarii, on which they show three distinct series: (1) with the letter behind the
head of Jupiter; (2) with it below the head; and (3) with it before, under the chin. In each
case the letters extend throughout the alphabet, and are sometimes accompanied by one or
more dots (en satellite), noting probably further sub-divisions of the dies.
There has existed considerable difference of opinion respecting the date of issue of the
demarii and quinarii with the name of T. Cloulius. Mommsen, in his description of the Riccia
hoard (Zeit. für Nunn., 1875, p. 39), has classed the denarii to the latter part of his third period
(i.e. B. c. 134–114; A.U.C. 620–640), and the quinarii to a somewhat later date, after B.C. 104,
the supposed year of the passing of the Lea Clodia, which ordered the re-issue of that
denomination, and he would attribute the two series to two different moneyers, bearing the
same name. Babelon (vol. i., pp. 359, 360) has adopted Mommsen's view, chiefly on
the ground that none of the quinarii were present with the denarii in the Riccia hoard. The
Duc de Blacas (Mommsen, Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 374) considered, on the other hand, that,
whilst the denarius and the quinarius may have been struck by different moneyers, the former,
on account of the absence of the mark of value, could not well have been issued before B.C. 104
(A.U.C. 650); and that the latter, on account of the Lea Clodia, followed it a few years later.
The opinion held by the Count de Salis coincides more closely with that of the Duc de Blacas,
but in bringing down the date of the issue of the denarius three years he classes the two series,
the denarius and quinarius, to the same moneyer. The absence of the quinarius instituted by
the Lea Clodia in the Riccia hoard, as well as in those discovered at Maseră, Roncarolo, and
Pozoblanco, is scarcely an argument in support of Mommsen's theory, as none were present in
any of the recorded finds earlier than those of Carrara and Roncofreddo, the burial of which
could not have occurred before B. c. 84. It seems therefore that the solution to the
chronological sequence of the coins of this period is to be sought for rather in the date to be
attributed to the joint-issue which bears the names of the five different moneyers in conjunction
with those of the censors, L. Licinius Crassus and Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus, described below
(pp. 184 f.), than in the absence of these particular coins from the hoards above mentioned. The
difference in the spelling of the moneyer’s name, T. CLOVLl on the denarius and T. CLOV. I
on the quinarius is not of much importance, as such variations were not unusual at this time.
The similarity of the obverse types of the denarii of T. Cloulius and M. Vargunteius
(see above, p. 163) shows that both issues belong to about the same date, but the absence of
the mark of value on the coins of the former would place them after those of the latter and in
the order given them by Count de Salis.
Mommsen, Babelon, and others have held that C. Egnatuleius, T. Cloulius, and P. Vettius
Sabinus (see p. 221) were colleagues at the mint, as they all struck quinarii, but the
variations of the reverse types and the occurrence of single mint-letters on those of T. Cloulius,
and of double mint-letters on those of P. Vettius Sabinus, rather suggest separate issues
divided by short intervals. Moreover, the coins of Egnatuleius differ from those of the other
two moneyers in having on the obverse the head of Apollo instead of that of Jupiter. The
Duc de Blacas (Mommsen, Hist. mon. rom., t. ii., p. 377), whilst admitting the strong
resemblance between the quinarii of T. Cloulius and P. Vettius Sabinus, was, however, of
opinion that they differed so considerably in type from those of C. , Egnatuleius that the
three moneyers did not hold office together. There is one other point of resemblance between
the quinarii of T. Cloulius and those of P. Vettius Sabinus, which is in the dots which
generally accompany the mint-letters, but even in this respect the coinage of the latter shows a
somewhat further development. -
There is a hybrid consisting of the reverse of the quinarius of T. Cloulius and the obverse
of that of C. Egnatuleius (Bahrfeldt, Zeit. f. Num., 1877, p. 34).
CIRC. B.C. 101; A.U.C. 653
167
No.
1082
1083
1084
1085
1086
1087
1088
1089
1090
1091 ||
1092
1093
1094
1095
1096
1097
1098
Head of Jupiter r., laureate;
Obverse
Reverse
Quinarius
With letter behind head on obverse
behind, letter A
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
head.
Similar ;
Similar ;
letter G
letter D
letter E
letter É.
letter F. “
letter 5
letter H
letter H-
letter l''
letter k.
letter N
letter f
T. CLOVI (in the field).
Victory standing r.,
draped, holding palm in
l. hand and with r. plac-
ing wreath on trophy,
supported on the head of
a seated captive, behind
whom is a Gaulish mili-
tary trumpet (carmya); in
the exergue, O (Quin-
arius).
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xxix. 6.]
Similar.
(de Salis Coll.)
Weight
27.4
26-0
24.0
26-0
25.5
25.8
26-0
25-7
24-5
26.6
26-0
30-2
27.5
25-6 ||
28-5
30-0
27.0
Metal
and Size
AR. 6
AR. 65
AR. 6
AR. 6
AR 6
AR. 6
AR. 65
AR 7
AR 6
AR, 7
AR 7
AR. 65
AR. 65
AR 6
AR -6
AR. 65
AR -6
letter T
Similar.
|With letter under head on obverse
letter “A under | Similar.
letter C Similar.
letter ‘D. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
168
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
1099
1100
1101
1102
1103
1104
1105
1106
1107
1108
1109
1110
1111
1112
1113
1114
1115
Weight
26.5
26-0
26.6
24-9
28-3
26-0
28-3
24-7
27.5
26-2
23.6
26-0
23.2
27-0
24-5
26.5
104-0
Metal
and Size
AR. 6
AR. 65
AR. 6
AR 65
AR 65
AR, .65
AR -6
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
head.
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar;
Obverse Reverse
letter "F Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
letter G Similar.
letter L' Similar.
letter N Similar.
[Pl. xxix. 7.]
(de Salis Coll.)
letter O Similar.
letter T Similar.
With letter before head on obverse
letter B. before | Similar.
[Pl. xxix. 8.]
letter Č Similar.
letter D Similar.
letter ‘E Similar.
letter F. Similar.
letter G Similar.
letter ‘l Similar.
letter R. Similar.
letter S. - Similar.
letter V Similar.
BRONZE 1
|Without momeyers' names
Sennis
Head of Jupiterr., laureate; RoMA below Prow r.;
behind, S
before, S
1 The style and weight of these anonymous bronze coins show that they belong to quite
the end of the 2nd or to the beginning of the 1st century B.C.
Count de Salis has attributed
them to circ. B.C. 101, as T. Cloulius did not strike any bronze money.
CIRC. B.C. 100; A.U.C. 654 169
Metal
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
Quadrans'
1116 | 73-0 || AE 75 | Head of young Hercules Similar; before prow, ;
r., wearing lion's skin; Q
behind, 3
1117 | 60-0 || AE 75 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxix. 9..]
Circ. B.C. 100; A.U.C. 654
NA. ACIL!VS NA. F
(MARCUS ACILIUS MARCI FILIUS)”
Denarius
1118 60-5 | AR “75 | Head of Roma r., wear- RoMA (in exergue). Her-
ing winged helmet, &c., cules, naked, in quadriga.
similar to no. 1068; the r., horses walking; he
earring is of plain single | holds club in r, hand and
drop; behind, × ; around, trophy and reins in 1.
between two dotted lines, (Cracherode Coll.)
NA. ACILIVS. NA. F.
1119 || 54-3 || AR “75 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxix. 10.]
Sermis
1120 | 125-0 || AE 85 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; RoNWA below Prow r. ;
behind, S before, S.; above, NA. ACl
VI §
[Pl. xxix. 11.]
1121 | 120-0 | AF, -85 | Similar. Similar.
* Other denominations are the triens, sextans, and uncia.
* This moneyer is otherwise unknown if his praenomen be interpreted Marcus. The
praenomen of the Acilia gens, the chief cognomina of which were Balbus and Glabrio, appears
principally to have been Manius, the abbreviations of which were M’, Mn., or Man. Babelon
(vol. i., p. 103) suggests that the moneyer may be the Acilius mentioned by Boeckh (C. I. G.,
2485), who was the promoter of a law in B. c. 105, and who had been a tribune in B.C. 123 or
122. He was not the Manius A cilius Glabrio who, as tribune of the plebs in B. c. 104, carried
the Lea, Acilia de Repetundis. Garrucci (Sylloge, no. 1562) gives a Latin inscription in which
the name of C. Acilius M. f. occurs; and another (no. 1121) with the name of M. Acilius M. f.
Caninus, who was quaestor wrbis circ. B. c. 28.
The reverse type of the denarius evidently records the victory of Manius Acilius Glabrio
over Antiochus III. of Syria in B.C. 191, after which he made a special sacrifice to Hercules on
Mount Oeta. The resemblance of the reverse type to that of the coins of Q. Caecilius
Metellus (p. 156) and M. Vargunteius (p. 163), and also of the obverse type to that of the coins
of T. Cloulius (p. 165), shows that these issues belong to the same period. The specimens
which occurred in the Riccia hoard are described by Mommsen as “newly struck.” (Zeit.
f. Num., 1875, p. 38). The encircling of the head of Roma with the moneyer's name is an
innovation of the time.
+- Z
170
COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight º 6. Obverse Reverse
Quadrans 1
1122 || 76.0 | AF. 75 | Head of young Hercules r., Similar; before prow, ; ;
wearing lion's skin ; be- above, NW. ACILl C
hind, 3
1123 76.0 | AF. 7 || Similar. Similar.
1124 65-0 | AF. 7 || Similar. Similar.
B.C. 100; A.U.C. 654
T ISO : CAETIO
(ILUCIUS CALPURNIUS] PISO:
[QUINTUS SERVILIUS] CAEPIO)?
Denarius
"With symbol on obverse
1125 61.5 R 75|Head of Saturn r, bearded AD. FRV EMV. tag fru-
and laureate ; behind, EX. S. C (
harpa ; around, TISO . mentum emumdum, ea: Sema-
CAEP IO . O. (Quaes- tus consulto) (in exergue).
tores); below, symbol, Two male togate figures,
al"YOW. L. Calpurnius Piso and
; .Q. Servilius Caepio,
seated l. On the sub-
sellium ; the one on the
left looks back, whilst
the other extends his r.
hand; the subsellium is
flanked at each end by
an ear of corn.
1126 58.4 || AR 75 Similar; symbol, bow. Similar.
[Pl. xxix. 12.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
* The only other denomination known of this moneyer is the triens (Babelon, vol. i.,
p. 104, no. 6).
* The occasion of the issue of the coins bearing these names has been revealed to us by
On the denarius, the semis, and the triens the old form of V for L occurs.
the following passage from the treatise on rhetoric attributed to Cicero, and addressed ad C.
Herennium (i. 12, 21): Qwwm L. Saturninus legem, frumentariam de semissibws et trientibus
latwrws esset, Q. Caepio, qui id temporis quaestor wrbanus erat, docuit sematum, aerariwm
pati mon posse largitionem tamtam. From this passage we learn that Q. Caepio was quaestor
wrbanus in the year in which L. Appuleius Saturninus proposed his lea, frumentaria de semis-
sibus et trientibus, by which the State was to let the people buy corn at a semis and a triems
(i.e. § of an as) for a modius. This occurred during the second tribuneship of Saturninus in
B.c. IOO, and we have, therefore, the precise date of the issue of these coins. The chief oppo-
sition to this law came from Q. Caepio, who protested against it, on the ground that such a
largess would put too great a strain on the public treasury. The proposal of Saturninus was
at first rejected, but subsequently carried. To enable the quaestors to fulfil the provisions of
the Appuleian law, the Senate ordered them to strike this special issue of coins. The order is
expressed by the legend EX S. C., which now occurs for the first time.
Q. Servilius Caepio, the quaestor wrbamws of B.C. 100, was probably the son of the consul of
CIRC. B.C. 99–95; A.U.C. 655–659 171
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
1127 58.0 | AR 7 || Similar; symbol, trident. Similar.
(Nott)
1128 61.2 | AR 75 Similar ; symbol, above | Similar.
head, wheel ? (Nott)
SERIE. S II.1
Circ. B. 99–95; A.U.C. 655–659
\ . TOST . A_B
(LUCIUS POSTUMIUS ALBINUS) 2
Denarius
1129 602 || AR 75 | Head of Roma r., in high RoNAA (in exergue). Mars in
relief, wearing winged quadriga r., horses gallop-
helmet, &c., similar to ing; he holds trophy in
no. 1068 ; the features r. hand, and spear, shield
are stiff and formal; the and reins in 1. ; below
earring consists of a horses, L. TOST - A B
triple drop ; under chin, [Pl. xxix. 13.]
X; behind head, flamen's (Nott)
Cap.
that name in B.C. 106. He was subsequently accused of treason, and in B. c. 91 he deserted the
cause of the senate and espoused that of the equites, and later on, in B.C. 90, took part in the
Social War, serving as legate of the consul P. Rutilius Lupus. He fell in an ambush laid by
Pompaedius Silo, the leader of the Italians. His colleague as quaestor was L. Calpurnius
Piso Caesoninus, probably the son of the consul of the same name, B.C. 112. He appears to
have had charge at a later date of the manufactory of arms at Rome during the Marsic War.
The head of Saturn on the obverse with the harpa, the symbol of the god, is an allusion to
the aerariwm Satwrmī, which was under the control of the quaestores wrbani, and from whence
were drawn the funds voted by the senate. On the reverse are represented the two quaestors
seated on the subselliwm, flanked on each side by corn-stalks, which recall the circumstances of
this special issue.
These coins enable us to fix the date of two important innovations in the denarius; one
being the change in the obverse type, the head of Roma being supplanted by that of another
divinity; the other being the use of a changing symbol, to mark the different series of dies
employed for this coinage ; as in the case of the first issue of the quinarius by T. Cloulius,
when letters of the alphabet were employed. The use of these symbols and letters soon
becomes of common occurrence.
Bahrfeldt (Zeit. f. Num., 1877, p. 36) describes a hybrid formed of the reverse of the
denarius of Piso and Caepio and the obverse of the denarius of L. Caecilius Metellus, A.
Postumius Albinus, and C. Poblicius Malleolus (Babelon, vol. i., p. 277, no. 45), and another
with the reverse of the denarius of P. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus (Babelon, vol. i., p. 402,
no. 26). There are no bronze coins of this issue.
* Besides the difference in the style and form of the head of Roma, which characterizes
the denarii of this series, and which has already been mentioned (see p. 160), the earring
which she wears consists always of a triple drop. This style of head and form of earring
appear to have lasted a few years, as they occur on the coinages of several moneyers, a
circumstance which at least suggests a sequence of issues.
* This moneyer is uncertain. Cavedoni (Nuovi Studi, p. 24) thinks that he was a son
172 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight º'. Obverse Reverse
1130 60-0 | AR 85 | Similar. Similar; moneyer's name,
L. T. OST . A-B
1131 || 59.5 | AR “75 Similar. Similar.
1132 59.4 || AR “75 Similar. Similar.
L. ODEIM
(LUCIUS OPEIMIUS) '
Denarius
1133 604 || AR 7 | Head of Roma r., in high RoNAA (in exergue). Vic-
relief, wearing winged tory,” naked to the waist,
helmet, &c., similar to in quadriga, r., horses
no. 1129; the earring is galloping ; she holds
of triple drop ; under wreath in r. hand and
chin, X ; behind head, her dress and reins in 1. ;
wreath. below horses, L. Oſ'EINAI
(Blacas Coll.)
1134 || 60-3 || AR 7 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxix. 14.]
1135 | 59-7 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
. (grandson P) of L. Postumius Sp. f. L. m. Albinus, who was flamen martialis B.C. 168, curule
aedile B.C. 161, and consul B. c. 154. The flamen’s cap, apea, on the obverse would certainly
connect him with the moneyer, but the reverse type appears rather to refer to the victories of
L. Postumius A. f. A. n. Albinus, the consul of B. c. 173, the conqueror of the Waccaei and
Lusitani, than to the priestly dignity of a flamen martialis as suggested by Borghesi (CEuvres
compl., t. i., p. 358). There are no bronze coins of this moneyer.
In addition to the remarkable similarity of style and obverse type between these denarii and
those of L. Opeimius, M. Opeimius, and Sextus Julius Caisar, it will be noticed that each of
these moneyers places a special symbol behind the head of Roma. It is therefore probable
that some of them may have been colleagues at the mint.
* Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 333) has identified this moneyer with L. Opeimius,
who was consul B.C. 121, but Count de Salis's classification will not admit of so early a date
for these coins. This moneyer, who was probably closely related to M. Opeimius, whose coins
are next described, may, however, be the L. Opeimius who served in the army of Q. Lutatius
Catulus, the consul of B. c. 102, and obtained great credit for killing a Cimbrian who had
challenged him (Ampelius, c. 22).
* This reverse type of Victory and the wreath on the obverse probably record the
victories of Q. Opeimius, who during his consulship in B.C. 154 defeated the Oxybii and Deciatae,
Ligurian tribes, who had attacked Massilia, Antipolis, and Nicaea. The colleague of Q.
Opeimius in the consulship was L. Postumius Albinus, and the possible colleague at the mint
of this moneyer was of the same name.
The similarity between the denarii of L. Opeimius, L. Postumius Albinus, M. Opeimius,
and Sextus Julius Caisar has been noted above. Zobel (Mommsen, Hist. mom. rom., t. ii.,
p. 333, note 1) has noticed the similarity of fabric of the coins of L. and M. Opeimius and
Q. Philippus (see below, p. 175), who, he thinks, formed a triumvirate of the mint.
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 27) describes a hybrid in the Bignami collection, now in
the Capitoline Museum, Rome, with the obverse of the denarius of L. Opeimius and the reverse
of that of T. Quinctius (see above, p, 154).
CIRC. B.C. 99–95; A.U.C. 655–659 173
Metal
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
Sermis
165-0 || AE 1:15 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate;
behind, S
RONWA below Prow r. ;
before, S ; above, L.
OPEINA] and wreath.
[Babelon, vol. ii., p. 273, no. 13.] I
Quadrans
1136|| 69-0 | AF. 75 | Head of young Hercules r., L. oſ'EIſMI] ar.
v.a.a. ii., ii. p. RoNWA" divided by
hind, 3 Club ; all within laurel-
O wreath.?
[Pl. xxix. 15.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
NA. Oſ-E|NA|
(MARCUS OPEIMIUS)3
Denarius
1137 60:7 | AR “75 | Head of Roma r., in high RoNAA (in exergue). Apollo
relief, wearing winged in biga r., horses gallop-
helmet, &c., similar to ing ; he is about to
no. 1129; the earring is discharge an arrow from
of triple drop ; under his bow ; quiver attached
chin, X ; behind head, to his shoulders; below
tripod. horses, NA. OPEINA
* This illustration is copied from Cohen (Mom. rép. rom., pl. lxi., no. 5), who states that
the coin was in the Fénelon-Farez collection. It is now in the Bahrfeldt collection.
* This type is exceptional, but a similar change is found on the joint coinage of Cn. Domi-
tius, M. Junius Silanus, and Q. Curtius (Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 105,106), which Count de Salis has
attributed to a local mint and to a somewhat earlier date (see ITALY, B.C. 125–103). As in
that case, the club may relate to the head of Hercules on the obverse, and the wreath on this
coin, as well as on the semis, is evidently connected with the same events as illustrated by
the type of the denarius.
Cohen (op. cit., p. 235, no. 12) describes a quadrans with the usual reverse type, a prow,
and with the moneyer's name reading L, OTE I.
* This moneyer, unknown to history except from his coins, was probably related to
L. Opeimius (see above), and from the similarity of fabric of their coins they may have held
office together at the mint. The representation of Apollo on the reverse in connection with
the tripod on the obverse suggests that at some time some member of the Opeimia gens may
either have been one of the Sacerdotes quindecimviri Apollinis or may have been associated in
the celebration of the Ludi Apollinares.
There are no bronze coins known of this issue.

174 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight ..". Obverse Reverse
1138|| 60-3 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
1139| 602 | AR 75 |Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxix. 16.]
(de Salis Coll.)
SEX. IV | . CAISAR
(SEXTUS JULIUS CAISAR)
Denarius
1140|| 605 || AR 7 | Head of Roma r., in high Venus Genetrix, crowned by
relief, wearing winged Cupid, in biga r.,” horses
helmet, &c., similar to galloping; she holds reins
no. 1129; the earring is with both hands; above,
of triple drop ; under RONAA ; below horses,
chin, X ; behind head, SEX-IV l ; in exergue,
anchor. CAISAR
[Pl. xxix. 17.]
1141 || 59-0 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
1142 58-7 || AR •7 || Similar, Similar.
* Babelon (vol. ii., p. 3), who attributes these coins to circ. B. c. 134, identifies the moneyer
with Sextus Julius Caesar, who was praetor urbanus B.C. 123, but according to Count de Salis’s
classification this identification would not be possible; nor can he be the consul of that name of
B. c. 91. CAISAR for CAESAR appears to occur only on coins, but in inscriptions Al for AE
in proper names is not infrequent (see C.I.L., vol. i., p. 600, Indea, grammaticus).
The similarity of fabric, &c., between the coins of Sextus Julius Caisar and those of L.
Postumius Albinus, and Lucius and Marcus Opeimius has already been noted (see above,
p. 172), but we are unable to recognize, as remarked by Zobel (Amin. dell’Inst. arch., 1863,
p. 48), the “very great resemblance " between the coins of Sextus Julius Caisar and those
of P. Nerva and M. Cipius, which Count de Salis has assigned to local mints (see ITALY,
B.C. 99–94). Blacas (Mommsen, Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., p. 349, note 3) confirms our view, and
adds: “Cependant je dois faire remarquer que si l’analogie est frappante entre les deniers de
P. Nerva et de M. Cipius, je ne trouve pas qu'on puisse en dire autant du denier de Sex.
Julius, qui me parait bien différent pour le style et pour la fabrique ; de plus il est frappé sur
un flan très-large et le flan des deux autres deniers est remarquablement petit et épais.”
* This reverse type relates to the origin of the Julia gens, which claimed its descent from
Iulus, the son of Venus and Anchises, and the founder of Alba Longa. The anchor on the
obverse records some naval victory, in which an ancestor of the moneyer held some high
command.
There are no bronze coins known of this issue.
CIRC. B.C. 94; A.U.C. 660 175
No. Weight ...'. 62 Obverse Reverse
- O . TILITVS
(QUINTUS [MARCIUS] PILIPUS) i
Denarius
1143 60:8 || AR 7 | Head of Roma r., in high RoNAA (in exergue). Horse-
relief, wearing winged man, galloping r., with
helmet, &c., similar to spear couched; he is
no. 1129; the earring is dressed in Greek ar-
of triple drop; the neck- mour and wears high
piece of the helmet is crested helmet; * below
ornamented with star; horse, O.. Tºl Llſ'VS ; be-
behind head, 3K hind, Macedonian helmet
with horns.
(Nott)
1144 59.8 || AR “75 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxix. 18.]
Circ. B.C. 94; A.U.C. 660
NA. NAETELLVS O . F
(MARCUS [CAECILIUS] METELLUS
QUINTI FILIUS)3
Denarius
Type I.
1145 || 614 | AR 75 Head of Roma r., in high Macedonian shield, in the
- relief, wearing winged centre of which is an ele-
helmet, &c., similar to phant's head r. ; around
no. 1129; the earring is the shield, M. NAETEL
of triple drop; star on | LVS. O. . F.; the whole
neck-piece of helmet; within laurel-wreath.
under chin, X; behind (Cracherode Coll.)
head, RoNAA (upwards).
* This moneyer is uncertain. He cannot have been, as Mommsen supposes, the father of
L. Marcius Q. f. Q. n. Philippus, who was consul B.C. 91 (Hist. mon. Tom., t. ii., p. 334), but he
may have been his son, who otherwise is not known to history.
* This type evidently refers to the campaign in Macedonia against Perseus, which was
conducted by Q. Marcius Philippus in B. c. 169. The horseman may be intended for Perseus
himself. Borghesi (CEuvres compl., t. i., p. 208) recognised in the warrior Philip W., king of
Macedon, to whom Q. Marcius Philippus was sent as ambassador in B.C. 183. The head of Roma
on the obverse is very similar to that on the preceding coins of L. and M. Opeimius and Sex.
Julius Caisar, whilst the star on the neck-piece of the helmet is also seen on the following
denarii of M. Metellus, Q. Maximus, and C. Serveilius; thus the coins of Q. Philippus seem to
be the connecting link between these issues. Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 64) thinks that
the star was a private mark of the mint. He does not seem to have noticed that it also
occurs on the denarii of Q. Philippus. There are no bronze coins of this issue.
The absence of the aspirate in the name of Philippus, and also the non-duplication of the
letter ſº, is a somewhat late survival of this form of orthography. Earlier examples of
the non-duplication of the consonant are to be found in the names of Cina (L. Cornelius Cinna),
of Cota (M. Aurelius Cotta), of Sula (P. Cornelius Sulla), &c., and of the absence of the
aspirate in Talna (C. Thalna) and Tampilus (Q. Baebius Tamphilus).
* This moneyer and the following, Q. Maximus and C. Serveilius, who evidently formed a
triumvirate of the mint, probably about B.C. 94, issued denarii with different types of reverse,
176 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
and Size
1146 | 60-0 | AR, 7 || Similar. Similar; M. METELVVS.
- O. ſe F * >
[Pl. xxix. 19.]
No. Weight Obverse Reverse
1147| 602 || AR 7 || Similar; RoNWA (down- Similar.
wards). (de Salis Coll.)
Type II."
1148 61-0 || AR 7 | Head of Apollo r., bound Similar; M. METELV.V.S.
with diadem; hair in O . F.
ringlets; under chin, X; [Pl. xxix. 20.]
behind head, RONAA
1149 || 60-3 || AR 7 | Similar. Similar; M. METELLVs.
O . F.
(Cracherode Coll.)
1150 58-6 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar; NW. METEVLVS.
O . F.
(de Salis Coll.)
but each showing with the same two types of obverse, one the head of Roma, the other that
of Apollo.
Mommsen (Hist. mon. Tom., t. ii., p. 339; and Sitzungsberichte der Berl. Akad., 1883,
p. 1152 f.), in order to account for this double obverse type, has proposed to separate the two
series, placing those with the head of Roma about B.C. 114, and those with the head of Apollo
to the time of Sulla, circ. B. c. 81, thus admitting an interval of some thirty or more years
between them. His arguments in favour of this classification are that none of the denarii with
the head of Apollo occurred in the Fiesole, Monte Codruzzo and earlier Spanish hoards, and that
on those with the head of Roma the pointed V is used, whilst the square L always occurs on
the others with the head of Apollo. He, however, admits that at so late a period as B.C. 81
the name of “Roma, " and the mark of value had quite fallen out of use. Against this view
it may be stated: (1) that it is highly improbable that these three moneyers should again,
after a lapse of so many years, have held office together; (2) that the reverse types of the
two series in each case are identical in fabric, and show absolutely no signs of an intervening
period of issue; (3) that the letters V and L are found indiscriminately on both series of issues
of M. Metellus and C. Serveilius; and (4) that Count de Salis's classification renders it quite
possible for both issues to have been contemporaneous. Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 64)
is also in favour of a cortemporarieous issue of the two series. The absence of the Apollo-
headed coins in the Maserä, Riccia, S. Giovanni Incarico, Roncarolo, Fiesole, and Monte
Codruzzo hoards is an argument in favour of their issue at a later date, but their absence may
be perhaps accounted for by their rarity. In fixing the date of the burial of a hoard the
arguments drawn from the absence of some pieces must be treated with caution, as may be
seen also in the case of the denarii and the quinarii of T. Cloulius.
If Count de Salis's date of the issue of these coins be accepted, this moneyer cannot
be identified with M. Caecilius Q. f. Metellus, who was consul B.C. 115. He was more
probably a son of Q. Caecilius Metellus, who was himself a grandson of the celebrated
Q. Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus, and consul B. c. 98.
The type of the reverse relates to the victories gained by members of the Caecilia gens in
Sicily at Panormus in B.C. 251, and in Macedonia in B. c. 148.
The similarity of the obverse type, head of Roma, of the denarii of M. Metellus and his
colleagues, and of those of the preceding moneyers, L. Postumius Albinus, L. and M. Opeimius,
Sex. Julius Caisar, and Q. Philippus lias already been noticed (see above, p. 175). Another
connecting link is the star on the neck-piece of the helmet, which also occurs on the preceding
denarii of Q. Philippus, and on the following ones of Q. Maximus and C. Serveilius. Babelon
(vol. i., p. 269) states that the star occurs occasionally, but Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896,
pp. 63, 64) says that it is found on all the denarii of each moneyer.
* This type was restored by Trajan.
CIRC. B.C. 94; A.U.C. 660 177
No.
1151
1152
1153
1154
1155
1156
Weight
172-0
122-0
96-0
80-0
60-0
50-0
76-0
Metal
and Size
AE '95
AE '95
AE •9
AE •8
AE 8
AE •8
AE •75
Obverse Reverse
Dodrans |
Bust of Vulcan r., draped RoNWA below Prow r.,
and wearing laureate inscribed on the keel
pileus; behind, pincers NA. METELLVS; before,
and marks of value, S. • marks of value, S.;
above, Macedonian shield.
< >
º panthoº. 3.
tf|ſ|A|Sº !
SEW
[Cf. Babelon, vol. i., p. 269, no. 31.]
Sermis
Head of Jupiter r., laureate; Similar; before prow, S
behind, S . . . . (Cracherode Coll.)
Similar. Similar; NM . METEL-L-VS
[Pl. xxix. 21.]
Triens
Head of Minerva r., wearing Similar; before prow, ; ;
crested Corinthian hel- and NW . M.TELLVS :
met ; behind,
Quadrans
Head of young Hercules r., Similar; before prow, ; ;
wearing lion's skin; be- and NM. METEL-L-VS *
hind, 3
Similar. Similar ; NA. WHTELLVS
[Pl. xxix. 22.]
Similar; under head, club. Similar; no legend on keel.”
(Blacas Coll.)
* This is one of the few occurrences of this denomination. We have met with a former
issue of it in the previous Period (see above, p. 153).
* This seems to be the only denomination known without the moneyer's name.
-- A. A








178 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight ...". Obverse Reverse
O. . /\AX
(QUINTUs [FABIUS] MAXIMUS) '
Denarius
Type I.
1157 | 60-7 || AR 7 | Head of Roma r., in high | Cornucopiae crossing”
relief, wearing winged thunderbolt; all . Within
helmet, &c., similar to wreath of corn and poppy
no. 1129; the earring is heads.
of triple drop ; star on [Pl. xxx. 1.]
neck-piece of helmet ;
under chin, X; behind
head, RONWA ; before,
O. : MAX
1.158 60-4 || AR 75 Similar. Similar.
Type II.
1159 60-7 || AR 65 | Head of Apollo r., laureate; Similar.
hair rolled back and fall- [Pl. xxx. 2.]
ing in two locks down (Cracherode Coll.)
the neck; under chin, X;
2
before head, lyre; behind,
RONWA ; below, O... WAX
Semis
1160 146.0 AE 9 Head of Jupiterr., laureate; RoNWA below Prow r. ;
behind, S before, S; above, O. .
/VAX
Quadrans &
1161 || 71.0 AE -65 | Head of young Hercules | Similar; before prow, ;
r., wearing lion's skin; O
below, club ; behind, 3 [Pl. xxx. 3..]
O (Blacas Coll.)
1 If these coins are to be attributed to the first decade of the 1st cent. B.C., this moneyer
cannot be identified with Q. Fabius Maximus Eburnus, who was praetor B. c. 118 and consul
B. c. 116; nor with Q. Fabius Maximus, who was consul B.C. 45. He evidently belonged to an
intermediate generation. He was a colleague at the mint of M. Metellus and C. Serveilius
(see pp. 175, 179).
2 This reverse type is identical with that on bronze coins of Valentia in Spain, which also
have a helmeted head (Roma P) on the obverse (Heiss, Mon. ant, de l’Esp., pl. xxviii., nos. 1-5).
It may be an allusion to the victory gained near that city by Q. Fabius Maximus Aemilianus
over Wiriathus, B.C. 144, or to the subsequent success of Q. Fabius Maximus Servilianus in the
same district, B.C. 142 (Mommsen, Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 338, note).
* Babelon (vol. i., p. 483) describes an as and a triens which he would attribute to this issue;
the former he states to be in the Museum at Copenhagen, the latter at Berlin. The as is probably
a mis-described piece, the legend of which should be read /WA (i.e. Matienus, see above, p. 82) as
CIRC. B.C. 94; A.U.C. 660 179
No. Weight ...; º, Obverse Reverse
1162 | 66-0 | AE 65 | Similar. Similar.
1163 | 62-0 || AE 75 | Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
1164 60-0 | AF 65 Similar. Similar.
1165 | 40-0 || AE -65 Similar. Similar.
C. SERVEIL
(CAIUS SERVEILIUS) '
Denarius
Type I.
1166 61-6 || AR 75 | Head of Roma r., in high C. SERVE IL (in exergue).
relief, wearing winged Horseman (M. Servilius
helmet, &c., similar to Pulex Geminus),” in ar-
no. 1129; the earring is mour and with shield
of triple drop ; star on inscribed M (Marcus),
neck-piece of helmet; galloping 1., and piercing
under chin, X; behind with his spear another
head, lituus; below, horseman, who flies be-
RONAA fore him, and is armed
with sword and shield.
[Pl. xxx. 4.]
(Nott)
1167 || 60.7 | AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
no such denomination can be attributed to this moneyer, its issue being still in abeyance (see
above, p. 117). Respecting the triens, Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 116) adds that he has
ascertained from Dr. Dressel that no such coin reading O. , WAX is in the Berlin Cabinet.
1 This moneyer is uncertain, but he may have been the C. Servilius, a Roman citizen
residing in Sicily, who was publicly scourged by Verres, circ. B.C. 73. He could not have
been C. Servilius M. f. Augur, the accuser of Lucullus, who perished at Asculum in B.C. 90,
nor C. Servilius, who succeeded Lucullus in the government of Sicily, circ. B.C. 104; yet, like
them, he evidently traced his descent from M. Servilius Pulex Geminus. We meet with
another series of coins about this time bearing the moneyer's name C. Serveilius M. f., which
Count de Salis has attributed to a local mint (see ITALY, B.C. 93; and Babelon, vol. ii., p. 444,
No. 1). It is not impossible that the two issues were struck by the same moneyer.
* M. Servilius Pulex Geminus, who is represented in this type, was elected augur in
B.C. 211, filling that office for about forty years, and consul in B.C. 202. He is said to have
received wounds in twenty-three single combats and to have been victorious in all. (Plutarch,
Pawlºws Aemilius, xxxi.) See also denarii of M. Serveilius, cf. p. 229.
C. Serveilius, M. Metellus, and Q. Maximus formed a triumvirate of the mint (see
above, pp. 175, 178). The head of Apollo on the coins of Q. Maximus and C. Serveilius is
similar, but it differs from that on the coins of M. Metellus in the arrangement of the hair
and in being laureate instead of diademed. The Apollo head, as on coins of Metellus, not
infrequently occurs on later issues. C. Serveilius varied his coinage from that of his colleagues
in using a mint-letter, which is placed behind the head of Apollo. This is the first occurrence
of the use of the mint-letter on the denarius; hitherto it had only occurred on the quinarii of
T. Cloulius, struck a few years earlier (see above, p. 167). The issue was, however, a small
one, and the first two letters of the alphabet only as mint-marks are recorded. This variation
in the letter does not appear to have been previously noticed.
180 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
Type II.
With letter on obverse
1168 60-3 || AR 7 | Head of Apollo r., laureate ; ; Similar.
hair rolled back and [Pl. xxx. 5.]
falling in two locks down
the neck; under chin, X;
behind head, lituus sur-
mounted by the letter A ;
below, RONAA
1169 || 61-8 || AR “7 | Similar; above lituus, the Similar.
letter B (Cracherode Coll.)
1170 59.5 | AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
Sermis
152-0 | AF 1-0 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; RoNAA below Prow r. ;
behind, S inscribed on keel, C. SER
\El Ll ; before, S.; above,
lion galloping r.
[Babelon, vol. ii., p. 447, no. 8.]
Quadrans'
1171 || 77-6 || AE 7 | Head of young Hercules r., Similar; before prow, ; ;
- & º O 9
wearing lion's skin; be- O
:- -] e above, two ears of corn
hind, 3
©
crossed.
1 Babelon (vol. ii., p. 447, no. 9) describes also the triens, the type of which shows nothing
peculiar. Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 74), who gives several varieties of the quadrans,
says that a specimen of the triens was in the Bignami collection, but it was in too poor condition
to be reproduced in his plates.
The lion on the semis may refer to the campaign in Sicily against the Carthaginians
during the consulate of P. Servilius Geminus, B.C. 252, and the ears of corn on the quadrans to
the Agrarian Commissions, held by C. Servilius Geminus in B.C. 219, or by M. Servilius Pulex
Geminus in B. c. 199, 195, and 192. In the above illustration of the semis the moneyer's name is
not quite correctly given, as the letters VE should be in ligature, VE.

CIRC. B.C. 93; A.U.C. 661 181
SERIES III.'
Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 93 ; A.U.C. 661
N. FAB|. DICTOR
(NUMERIUS FABIUS PICTOR) *
Metal
No. Weight and Size
Denarius
TWithout letter
1172 57.0 | AR 7 | Head of Roma r., in high N. FABI TICTOR ; in ex-
relief, wearing winged ergue, RoNAA. The
helmet, &c., similar to Flamen Quirinalis, Q.
no. 1068; the earring is of Fabius Pictor, in armour
plain single drop ; behind and wearing crested hel-
head, 3% met, seated l., holding
the flamen's cap in r.
hand and spear in 1.,
which rests on shield in-
scribed, §§ (Quirinalis).
[Pl. xxx. 6.]
With letter on obverse and reverse
1173 || 57-3 || AR 7 || Similar; under chin, letter | Similar; behind head of
C Flamen, letter D
1174 || 59.4 || AR 65 | Similar; letter D Similar ; letter D
(Nott)
1175 59.4 || AR 65 | Similar ; letter G Similar ; letter R.
* The head of Roma in this series, though varying in some details, is similar to that of
Series I. It is less formal and stiff than that of Series II. There is also a return to the
earring of a single drop.
* The Fabia gens, one of the most ancient of the patrician gentes at Rome, traced its
descent from Hercules and the Arcadian Evander, and it assumed the cognomen Pictor from
C. Fabius Pictor, who decorated the temple of Salus (aedem Salutis pimarit), which the dictator,
C. Junius Brutus Bubulus, had dedicated in B.C. 302, the year of his dictatorship. N. Fabius
Pictor is mentioned by Cicero (De Divin., i. 21,43) as a historian of Greece. He may have been
the issuer of these coins, as the praenomen Numerius rarely occurs in connection with the
Fabia gens (Babelon, vol. i., p. 484).
The seated figure on the reverse is that of Q. Fabius Pictor, who was appointed praetor
in B. c. 189, but was not allowed by the pontifex maximus, P. Licinius, to proceed to Sardinia,
his province, as he had been consecrated flamen quirinalis in the preceding year. He is
therefore represented with the military attributes of a praetor, and the priestly ornaments of a
flamen quirinalis.
On these coins we have a further development of the use of mint-letters in their occurrence
on both obverse and reverse. Babelon (loc. cit.) says that all the letters of the Roman alphabet
occur on both sides of the coins. Cavedoni (Appendice al Saggio, p. 97) and Riccio (Catalogo,
p. 89) have attempted to explain the combinations of these letters, but without apparent success.
The occurrence of the double changing mint-letter shows that the coins of N. Fabius Pictor
must be amongst the latest in the Maseră, Riccia, and S. Giovanni Incarico hoards, the burial
of which, according to Count de Salis’s classification, should be placed at about B. c. 93; but
Mommsen (Zeit. f. Num., 1875, p. 38) has attributed the Riccia hoard to a somewhat earlier date
(see Tables of Finds). These denarii in all three hoards are described as “newly-coined.”
No bronze coins are known of this issue. -
182 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight d/mul Size Obverse Reverse
1176 60.7 | AR 7 || Similar; letter k Similar ; letter N
[Pl. xxx. 7.]
(Nott)
1177 61-0 || AR 6 Similar ; letter N Similar ; letter V (?)
- (Cracherode Coll.)
1178 57-6 || AR 65 Similar; letter R Similar ; letter H
1179 61-3 || AR 65 Similar ; letter R Similar; letter H (?)
(de Salis Coll.)
C. NAETELLVS
(CAIUS [CAECILIUS] METELLUS) '
Denarius
1180 602 || AR 7 | Head of Roma r., wearing C. METELLVS (in exergue).
- winged helmet, &c., simi- Jupiter * in biga of ele-
lar to no. 1068; the ear- phants walking 1. ; he
ring is of plain single drop; holds reins in r, hand
the crest of the helmet is and thunderbolt in 1. ;
in the form of a Phrygian | above, Victory with
cap with gryphon's head; wreath.
On the neck-piece is a [Pl. xxx. 8.]
star ; under chin, X ; (Cracherode Coll.)
behind, Rol\AA
1181 59.2 | AR, 7 || Similar. Similar.
1182 59-0 || Alk, '7 | Similar. Similar.
1183 || 47.5 | AR, 7 || Similar. Similar.
* Mommsen (Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 336) and others have attributed these coins to
C. Caecilius Metellus Caprarius, who commanded under Scipio Africanus at the siege of
Numantia, and who was consul B. c. 113. The probable date assigned to this issue by Count de
Salis entirely precludes this attribution, and the moneyer must be sought for in some other
member of the Caecilia gens, of whom there appears to be no further record.
Though none of these coins were present in the Riccia, Roncarolo, and Pozoblanco hoards,
yet four Specimens, two fine and two very fine, occurred in that discovered at Masera, and one
Jime in that of S. Giovanni Incarico (see Tables of Finds). Besides this evidence there are
substantial reasons for fixing the date of this issue shortly before or about B.C. 92. These
are : (1) the presence of specimens in the Cazlona and Oliva hoards, the burial of which was
about B.C. 90; (2) the occurrence of the star on the neck-piece of the helmet, as on the coins
of M. Metellus, Q. Maximus, and C. Serveilius (see above, pp. 175-179); and (3) the peculiar
shape of the helmet, which is met with on the coins of M. Aurelius Scaurus attributed to
B.C. 92 (see p. 184).
* This reverse type refers to the famous victory of L. Caecilius Metellus over the
Carthaginians at Panormus in B.C. 251, in which engagement, besides slaying a great number
of the enemy's troops, he captured all their elephants, which he afterwards exhibited in his
triumph at Rome.
CIRC. B.C. 93 ; A.U.C. 661 183
Metal
g 627°S62 •
and Size Obv Reverse
No. Weight
- Sennis 1
RONWA below Prow r., the
keel of which is inscribed
C. NMETEL; above, ele-
phant's head r.; [before
prow, S]
1660 AE 1-0 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate;
behind, S
[Babelon, vol. i., p. 264, no. 17.]
145-0 | AF 1-0 | Similar. | RONAA below Prow r. ;
above, C. M.TE; before,
S
[Babelon, vol. i., p. 264, no. 15.]
Quadrans
1184 || 44-0 | AF 8 | Head of young Hercules r., |[R]oMA below Prow r.,
wearing lion's skin; be- the keel of which is in-
hind, 3 scribed [C. MJETE;
O above, elephant's head r.;
before, 3
[Pl. xxx. 9..]
1 C. Metellus not only varied the types of his bronze money but also the spelling of his
name. There are two series of bronze coins of this issue, one with the moneyer's name on
the prow and the elephant's head above ; the other without the elephant’s head and with the
moneyer's name above the prow. The denominations with these variations are the semis and
the quadrans. The sextans which belongs to this issue is of the same type as the quadrans
above described (Babelon, vol. i., p. 265, no. 20). Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1881, pp. 172-174;
and 1896, p. 61) gives other readings of the moneyer’s name on the semis and quadrans, and he
also describes a semis in the Bignami collection, now in the Capitoline Museum, with RONAA
before the head of Jupiter as well as on the reverse, and the moneyer's name [O] Mº-Ti LLVS
on the prow with elephant’s head above. The inscription on the first semis figured above
should read C. METEL, not C. METELL.


184
COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight .*. Obverse Ičeverse
Circ. B.C. 92; A.U.C. 662
NA. A\RELI. SCAA |
(MARCI AURELII SCAURI)
Denarius
1185 60:7 | AR 8 | Head of Roma r., wearing Naked warrior, Bituitus,
winged helmet with crest in biga r., horses gallop-
of Phrygian form and ing; he hurls spear with
ornamented with gry- r. hand and holds shield
phon's head; the visor in and carnyx in l. ; below
three pieces and peaked; horses,SCARI; in exergue,
earring of single drop, L. LIC. CN DoNA (Lucius
and necklace; hair in Licinius ; Chaeus Domi-
three straggling locks; tius); edge Serrated.
before head, NA. AV& ELl;
behind, RONAA and X
1186 60-0 | AR 75 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxx. 10.]
(Nott)
* The series of denarii which are attributed to this year, and which bear separately the
names of five moneyers, M. Aurelius Scaurus, L. Porcius Licinus, L. Cosconius M. f.,
L. Pomponius Cn. f., and C. Malleolus C. f., have all the same reverse type; but in one
instance, that of M. Aurelius Scaurus, there is a slight difference in the form of the helmet of
Roma on the obverse. In addition to the moneyer's name, which always occurs on the obverse,
each issue has on the reverse those of L. Licinius and Cn. Domitius, who were evidently
associated in some office, by virtue of which, probably under some special order, they exercised
a supervision of the coinage.
When Mommsen published his Gesch. des rôm. Münz. in 1860, he attributed these coins to
B.C. 92, in which year L. Licinius Crassus and Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus were colleagues in
the censorship. Shortly afterwards, when classifying and annotating several hoards of Roman
republican coins discovered in Spain (Amm. dell’Inst. arch., 1863, p. 55), he somewhat modified
this view, and arguing chiefly from the condition of the coins in the hoards, more especially
in reference to those bearing the moneyer's name, C. Pulcher (see below, p. 198; and Babelon,
vol. i., p. 345, no. 1), he assigned the above issues to a somewhat earlier date, circ. B.C. 109–
104, and suggested that Licinius and Domitius took part in this coinage, not as censors but
as extraordinary officers of the mint. From what is known of the history of Licinius and
Domitius, such an appointment could not have occurred after B.C. 104, and Mommsen therefore
adds (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 363, note): “Mais rien n'empêche d'admettre que vers les années
645–650 (B.C. 109–104) on ait mis a la tête de l’administration de la monnaie une commission
de sept membres, composée de deux sénateurs et de cinq personnages plus jeunes et moins
illustres, et que l’on ait choisi pour la première de ces fonctions, précisément les deux sénateurs
qui ont été plus tard collègues comme censeurs, en 662 (B.C. 92).”
Babelon (vol. i., p. 463) does not accept this view of Mommsen, remarking that it is more
rational to place this special commission at a date when we know that Cn. Domitius and
L. Licinius were colleagues in office, than to imagine that they held office together on a previous
occasion, of which there is no historical record.
Besides the fact that Count de Salis has assigned the denarii of C. Pulcher to a somewhat
later date than Mommsen, the evidence of finds is strongly in favour of the attribution of
these coins to B.C. 92, for whilst none of them occurred either in the Masera, Riccia, or
S. Giovanni Incarico hoards, yet specimens were met with in those discovered at Roncarolo and
Pozoblanco, which in turn did not contain any pieces assigned to later issues (see TABLEs of
FINDs). It seems therefore that the evidence of these finds cannot be disputed, and, moreover,
the transfer of this issue to an earlier date would entail a re-classification of the coinage
of this period, which in many cases would clash with the history of the moneyers and the
evidence derived from changes in the type, fabric, &c., of the coins. The occurrence of five
moneyers’ names on one issue may have been caused by the death of two of them, and by the
CIRC. B.C. 92 ; A.U.C. 662 185
Metal
(** * Obverse Reverse
and Size
L., TORCI . LIC|
(LUCIUS PORCIUS LICINUS) '
No. Weight
Denarius
1187 | 60-4 || AR 8 | Head of Roma r., wear- | Naked warrior, Bituitus,
ing winged helmet, &c., in biga r., &c., similar to
similar to no. 1185, but no. 1185 ; in exergue,
of the usual form, not L. LIC. CN . DoNA; edge
Phrygian - shaped ; the serrated.
visor is in three pieces [Pl. xxx. 11.]
and peaked; the earring
is of single drop ; before
head, L. ToRCI ; behind,
LICl and X
1188 59-0 || AR 75 Similar. Similar.
immediate appointment of their successors, but it seems much more probable that the association
of such an unusual number was due to the necessity of a special issue, in which the censors of
the year were associated in their official capacity. There is ample evidence that at this time
there was some irregularity in the appointment of the moneyers, and therefore the nomination
of five to superintend the issue of a special coinage need not cause much surprise. -
Of Cr. Domitius Ahenobarbus mention has already been made (see above, p. 151), and
from what we know of his history, it would appear that on more than one occasion he
was connected with the coinage.
L. Licinius Crassus, his colleague in the censorship, born B.C. 140, early distinguished
himself as an orator, and by his eloquence succeeded, in B.C. 118, in carrying a law for founding
a colony in Narbo in Gaul. In B. c. 114 he defended his kinswoman, the vestal Licinia, who
with her two companions, Marcia and Aemilia, was accused of incest, an event commemorated
by the coins struck some years later by Q. Cassius Longinus (Babelon, vol. i., p. 331, nos. 8, 9).
He was quaestor with Q. Marcius Scaevola, with whom as a colleague he filled every other office
except the tribunate of the plebs and the censorship; tribune of the plebs B.C. 107; curule
aedile B.C. 103, when he celebrated with great splendour the public games, at which lion-fights
were introduce l; consul B.C. 95; and censor, with Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus, B.C. 92. He
died in the following year. If the coins bearing the name of Licinius were not struck during
his censorship in B.C. 92, it would be difficult from the above data to say when he could have
held a joint appointment with Domitius, who entered on his tribuneship of the plebs in B.C. 104.
M. Aurelius Scaurus, who was a son of the consul suffectus (B.C. 108) of the same name,
was himself quaestor at Ephesus B.C. 70. His coins are here placed first in the series, as they
vary in type somewhat from those of his colleagues in showing Roma wearing a Phrygian-shaped
helmet, as on the previous coins of C. Metellus, in bearing the name of Roma, and in his own name
being placed partly on the obverse and partly on the reverse. Scaurus and L. Porcius Licinus
use the mark of value X for the denarius, but the other moneyers of this year the older form X.
These variations help to illustrate the irregularities in the minor details of the types at this period.
The reverse type, which is common to the coins of all the moneyers of this issue, records
the victory in Gaul of Cnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, the father of the censor, over the
Allobroges and their ally, Bituitus, king of the Arverni, who is represented in his chariot.
Bituitus was shortly afterwards taken prisoner by C. Fabius Maximus, and figured in Rome in his
own chariot of silver at the triumph of Fabius. The edges of the denarii of each moneyer are
serrated. •
No bronze coins are known of this quinquevirate of the mint, but Count de Salis has
assigned to this year a few without moneyers’ names (see p. 187).
* This moneyer is only known from his coins. He was probably a descendant of L. Porcius
Licinus, who served with distinction during the second Punic war, and a grandson of the
duumvir of the same name, who in B. c. 181 dedicated the temple to Venus Erycina which his
father had vowed in the Ligurian war.
The variations between the denarii of L. Porcius Licinus and those of M. Aurelius
Scaurus, and their similarity to those of his other colleagues, have been mentioned above. Like
Scaurus, however, he uses the mark of value X, and gives his cognomen, whilst the others
notify their patronymics and not their cognomina.
B B
186
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
1189
1190
1.191
Weight
58.0
52-0
59.5
Metal
and Size
AR
•8
Obverse
Reverse
L. COSCO . NA. F
(LUCIUS COSCONIUS MARCI FILIUS) '
Denarius
Head of Roma r., wearing
winged helmet, &c., simi-
lar to no. 1187; the visor
of the helmet is in three
pieces and peaked ; the
earring is of single drop;
around head, L. COv.CO.
NA. F and X
Similar.
Naked warrior, Bituitus,
in biga r., &c., similar to
no. 1185 ; in exergue,
L. LIC. C.N. DoNA; edge
serrated.
Similar.
[Pl. xxx. 12.]
(Nott)
L. T.ONATONI. CNF
(LUCIUS POMPONIUS CNAEI FILIUS)?
Denarius
Head of Roma r., wear-
ing winged helmet, &c.,
similar to no. 1187; the
visor of the helmet is in
three pieces and peaked;
the earring is of single
Naked warrior, Bituitus, in
biga r., &c., similar to
no. 1185 ; in exergue,
L. LIC. C.N. DoNA; edge
serrated.
[Pl. xxx. 13.]
drop ; around head, L.
DozzoNI. CNF and X
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
1.192 Similar.
Similar ; L. LIC. C.N. Gon/\%
(Nott)
1193 •75
Similar.
* The Cosconia gens was plebeian, and its members are first mentioned in the second Punic
war. M. Cosconius was a military tribune in the army of the praetor, P. Quinctilius Varus, in
the war against the Insubrian Gauls, B.C. 203. A descendant of the same name was praetor
B.C. 135, and other members of the gens held similar and other offices during the 1st cent. B.C.,
but none obtained the honours of the consulship. The moneyer is only known from his coins,
which were struck in B.C. 92. The points of resemblance and also of variation between the
coins of L. Cosconius and those of his colleagues have been noted above. Like L. Pomponius
and C. Malleolus, he uses the mark of value X.
* This moneyer is only known from his coins. He was probably related to M. Pomponius,
the intimate friend of C. Gracchus, and to the aedile of the same name of B.c. 82, and held
office as moneyer in B.C. 92. For similarity and variations between his coins and those of his
colleagues see above, and on pp. 184, 185. Like the coins of L. Cosconius and C. Malleolus, his
denarii have the mark of value X.
* Zobel (Amm. dell’Inst. arch., 1863, p. 56) says that all the denarii of L. Pomponius in the
Spanish hoards had the letter D in DOM reversed. This, however, only occurs on one
specimen in the British Museum.
CIRC. B.C. 92; A.U.C. 662 187
- Metul
* * bverse Reverse
and Size Obve
C. NAALLE. C. F
(CAIUS [POBLICIUS] MALLEOLUS
CAII FILIUS)1
No. Weight
Denarius
1194 | 61-6 || AR 8 | Head of Roma r., wear- Naked warrior, Bituitus, in
ing winged helmet, &c., biga, r., &c., similar to
similar to no. 1187; the no. 1185; in exergue,
visor is in three pieces, L - LIC . CN . DoNA; edge
even at the ends, and not Serrated.
peaked; the earring is of [Pl. xxx. 14.]
single drop; around head,
C. NAALLE. C. F and X
1195 || 61-0 || AR, 8 Similar. Similar.
IBRONZE
Without moneyers' names
Quadrans ?
1196 || 69-0 || AE 75 | Head of young Hercules | RoNAA below Prow r. ;
r., wearing lion's skin; before, 3
behind, 3 O
1197 || 60-0 || AE 7 || Similar. Similar.
1198 || 52-0 || AE 7 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxx. 15.]
* This moneyer may be C. Poblicius Malleolus, the quaest or to Cn. Cornelius Dolabella
in Cilicia, B.C. 80. He died in his province and was succeeded in his office by Verres, who
also became the tutor of his son. It is not impossible that he may be identified with the
moneyer who struck coins locally three years later (see ITALY, B.C. 89), and who had as his
colleagues L. Caecilius Metellus and A. Postumius Albinus S. f., but Mommsen (Hist. mon.
roºm., t. ii., p. 383), in consequence of his having classed the coins bearing the names of L.
Licinius and Cn. Domitius to an earlier date, does not admit this identification, and Suggests
that the above moneyer may be the Poblicius Malleolus who was condemned to death in B.C.
101 for the murder of his mother.
The obverse type of the coins of Malleolus slightly differs from those of his col-
leagues, the visor of the helmet worn by Roma having the three pieces of which it is
composed even at the ends, and not peaked. Like L. Cosconius and L. Pomponius, his denarii
have the mark of value X and not 3%, as on the coins of M. Aurelius Scaurus and L. Porcius
Licinus.
* The date of the issue of these quadrantes without moneyers’ names is somewhat
uncertain. Their weight and style show that they were struck about the same time as the
coins of Q. Fabius Maximus (see above, p. 178). As the moneyers of B.C. 92 struck only silver
coins, denarii, and no bronze, Count de Salis has placed this issue to that year. It is possible,
though no specimens are in the National Collection, that other denominations than the
quadrans may have been issued of a similar character, i.e. without moneyers’ names.
-j-
188
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
1199
1200
1201
1202
1203
Weight
50-0
46-0
40’0
61:0
Metal
and Size
AE •65
AE •65
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Obverse
Reverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar; Rolv[A
46-0
Similar.
189
PERIOD VIII.
Circ. B.C. 91—89; A.U.C. 663–665
THIS Period includes the years which intervened between the burial of the
Maseră, Riccia, S. Giovanni Incarico, Roncarolo, and Pozoblanco hoards, and
of those discovered at Taranto, Cazlona, Oliva, and Ricina (circ. B.C. 90–89), and
also the passing of the famous Lea Plautia Papiria de civitate sociis danda
(B.C. 89), which extended the right of citizenship throughout Italy. This law,
which was proposed by the tribunes M. Plautius Silvanus and C. Papirius Carbo,
had an important effect on the coinage, as it occasioned not only the suppression
of the local issues, which had consisted chiefly of silver and bronze coins of
Roman types and standard, but also those of all the local mints in Italy, which
till now had continued to strike pseudo-autonomous coins in bronze. These last,
at least since the beginning of the 2nd century B.C., had consisted of bronze only,
a remnant of former independence (see above, p. 11). After B.C. 89, coins of
Roman types and standard not struck at the mint at Rome are of a military
character, and were issued in the Provinces. These have been assigned by
Count de Salis to Spain, Gaul, the East, Sicily, Africa and Cyrenaica, under
which districts they will be separately described. The coinage of the Confederate
States issued during the Social War scarcely forms an exception as it does not
appear to have lasted after B.C. 88.
DENOMINATIONS AND TYPES.—The chief characteristics which marked the
coinage of the previous Period (B.C. 102–92) become more emphasized during
the present one. In the silver coinage the type of the Dioscuri for the reverse
of the denarius is quite abandoned, and each moneyer adopts one according to
his fancy, illustrating as a rule, as already mentioned, some event connected
with the history of his family. On the obverse the head of Roma is still
occasionally met with, and also the mark of value X; but the latter in two
instances only, viz., on the coins of Mn. Fonteius (p. 192) and on those of L.
Aurelius Cota (p. 200). The quinarius, which was revived during the previous
Period (see above, p. 158), appears from time to time, and is always of
the type of the old victoriatus. Mint-marks in the form of letters become
much more general, and they show considerable development, a single letter
occurring on the obverse or on both sides of the coin at the same time, in
which case they sometimes start from opposite points of the alphabet. The
letters are often accompanied by one, two, three, or four dots or pellets, usually
placed immediately around them en satellite, and to mark still further the series
of dies, the letters are sometimes reversed or placed horizontally. The Greek
as well as the Latin alphabet is used, and, in the place of letters, symbols
are sometimes adopted. The serrated edge is occasionally met with on the
early denarii of this Period. The omission of the name of Rolv A on the
denarius which occurred occasionally in the preceding Period now becomes
general.
The only circumstance to be noticed in the bronze coinage is the revival of
the issue of the as of the uncial standard; it is, however, of considerable
190 COINAGE OF ROME
importance, as it very materially assists in determining the succession of the
moneyers. The issue of the uncial as, as we have seen (p. 117), was in
abeyance since circ. B.C. 150, and its revival only lasted for a period of three
years, when it had to give way to one of a lighter standard—Semuncial, as
ordered by the Lea, Papiria (see below, p. 241). Any issue therefore in which
the uncial as now occurs must have been struck during the years B.C. 91–89.
The moneyers' names are similar in form to those of the previous Period.
CLASSIFICATION.—When the type of the denarius was more or less of a
fixed nature, minor differences and variations were often indicative of the
sequence of issues, and from these, in great measure, the chronology of
the coinage within certain periods has been constructed. The now constant
change of both the obverse and reverse types deprives us of this evidence, and
for the classification we have to turn to the data supplied by finds of coins,
by history, and in a certain degree by the coins themselves, in the form of
special legends, style, and fabric.
There are four hoards, the burial of which can be placed during the
years B.C. 91–89. These occurred at Taranto (Calabria), at Cazlona and
Oliva (Spain), and at Ricina (Macerata).
The Taranto hoard, unearthed in the spring of 1897, consisted of 102
denarii, which were sent to Naples and were examined and described by
Dr. E. Gabrici (Scavi, 1898, p. 294). Though small, the hoard is of importance,
as Dr. Gabrici does not mention that there were any coins which did not
come into his hands. The latest pieces of the Roman mint are those of
N. Fabius Pictor (B.C. 93), and of L. Porcius Licinus and L. Cosconius,
members of the quinquevirate of B.C. 92; and of local issues there were coins of
C. Serveilius M. f. (B.C. 93), of M. Fourius L. f. Philus (B.C. 92); and of Mn.
Aemilius Lepidus and C. Fonteius (B.C. 91). As no specimens of the coinages
of these last two moneyers were present in any of the previously mentioned
hoards attributed to circ. B.C. 92 (see pp. 161, 162), it is evident that that
discovered at Taranto was of a slightly later date, though the most recent coins
of the Roman mint belonged to the quinquevirate of B.C. 92. Its burial must
have taken place about B.C. 91, a little time before the concealment of the
Cazlona, Oliva, and Ricina hoards. The coins of Mn. Aemilius Lepidus and C.
Fonteius are described by Dr. Gabrici as “newly-struck.”
The Cazlona hoard, discovered so far back as 1618, consisted of about 683
pieces, amongst which there was one victoriatus and eight Celtiberian coins,
the rest being all republican denarii (Mommsen, Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., p. 124).
Besides including coins of M. Aurelius Scaurus and L. Porcius Licinus,
members of the quinquevirate of B.C. 92, it also contained denarii of C. Claudius
Pulcher and L. Cornelius Scipio Asiagenus (B.C. 91), and L. Thorius Balbus
(B.C. 90) struck at Rome; and of later denarii struck outside Rome the following
issues were represented: M. Fourius L. f. Philus (B.C. 92); L. Caesius, Mn.
Aemilius Lepidus, C. Fonteius, and Cn. Cornelius Blasio Cn. f. (B.C. 91); and
Q. Lutatius Cerco, L. Memmius and Mn. Aquillius (B.C. 90). Most of these
coins were in very fine condition, some as issued from the mint. The date of
the burial was circ. B.C. 90.
Count de Salis, in a manuscript analysis of the Cazlona hoard, notes that it
CIRC. B.C. 91–89; A.U.C. 663–665 191
contained the unique specimen of the double victoriatus (see above, p. 37); but
Seii. Zobel (Ammali dell' Inst. arch., 1863, p. 8) says that it was found at Tortosa.
At Oliva there were two finds: one in 1848 or 1849, consisting of from
600 to 700 denarii, of which only about 45 pieces were acquired by the Academy
at Madrid; the other, in August, 1861, comprising about 1,271 pieces, which
were in two lots, and which do not appear to have been enclosed in a vessel, but
to have been extracted from the earth one by one (Mommsen, Hist. mom. rom.,
t. ii., p. 126). These last were carefully examined and catalogued by Señ. Zobel.
The hoard, not being found at one time, loses some of its importance in
determining the sequence of the issues. The contents of the Oliva and Cazlona
hoards were very similar, but the former was more extensive. With the exception
of M. Aurelius Scaurus, all the moneyers of the quinquevirate of B.C. 92 were
represented, and also all the moneyers, except C. Sulpicius C. f., whose coins are
classed to the following year (B.C. 91); and of those of B.C. 90, the names of
C. Coilius Caldus, L. Appuleius Saturninus, M. Lucilius Rufus, and L. Thorius
Balbus occur. Of the local mints the series is quite as complete, and includes
coins of the moneyers Q. Lutatius Cerco, L. Memmius, Mn. Aquillius, L.
Valerius Flaccus, and P. Porcius Laeca, whose issues are all attributed to
B.C. 90. Nearly all these coins are described as in fine condition. It is
therefore to about B.C. 90 that the burial of the Oliva hoard may be assigned.
The Ricima hoard, discovered about 1882, comprised 300 denarii, all of
which, with one exception, were described by Sig. Armaroli (Bull. di Num. e
Sfrag., vol. i., pp. 241 f.). Its contents, though less numerous, were similar to
those of the Cazlona and Oliva hoards; but its burial was a little later, as it
included coins of L. Sentius C. f. and L. Julius (B.C. 89), struck at Rome; and of
Q. Minucius Thermus (B.C. 90), struck in Italy. Its concealment occurred when
the Social war was at its height.
It may be noticed that whilst the Cazlona, Oliva, and Ricina hoards
contained denarii of the quinquevirate of B.C. 92, many issues not in those of
Boncarolo and Pozoblanco were present, showing that the burial of the former
was somewhat later than that of the latter, and moreover, as coins scarce and
fine at Cazlona, Oliva, and Ricina were more numerous at Fiesole, this last
hoard is of a still somewhat later date (see below, p. 242).
IBesides the evidence of finds we have also that of the coins themselves.
The issues classed to B.C. 92 show that in that year there were five moneyers,
and it would appear that during the next three years their number was still
larger ; but there is no instance of an actual triumvirate. This increase in the
number of the moneyers may have been due to special circumstances. In B.C. 91
Marcus Livius Drusus proposed and carried laws enjoining the increase of
largesses of corn, and in B.C. 90 and 89 the State had to meet the heavy expenses
entailed by the Social or Marsic war. These events demanded an increase in the
coinage, which was met by special issues, some of which bear the legends
EX. A . TV (Ea argento publico), ARG. TVB (Argento publico), T. E. S. C
(Publice ea senatus consulto), and P (Publice), showing that the metal from which
the coins were struck was specially drawn from the aerarium, or public treasury.
Also some of the quaestors joined the ranks of the moneyers, of whom there were
Appius Claudius and Titus Mallius (B.C. 91), and Caius Fundanius (B.C. 89).
192 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
In Cf." Obverse Reverse
and Size
Circ. B.C. 91; A.U.C. 663'
/VV. FONE
(MANIUS FONTEIUS)?
No. Weight
Denarius
- With letter on reverse
1204 || 510 || AR 75 Conjoined heads of the Dios- MV. FoMEl above Galley
(plated) curi r., laureate, each r., with Oars and long
surmounted by star; be- projecting rostrum ; in
fore necks, 36 the stern, beneath the
aplustre, is seated the
pilot; below galley, letter
A
* The demarii attributed to this year are of two main series, the non-serrati and the serrati.
Each one comprises four different issues, making a total of eight moneyers for the year; but of
these issues, one at least is of a special nature—that of the quaestores wrbani, Appius Claudius
and Titus Mallius (see p. 199). With the exception of this issue and that of C. Claudius Pulcher
(see p. 198), all the moneyers use the same kind of mint-marks, consisting of letters of the
alphabet, usually accompanied by one or more points or dots. These letters are put either on
the obverse or on the reverse, but not on both sides of the coin at the same time, as occurred later.
In one issue, that of L. Cornelius Scipio Asiagenus, these letters occupy two different places on
the obverse and also on the reverse, thus showing four separate series. The mint-marks
alone are evidence of a greatly increased output of the coinage. Apart from these points of
connection, common to nearly all the issues, the general fabric and style throughout are
similar ; but separately, the non-serrated and the serrated show a still more marked similarity,
and from this it might be inferred that one series came from one officina, and the other from
another, and that the dies were made by two sets of engravers. It has been already noticed
that the extensive coinage during B. c. 91 may have been due to the laws relating to the
largesses proposed and carried by Marcus Livius Drusus, to meet which an increased supply of
money was necessary. º
The most notable event connected with the coinage of this year is the revival for a short
period only of the uncial as. Bronze coins were, however, only struck by a few moneyers.
The types, both obverse and reverse, vary in the case of each issue, with the exception of
the denarii of C. Claudius Pulcher, and Appius Claudius and T. Mallius, who retain for the
obverse the head of Roma, but of a somewhat different style from that on earlier coins.
Specimens of the majority of the issues attributed to B.C. 91—90 occurred in the Oliva
hoard, in considerable numbers and mostly in fine condition, but in a less degree in those of
Cazlona and Ricina.
* The identification of this moneyer is somewhat uncertain. Cicero (pro. Font., 3, 5)
says that Mn. Fonteius, the son of C. Fonteius, who was the legate of the praetor Cn. Ser-
vilius Caepio, and who was slain in a popular tumult at Asculum on the breaking out of
the Marsic or Social war, B.C. 90, was in his early days a triumvir, but whether for
apportioning land, conducting a colony, or of the public treasury, is uncertain. He was
quaestor B.C. 85–84, and subsequently legate in Spain and praetor in Narbonese Gaul
between B.C. 76–73. Some time after his return to Rome he was accused of extortion and
misgovernment. The question is whether this moneyer is to be identified with the quaestor of
B.C., 85, and whether he is the same person who struck coins which are attributed to that year,
and which bear the name of Mn. Fonteius C. f. Mommsen (Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., p. 445)
has identified the moneyer of B.C. 85 with the quaestor of that year, and says that the coins
were struck by him in virtue of that office, but he does not identify him with the above
moneyer, whose coins he considers were of too early a date, their issue being placed by him
before B.C. 104. Count de Salis's attribution of these coins to B.C. 91 removes this difficulty,
and there seems no reason why the moneyer of the above coins and the Mn. Fonteius C. f. who
struck coins as quaestor in B.C. 85 should not be deemed to be one and the same person. In
the first instance he strikes coins as an ordinary moneyer, but in the second, in virtue of his office
as quaestor, though no reference to this circumstance is to be found on the coins themselves. It
is possible that C. Fonteius, who was a moneyer at this time and whose coins Count de Salis has
attributed to a local issue (see ITALY, B.C. 91), may have been a brother of Mn. Fonteius.
It is not difficult to fix, within a limit of two years or so, the date of the above pieces. No
specimens occurred in the Masera, Riccia, S. Giovanni Incarico, Roncarolo, and Pozoblanco
CIRC. B.C. 91; A.U.C. 663 193
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
1205 || 59-3 || AR, 8 || Similar. Similar ; letter B
(Nott)
1206 || 59.5 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar; letter C
(Cracherode Coll.)
1207 || 57.4 || AR 8 || Similar ; circular counter- Similar ; letter D ; above
mark on the near head. rostrum, :
(Nott)
1208 || 588 || AR 8 || Similar; no countermark. Similar; letter E
1209 || 58-3 || AR, 8 Similar; countermark -u Similar ; letter F
hoards, the burial of which is given to a date about B. c. 92, but there were several specimens in
very fine state in the Oliva hoard, the concealment of which is attributed to circ. B.c. 90 (see
Tables of Finds). Their absence from the Cazlona hoard is not surprising, as very few coins
later than B. c. 92 were present in it. We have therefore a limit of practically two years
only, and Count de Salis's attribution of the coins of Mn. Fonteius of the above type to B. c. 91
seems the most probable one.
The reverse type appears to recall the naval exploits of a former member of the family,
P. Fonteius Capito, who was praetor in Sardinia in B.C. 169, and commanded the Roman fleet
of that island (Babelon, vol. i., pp. 499, 502).
The letters ſº, T., which are found on some of the coins of this issue before the heads of the
Dioscuri (see no. 1230, p. 195), have been variously interpreted, and these interpretations have
been briefly summed up by Babelon (vol. i., p. 502) as follows: “Before an explanation is
attempted these coins must be taken in conjunction with those of C. Sulpicius C. f. (see below,
p. 202), the obverse type of which shows two laureate heads with the legend D. P. T., and also
those of C. Antius C. f. (see Babelon, vol. i., p. 155, no. 2) with a similar obverse type and
accompanied by the legend D El T ENATES. On these premises Borghesi (CEuvres compl., t. i.,
p. 317) has interpreted the legends D. P. P. as Dei Penates Praestites, and T. P. as Penates
Praestites, but Mommsen (Hist. 'mon. rom., t. ii., pp. 369, 400) has read them as Dei Penates
Publici and Penates Publici. Later Klügmann (Num. Zeit., 1878, p. 223 f.) suggests as a more
probable solution, De Pecunia Publica and Pecunia Publica, thus connecting them with the
formulae, Argento Publico, Ea, Argento Publico, and analogous ones, which, however, are only
found on coins struck after the passing of the Lew Papiria-Plautia in B. c. 89. The formulae,
Ea. Argento Publico, Argento Publico, Publice, and De Thesauro, indicate that the metal from
which the coins were struck came from the reserved bullion or ingots preserved in the treasury
of the state. This uncoined reserve could be expressed by the words argentum or thesawrus, but
not by pecunia, which exclusively means “coined money.” Other considerations are in favour
of Mommsen's interpretation. In Roman ritual, the cults of the Dioscuri and the Penates
were assimilated, and especially at Tusculum and Lavinium, the birth-places of the Fonteia.
and Sulpicia gentes. [An illustration of this fact is met with on the denarii of L. Servius
Sulpicius Rufus, having the heads of the Dioscuri on the obverse and a view of Tusculum
on the reverse, Babelon, vol. ii., p. 475, no. 9..] To find this assimilation on the coins of these
two families is therefore quite what might be expected.” The Penates, the household
gods of the Romans, were of two orders—private, as connected with each family; and public,
as connected with the state. In the temple on the Moms Velia, which was dedicated to the
Dii Penates, were two seated figures of young warriors armed with spears, which have been
identified as Castor and Pollux; but on denarii of L. Caesius, on which these figures are
shown (Babelon, vol. i., p. 281), they are accompanied by the legend Lares, thus establishing a
further connection between the Penates and the Lares Praestites who were the twin founders of
Rome. Though we adopt Mommsen's solution of the interpretation of the letters T. D., as
Pemates Publici, it will, however, be seen that that of Borghesi as Penates Praestites is not
altogether unsupported by some evidence. .
The mint-letters to mark the dies extend throughout the whole alphabet. These occur
alone or are accompanied by one, two or three dots placed above or below the rostrum of the
prow. Each dot or group of dots marks a separate pair of dies.
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 121) mentions two denarii, one in the Haeberlin collection
and another at Berlin, which have the mark of value X for X. He also describes a hybrid
with the obverse type of Mn. Fonteius and the reverse of C. Fonteius (Babelon, vol. i., p. 499,
no. 1).
her are no bronze coins of this issue. Those with the legend NW - FONT are of the
semuncial standard, and are therefore attributed to the later issue of this moneyer, when he
struck coins as quaestor (see below, under date B. c. 85; and Babelon, vol. i., p. 508, no. 14).
C G
194
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
1210
1211
1212
1213
1214
1215
1216
1217
1218
I 219
1220
1221
1222
1223
1224
1225
1226
1227
1228
Weight
59.0
60-7
(piercq.)
60:0
57-4
57.0
61:4
49-0
53.7
62.2
59-6
61.8
60-2
57.6
59.5
59.8
59.5
Metal
and Size
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR, 75
AR, 75
AR, 75
AR, 7
AR. 8
(plated)
AR, 75
AR, '85
AR 85
AR -8
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR 85
AR, 75
AR. 8
AR, -8
AR, 8
Obverse
Similar; no countermark.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar,
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse
Similar; letter F :
rostrum, :
above
Similar; letter G; above
rostrum, 3
Similar; letter H ; above
rostrum, 3
(Nott)
Similar; letter l
Similar ; letter L
Similar; letter L.; above
rostrum, :
Similar; letter NA
Similar ; letter N ; below
rostrum, :
Similar; letter O
(Nott)
Similar ; letter T
[Pl. xxx. 16.]
Similar ; letter T ; below
rostrum, .
Similar; letter R
Similar; letter R ; above
rostrum, :
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar; letter R ; below
rostrum, .
O
[Pl. xxx. 17 rev.]
Similar ; letter S ; below
rostrum, .
Similar; letter S ; below
rostrum, :
(Nott)
Similar ; letter T
Similar ; letter T ; below
rostrum, :
Similar ; letter X
CIRC. B.C. 91; A.U.C. 663
195
No. Weight .*. Obverse Reverse
1229 || 56-0 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar ; letter X ; below
rostrum, 3
1230 61-0 || AR 8 || Similar ; before heads of Similar; letter C
Dioscuri, T P (Penates [Pl. xxx. 18.]
Publici)."
NA . HERENNI
(MARCUS HERENNIUS)?
Denarius
With letter om obverse
1231 60-0 | AR 75 | Head of Pietas r., wearing M. HRENNI (in the field).
diadem, earring of single | Naked youth (one of the
drop, and necklace; her Catanaean brothers, Am-
hair is drawn back over phinomus or Anapias)
the diadem, and falls in running r. and bearing
two locks down her neck; on his shoulder his aged
behind, TIFAS ; under | parent, who looks back
chin, letter 'A and raises his r. hand.”
1232 58.0 | AR 75 Similar; letter A Similar.
(Nott)
1233 61.6 | AR 75 Similar; letter B Similar.
[Pl. xxx. 19.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
* For definition of these letters see above, p. 193, note.
* Several members of the Herennia gens with the praenomen Marcus are recorded in
Roman history during the 1st cent. B.C. M. Herennius Nepos was consul B.C. 93, and probably
the grandfather of M. Herennius M. f. Picens, consul suffectus B.C. 34; whilst a third M.
Herennius was decurio of Pompeii about B. c. 63. The date of these coins, as ascertainable from
finds, shows that they cannot be attributed either to the consul of B.C. 93 or to the consul
suffectus of B.C. 34, and it is somewhat doubtful whether the decurio of Pompeii could have
held the office of moneyer as early as B.C. 91. One specimen à flewr de coin of these denarii
occurred in the Oliva hoard, four in that of Ricina, and nineteen in that discovered at Fiesole,
but none were met with either at Masera, Riccia, San Giovanni Incarico, Roncarolo, Pozoblanco,
Taranto, or Cazlona. The bronze coins are of the uncial standard, so their issue must have
occurred before B.C. 88.
This is the only member of the Herennia gens of whom coins are known.
* The obverse and reverse types record the history of the brothers of Catana, Amphinomus
and Anapias, who, at the eruption of Mount Etna, saved the lives of their parents by carrying
them into safety on their shoulders, and in consequence received the surname of Pius (of
kaAoûuevo eigeBeſs, Paus., x. 28, 4). The parent is represented looking back with horror at the
destruction he has escaped. The Herennia gens appears to have been engaged in commerce,
especially in the Sicilian and African trade and in the exportation of the silphium. It is not
improbable that the family came originally from Sicily.
The coinage of M. Herennius shows a further development in the use of mint-letters. They
extend throughout the whole alphabet, and are of two series: one with the letter on the
obverse; the other, on the reverse, but never on both sides of the same coin. Each letter is
usually accompanied by a dot, which is placed above, below, or on one side. The letters
themselves are often placed horizontally.
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1900, p. 50, and pl. iii., no. 64) describes and figures a variety of the
denarius in the Breslau collection, on which the head of Pietas is laureate and does not wear a
diadem.
196
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
1234
1247
1248
T249
1250
1251
1252
1253
1256
1257
Weight
56-7
61-1
60-0
54.5
58-6
56.4
60-0
56-5
58-0
59.3
61-5
54'4
60.1
58-0
59-7
59.4
57.7
60-0
61-0
60-3
54-0
61:5
55.0.
55-6
Metal,
and Size
AR, 75
AR. 75
AR 75
AR -7
AR 7
AR, 7
AR -75
AR -7
AR. -7
AR, -7
AR -8
AR -75
AR -75
AR 7
AR, 75
AR -75
AR -8
AR -75
AR 75
AR. -7
AR. '75
AR 7
AR. 75
AR 75
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar;
Obverse
letter 'B
letter Č
letter ‘C
letter D
letter É
letter E
letter -n.
letter G
letter H
letter H
letter I.
letter F-
letter ‘NA
letter N
letter Z
letter O
letter O.
letter O
letter Ö.
letter O:
letter S.
letter r
letter V
letter X
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse
(Nott)
(Nott)
(Nott)
(Nott)
(Nott)
CIRC. B.C. 91; A.U.C. 663
197
No.
1258
1259
1260
1261
1262
1263
1264
1265
1266
1267
1268
I269
1270
1271
1272
1273
1274
1275
1276
1277
1278
Weight
57-4
62-7
58.0
58-0
61.2
60-6
58.4
59.2
59.5
59.4
60-0
58.4
57.5
60.4
60.1
59.7
58.7
61-1
59.9
58.8
59.5
Metal
and Size
AR. 75
*
.
s
.
*
AR.
Similar ; no letter.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Obverse
Similar ;
Reverse
With letter on reverse
before
figure, letter >
Similar ;
[Pl. xxx. 20.]
Similar;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar ;
(Nott)
letter B
(Nott)
letter to
letter C
letter U.
(Nott)
letter D
letter S2
letter rn
(Nott)
letter E.
letter -n.
letter . T.
(Nott)
letter G
(Nott)
letter H
(Nott)
letter 7
(Nott)
letter T
letter >
letter 3:
(Nott)
letter 3.
letter N
(Nott)
Similar; letter O.
Similar;
letter 'O
running
198
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
1279
1280
1281
1282
1283
1284
1285
1287
1288
Weight
59.5
60.5
60-0
59.0
60-3
50.3
52-3
176-0
61.5
Metal
and Size
AR 7
AR 75
AR. 75
AR, 7
AR 75
AR 7
AR. '7
AE 1.0
AE •7
AR. 75
Obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse
Similar ; letter 7
Similar ; letter C
Similar; letter R
(Nott)
Similar ; letter to
(Nott)
Similar ; letter T
Similar; letter ‘
(Nott)
Similar; letter X
Sermis
Head of Jupiterr., laureate; RoNWA below Prow r. ; be-
behind, S
fore, S ; above, NA. HRE
NN |
(Cracherode Coll.)
Quadrans'
Head of young Hercules Similar; marks of value
r., wearing lion's skin;
behind, 3
O
• ** above moneyer's
Iºla, Iſle. -
C. TVLCHER
(CAIUS [CLAUDIUS] PULCHER) *
Denarius
Head of Roma r., wear-
ing winged helmet orna-
mented with gryphon's
head; the visor in three
pieces and peaked ; ear-
ring of plain single drop,
and necklace; the side of
the helmet is decorated
with a ring or circle.
C. TVLCHER below Victory
in biga, r., horses gallop-
ing; she holds reins with
both hands.
[Pl. xxx. 21.]
* Of this series the uncia is also known. It has on the obverse the head of Roma r.,
helmeted; behind, *; and on the reverse, a double cornucopiae and the legend M - HERENNI
ROMA (Borghesi, CEuvres compl., t. ii., p. 203; cf. Babelon, vol. i., p. 540, no. 4). It may be
mentioned that some of the early bronze coins of Etna have for the type of reverse a
cornucopiae (Brit. Mus. Cat., Gr. Coins, Sicily, p. 5).
* From an inscription (Orelli, Inscr. lat. collectio, t. i., n. 569; C. I. L., i”., p. 200) this
moneyer has been identified by some with C. Claudius Pulcher, who was consul with M. Perperna
CIRC. B.C. 91; A.U.C. 663 199
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
1289 60-4 | AR 7 | Similar. Similar.
(Nott)
Aſ . CL : T. /\A–. O. . V&
(APPIUS CLAUDIUS : TITUS MALLIUS,
QUAESTORES URBANI).
Denarius
1290 63.9 || AR 7 | Head of Roma r., wear- Aſ . CL. T. Wal. O. Vº (in
ing winged helmet, &c., exergue). Victory in triga.
similar to no. 1288, but r., horses cantering; she
not ornamented with ring holds reins with both
at the side ; behind, a hands.
quadrangular object with [Pl. xxx. 22.]
circular centre. (Nott)
in B.C. 92. Previous to his holding that office, the inscription referred to relates that he was
first quaestor, then triumvir of the mint, curule aedile B.C. 99, and praetor B.C. 95. From
this he would appear to have filled the office of quaestor before that of moneyer, which is
contrary to the cursus honorum, the latter being considered one of the minor offices of the
state. This identification would place the issue of these coins about B.C. 104, which does not
coincide with the evidence afforded by finds, from which it would seem that this moneyer held
office circ. B. c. 91, no specimens having been met with in the Masera, Riccia, S. Giovanni In-
carico, Roncarolo, or Pozoblanco hoards, but 23 pieces were in that of Oliva, viz., 16 fine, six
very fine, and one à fleur de coin, and some in that of Cazlona. The internal evidence of the
coins, viz., their fabric, the style of the head of Roma, and the absence of the mark of value, is
certainly in favour of the later date, and in all these respects they correspond very closely to
the following coins of the quaestors, Appius Claudius and Titus Mallius, from which they cannot
therefore be separated, as suggested by Babelon (vol. i., pp. 344, 345), by an interval of seven
years (B.C. 106–99). It seems therefore impossible to identify this moneyer with the consul
of B.C. 92, unless we suppose that he struck the coins in the following year under some very
special circumstances, as was the case with those of the two quaestors. Even then the order
of office would not agree with that indicated by the inscription. The absence of any mint-
letters would suggest that, like the coins of Appius Claudius and Titus Mallius, those of
C. Pulcher belong to a special issue.
The type of reverse may record the victories of C. Claudius Pulcher, an ancestor of the
moneyer, over the Istrians and Ligurians in B.C. 177, for which he celebrated a double triumph
at Rome. -
There is no bronze money known of this issue. -
! Eckhel (Doct. mum. vet., t. v., p. 250), Borghesi (CEuvres compl., t. ii., p. 219) and others
have interpreted the legend O - VR as the initials of Quintus Urbinius, and suppose that in the
legend we have an instance of a triumvirate of the mint. Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii.,
p. 387) and Babelon (vol. i., p. 346) would, however, read the legend as quaestores wrbani,
showing that Appius Claudius and Titus Mallius issued these coins in virtue of that office and
not as ordinary moneyers. That this interpretation is the more probable one is shown by the
fact that the names of Appius Claudius and Titus Mallius are interchanged in the legends,
but the title O - NR is always placed after them. History does not record the quaestorship of
Appius Claudius and Titus Mallius; but its date may be ascertained from the coins, which,
according to the evidence of finds, must have been struck circ. B.C. 91 or 90. There were five
specimens, all very fine, in the Oliva hoard, nine in that of Ricina, and sixty-four in that of
Fiesole. None occurred in any of the finds attributed to somewhat earlier dates.
Who these quaestors were is uncertain. Of Titus Mallius we have no information except
that supplied by the coins, but Mommsen (Hist. mon. Tom., t. ii., p. 388) identifies his
colleague with Appius Claudius Pulcher, who was praetor B.C. 89, having previously held the
office of curule aedile, consul B.C. 79, and proconsul in Macedonia B.C. 76, where he died.
Mommsen therefore dates the coins at circ. B.C. 99. Babelon (vol. i., p. 345) thinks that the
quaestor was the same Claudius who was the military tribune of B.C. 87, and the interrea of
B.C. 77, who defended Rome against M. Aemilius Lepidus. This latter identification seems the
more probable one, and would fit in better with the date here assigned to the issue of this
coinage. It was in B.C. 91 that M. Livius Drusus, as tribune of the plebs, proposed and carried
200 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
1291 61.2 | AR 7 | Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
1292 || 49.5 | AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
(plated)
1293 || 63-1 | AR -75 Similar. Similar ; legend reading T.
AAL. Aſ . CL. O. . VR
(Cracherode Coll.)
1294 | 61-7 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar. -
(Nott)
[Pl. xxx. 23.]
1295 || 57.8 || AE 7 || Similar. Similar.
L., COT
(LUCIUS LAURELIUS] COTA) 1
* Denarius
With letter on, obverse
1296 || 54-0 || AR 8 || Bust of Vulcan r., draped, L. COT below Eagle stand-
and wearing conical cap ing front on thunderbolt;
(pileus), laureate ; * be- head to 1. ; wings dis-
hind, pincers and mark | played; the whole within
of value X ; under chin, laurel-wreath; edge Ser-
letter G; the whole within rated.
myrtle-wreath.
laws for the distribution of corn or for its sale at a low price, for the assignment of public
lands, and for the establishing of colonies in Italy and Sicily. To meet this lavish expenditure
it is said that he suggested the debasement of the coinage by the alloy of one-eighth part of
copper (Pliny, Hist. mat., xxxiii. 13). These circumstances would sufficiently account for this
special coinage, and the occasion of its issue seems to be illustrated by the symbol on the
obverse, behind the head of Roma, which may be a representation of a corn-measure seen from
the top, similar to such as were discovered some years ago at Pompeii (see Overbeck, Pompeii,
p. 62). This coinage must have been a very large one, as specimens are still quite common.
The reverse type probably records some special victory won by a member of the Claudia
gens rather than of the Mallia, since of the two the former was the more important.
The strong resemblance in type and fabric between the coins of these two quaestors and
those of C. Pulcher has already been noticed. Denarii of Appius Claudius and Titus Mallius bear
the countermark of Vespasian.
No bronze money is known of this issue.
* This moneyer has been identified with Lucius Aurelius Cota, who was quaestor B.C. 89 and
praetor B.C. 70, in which year he carried the Lea, Aurelia judiciaria, which entrusted the judicia,
to courts consisting of senators, equites, and the tribuni aerarii. He was consul B. c. 65 and
censor in the following year. He took an active part in suppressing the Catilinarian conspiracy,
and supported the party of Julius Caesar, whom he proposed should be raised to regal rank.
Mommsen (Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 398) agrees in not placing these coins before B. c. 92, on
account of the serrated edge, and so identifies the moneyer as above.
* Cavedoni (Saggio, p. 132) suggests that as the head of Vulcan occurs on the coins of
Lipara, this type of obverse may refer to the conquest of that island in B.C. 252 by an ancestor
of the moneyer, C. Aurelius Cota. As, however, Vulcan, the divinity of the forge and the
furnace, is symbolical of the striking of money, it is possible that in this instance the type
may have only this interpretation. The same head, accompanied by the pincers, is seen on
bronze coins of C. Cassius Longinus (see above, p. 153), and of M. Caecilius Metellus (see
CIRC. B.C. 91 ; A.U.C. 663 201
No. Weight ...".
1297 492 || AR 75 Similar; letter L Similar.
Obverse Reverse
(Nott)
1298 || 589 | AR 85 Similar; letter O (double Similar.
struck). [Pl. xxxi. 1.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
1299|| 59.3 || AR 75 Similar ; letter O'' Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
1300 60-0 || AR 8 Similar ; letter R. Similar.
1301 || 569 || AR 75|Similar; letter S. Similar.
(Nott)
1302 || 58.0 | AR 75 Similar ; letter T. Similar.
1303 || 517 | AR 8 Similar ; letter V - Similar.
- (de Salis Coll.)
1304 || 58.2 | AR 8 || Similar; letter X Similar.
* (Nott)
With letter on reverse
1305 || 58.2 | AR 8 Similar ; no mint - letter; Similar; on r., under eagle's
countermark before head, wing, letter C
-l (Nott)
1306 || 58.5 | AR 8 || Similar ; no countermark. Similar; letter D
[Pl. xxxi. 2.]
(Blacas Coll.)
1307 || 58.8 || AR, 8 || Similar. Similar ; letter k
(Nott)
1308 || 60-5 AR 8 || Similar. Similar ; letter L
1309 || 60-7 || AR 75 | Similar. Similar ; letter NA
(Nott)
above, p. 177), and also as a moneyer's sign on denarii of L. Caesius (Babelon, vol. i., p. 281).
The eagle on the reverse, the symbol of Jupiter, holds the thunderbolt which was forged by
Vulcan.
The mint-letters used in this issue are of three series, i.e. either on the obverse, or on the
reverse, or on both sides of the same coin. In each case they extend throughout the alphabet,
but when they occur on both sides of the coin the order between that on the obverse and that
on the reverse has not been determined.
Babelon (vol. i., p. 243) thinks that as the serration of the edge denotes a local issue, these
coins may have been struck by L. Aurelius Cota during his quaestorship, and that he had as
his colleague L. Cornelius Scipio Asiagenus (see below, p. 206); but, as we have shown (see
p. 159) that the serrated coins emanated almost exclusively from the mint at Rome, we are
unable to accept this suggestion.
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1900, p. 26) mentions several specimens with the moneyer's name
reading backwards. They are all plated coins, have the mint-letters, O on the obverse and
M on the reverse, and were struck from the same dies.
There are no bronze coins of this issue.
202 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
1310 | 60:1 | AR 85 Similar. Similar ; letter S
1311 59-7 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar ; letter X
(Nott)
With letter om obverse and reverse
1312| 607 | AR 75|Similar; under chin, letter Similar; letter D
R. [Pl. xxxi. 3..]
(Nott)
|
1313|| 51.1 | AR 8 || Similar ; letter V Similar ; letter k
C , SVDIC| . C. F
(CAIUS SULPICIUS CAII FILIUS) '
Denarius 3
With letter on reverse
1314|| 58.0 | AR 8 || Two heads of the Dei Pe- || C.SVDICI. C. F (in exergue).
nates jugate r., laureate ; Two soldiers, heads bare,
in front, the letters D. T. standing facing each
T (Dei Penates Publici) other, leaning with 1.
hands on spears, and
with r. pointing to a sow,
which lies at their feet ;
above, letter A ; edge
serrated.
1315|| 59.4 AR 75 Similar. Similar ; letter C
[Pl. xxxi. 4.]
(Blacas Coll.)
* This moneyer may be C. Sulpicius Galba, who was praetor B.C. 63; or, according to
Borghesi (CEwvres compl., t. ii., p. 33), the Galba who served under Sulla in the Mithradatic
war, B. c. 86. If the latter, he may have been a son of C. Sulpicius Galba, who was quaestor
B.C. 120, and who, being accused of treason in the war against Jugurtha, was condemned in
B.C. 110 by the Lea Mamilia.
* The type of the denarius makes special allusion to the city of Lavinium, the birth-place
of the Sulpicia gens, where Aeneas is said to have brought the Penates from Troy (Mommsen,
Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 400). In consequence, the Penates were sacred there, and it is
said that when Ascanius, the son of Aeneas, some years after tried to remove them to Alba, the
attempt was unsuccessful, as the tutelary divinities returned to their former abode. The
interpretation of the letters D. D. P. as Dei Penates Publici rather than as De Pecunia Publica.
has already been discussed, and the assimilation pointed out between the Penates and the
Dioscuri (see above, p. 193). The reverse type, which represents the taking of an oath or the
swearing an alliance, occurs not infrequently in a variety of forms on coins struck both at Rome
and at local mints, especially during the Social war, and at even a much earlier period in
Campania. It is not impossible that in this particular instance this type may refer to the
attempts of Drusus and others at this time to obtain the franchise for the Italian States, the
failure of which led to the Social war; but against this interpretation it should be mentioned
that at this period it was not usual to illustrate contemporary events on coins.
This coinage is of some importance, as it appears to supply the approximate date of the
revival of the as of the uncial standard, which, as we have already shown, had been in abeyance
since circ. B. c. 150. This is another instance of the importance of the evidence to be obtained
from finds of coins (see Tables of Finds).
CIRC. B.C. 91; A.U.C. 663 203
No. Weight a; º, Obverse Reverse
1316 || 57.9 AR 8 Similar. Similar ; letter D
| |
1317 59.5 AR 75 Similar. Similar ; letter F
| |
|
1318 59.8 AR 75 Similar. Similar ; letter
1319 60-0 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar; letter L
1320 | 61.3 || AR 75 Similar. Similar; letter N
(Nott)
1321 | 61.2 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar ; letter T
(Nott)
1322 61-0 || AR “75 Similar. Similar; letter O.
1323 60-5 | AR 75 Similar. Similar ; letter R
(Nott)
1324 60:7 | AR 75 Similar. Similar ; letter S
(Nott)
1325 59-0 || AR 75 Similar. Similar; letter V
(Cracherode Coll.)
1326 57.5 | AR 7 || Similar. Incuse of obverse.
| |
| |
As
1327 463-0 | AF 1:2 | Head of Janus r., laureate ; Rol\A below Prow r. ; be-
above, I fore, palm-branch; above,
C. SVD ||
(Blacas Coll.)
* Other denominations are the semis, quadrans, and sextans, of the usual types, and all
reading C. SVDI, as on the as (Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 471, 472, nos. 3-5). Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit.,
1900, p. 81) says that all the specimens of the semis and of the quadrans that he has seen,
whether in the Capitol, Paris, Berlin, or other collections, have on the reverse, before the prow,
a palm-branch as well as the signs of value. He adds that the as is always without the mark
of value before the prow. The three-pronged object shown by Babelon (vol. ii., p. 471, no. 2)
on the obverse of the as, before the head of Janus, is only a blemish on the flan, which the
artist has turned into a special sign. It does not occur on the British Museum specimen,
which is not sufficiently well preserved to serve for illustration ; nor does Babelon mention it
in the description of the coin.
204 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight Metal Obverse Reverse
and Size
L. Wº NANA|. GAL
(LUCIUS MEMMIUS GALERIA 2)
Denarius
Without letter
1328 61.2 | AR 75 | Head of Saturn r., bearded L. MENANAI
and laureate ; behind, GAL
harpa and Rol\\A Venus,” naked, in biga r.,
* horses walking; she holds
reins with both hands and
sceptre in 1.; above, Cupid
with wreath ; edge Ser-
rated.
[Pl. xxxi. 5.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
(in exergue).
With letter on obverse
1329 58-0 || AR 75 Similar ; under chin of Similar.
Saturn, letter A
1330 60-0 | AR 75 Similar; letter A Similar.
- [Pl. xxxi. 6.]
* This moneyer was probably the elder son of Lucius Memmius, an orator of some eminence
during the war of Sulla with the Marian party, being a supporter of the latter (Cicero, pro Seat.
Rosc., 32). He was a brother of C. Memmius Galeria, with whom he issued a joint coinage a
few years later, circ. B. c. 87 (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 216, no. 8). Mommsen (Hist, mon, rom., t. ii.,
p. 427) says that Lucius Memmius served with his brother as quaestor in the war in Spain
against Sertorius, and that he was the brother-in-law of Cn. Pompey, but both these statements
need confirmation, as it would appear that it was his brother Caius who married the sister of
Pompey; nor is there any evidence that he served in Spain. This moneyer must not be
confused with the L. Memmius who struck denarii of another type, having a young laureate
head on the obverse and the Dioscuri on the reverse (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 213, no. 1), and who
evidently belonged to a different branch of the Memmia gens. These last coins are classed by
Count de Salis with the local issues (see ITALY, B. c. 90).
The fact that L. Memmius struck the as of the uncial standard shows, apart from any
evidence of finds, that his coins were issued before B. c. 88, and therefore the date (B.C. 82)
given to this issue by Babelon (vol. ii., p. 213) must be some years too late. Mommsen (Hist,
mon. rom., t. ii., p. 427) places it between B. c. 92–89, and he identifies the moneyer as the
brother of Caius Memmius. -
The contraction Gal has been interpreted Gallus, but Eckhel (Doct. nwm, vet., t. v.,
p. 251) proposes Galbius, because an inscription published by Gruter mentions a Memmius
Galvius. Mommsen, however, reads Galeria (the tribal name), and this interpretation is now
generally accepted.
* Venus was the tutelary divinity of the Memmia gens, which claimed to be of Trojan
origin, and Lucretius, in dedicating his poem De natura rerum to Caius Memmius, invokes that
goddess as his protector (Borghesi, CEwvres compl., t. i., p. 150). The occurrence of the head
of Saturn on the obverse has not been satisfactorily explained. Babelon (vol. ii., p. 214) thinks
that it indicates that these silver coins were struck by Memmius as quaestor, and it is possibly
for that reason that he has assigned so late a date to the issue. The type more probably refers
to some tradition of the Memmia family.
The mint-marks consist of letters sometimes accompanied by a dot. There are two
series, one with the letter on the obverse, the other with it on the reverse.
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 20; and 1896, pl. viii., no. 187) mentions and figures an
example of the above denarius in the Capitol from the Bignami collection reading L, Mº. MMI
only, without GAL, which he says has not been erased; nor is the piece plated or barbarous.
CIRC. B.C. 91 ; A.U.C. 663
205
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
1331 59.5 || AR 75) Similar ; letter Q Similar.
1332 58.0 | AR -75 Similar ; letter E Similar.
1333 || 605 || AR 75 |Similar; letter É Similar.
(Nott)
1334 58-7 || AR 75 | Similar ; letter ‘E Similar.
1335 | 60-7 || AR 75 Similar ; letter "F Similar.
(Nott)
1336 58-0 || AR “75 Similar ; letter G Similar.
1337 60-7 || AR 7 || Similar ; letter . I Similar.
1338 59.2 AR “75 Similar ; letter ‘k Similar.
(Nott)
1339|| 60-0 | AR 75 | Similar; letter N Similar.
(Nott)
1340 58.0 | AR 75 Similar ; letter Q Similar.
1341 59.8 || AR 75 Similar ; letter T Similar.
1342 60-5 | AR 75 | Similar ; letter ‘ſ’ and | Similar.
countermark -E
1343| 58.4 || AR 75 | Similar ; letter R ; no | Similar.
countermark. (Nott)
1344 60-5 | AR 75 Similar ; letter S Similar. -
(Blacas Coll.)
1345 57-0 || AR 75 Similar ; letter T Similar.
1346 59-7 || AR “75 Similar ; letter V Similar.
(Nott)
With letter on reverse
1347 | 60.3 AR 75 Similar ; no letter. Similar; letter below horse's
- leg, A
1348 || 63.4 AR 7 || Similar. Similar ; letter E
1349 || 60-0 || AR “7 Similar. Similar ; letter ‘F
[Pl. xxxi. 7.]
1350 | 61.4 AR “75 | Similar. Similar; letter H
1351 57.0 | AR 7 | Similar. Similar ; letter T
206 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
1352 60.7 | AR 75 Similar. Similar ; letter T
(Nott)
1353 || 58-7 || AR, 75 | Similar. - Similar; letter Ö.
1354 58.3 | AR 7 || Similar. Similar ; letter Q.
1355 | 58.7 | AR 7 | Similar. Similar; letter Š
1356 | 60-3 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar ; letter V
(de Salis Coll.)
As
1857 ||373-0 | AF 1:25 | Head of Janus, laureate; RoMA below Prow r.; the
above, I stem post (acroterium)
of which is ornamented
with the head of Venus,
crowned by Cupid; above,
L. M. NANA)
[Pl. xxxi. 8.]
Sermis
1358 ||141-0 || AE 9 | Head of Jupiterr., laureate; Similar; above moneyer's
behind, S name, S
Quadrans |
1359 880 AE 75 | Head of young Hercules r., Similar ; above moneyer's
wearing lion's skin; be- name, * * *
hind, 3
L. SCIT' . ASIAG
(LUCIUS [CORNELIUS] SCIPIO ASIAGENUS):
Denarius
With letter on obverse
SERIES I.
1360 | 609 || AR 7 | Head of Jupiter l., laureate; L. SCID . ASIAG (in ex-
behind, letter A ergue). , Jupiter in quad-
riga r., horses galloping;
he hurls thunderbolt with
r. hand, and in 1. holds
Sceptre and reins; edge
serrated.
1 These appear to be the only denominations known of the bronze coins of this issue. The
semis and the quadrans described by Cohen (Monn. de la rép, rom., p. 211, nos. 5, 6) and
Mommsen (Hist. mon. rom., t. ii., p. 344) on the statement of Riccio (Mon. fam. rom. Suppl.,
pl. lxi., Memmia, nos. 1, 2), with the moneyer's name C.M.MMI, do not exist; or rather,
they are coins of Lucius Memmius, on which Riccio has read in error the name of Caius, or on
which the letter L may have been altered by tooling into C (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 215).
* Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 379) says “with Cavedoni we shall attribute these
coins to the consul of B.C. 83 rather than to his son, as the surname Asiagenus had at first led
us to suppose.” Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus, who was consul B.C. 83, first comes under
CIRC. B.C. 91; A.U.C. 663 207
No. Weight º's. Obverse Reven'se
1361 61-0 | AR 7 Similar ; letter C Similar.
[Pl. xxxi. 9..]
1362 58-7 || AR 8 || Similar ; letter F Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
1363 609 || AR 7 Similar; letter k Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
1364 57-0 | AR 8 || Similar ; letter k. Similar.
1365 59-0 || AR 75 Similar; letter I- Similar.
1366 61-0 || AR 75 | Similar; letter N Similar.
1367 59-7 || AR 75 Similar ; letter VI. Similar.
1368 || 51.5 | AR 7 || Similar ; letter 'O Similar.
1369|| 61.8 || AR, 7 || Similar ; letter O. Similar.
1370 61.5 | AR 7 || Similar ; letter T. Similar.
1371 58.6 || AR “75 Similar ; letter O. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
1372 59-0 || AR “75 Similar ; letter R. Similar.
1373 61-0 || AR 7 || Similar; letter V Similar.
notice about B. c. 100, when he took up arms against Saturninus. He subsequently served in
the Social war, and in the year of his consulship, being of the Marian party, he was taken
prisoner, with his son Lucius, by Sulla, who, however, at once released them. In the following
year he was amongst those proscribed by Sulla, and taking flight, he settled at Massilia, where he
died. The dates when he filled the other offices of state which led up to the consulship do not
appear to be recorded, though Babelon (vol. i., p. 398) suggests that he was quaestor circ.
B. c. 90, when he struck the above coins. Of his son Lucius nothing appears to be known after
his release by Sulla, but it is to him rather than to his father that we would attribute these coins,
especially as there seems to be no evidence either that they were struck during the latter's
quaestorship or that they were of local fabric (see Babelon, vol. i., p. 399). In style the denarii
of L. Scipio are very similar to those of L. Memmius, and the resemblance of the heads on the
obverse of the two issues is so marked that Babelon has considered that both were intended for
Saturn, but the absence of the harpa on the coins of L. Scipio makes it impossible to connect
the head with that divinity. As the denarii of this issue, which occurred in the Oliva and
Cazlona hoards, were all in very fine condition, it is evident that they must have been struck
cwc. B. c. 91 (see Tables of Finds).
The type of Jupiter in a quadriga is a record of the victory of L. Cornelius Scipio, son of
the great Africanus, who during his consulship, B.C. 190, defeated Antiochus of Syria at Mount
Sipylus, after which he entered Rome in triumph, and assumed the surname of Asiaticus. The
head of Jupiter on the obverse is thus connected with the reverse type. Of the cognomina
Asiagenws, or Asiagenes, and Asiaticus, the last is more generally given to the ancestors of the
moneyer.
This moneyer uses four series of mint-marks, in each case consisting of letters of the
alphabet alone or accompanied by a dot. When the letter occurs on the obverse it is placed
either behind or before the head of Jupiter; when on the reverse, either above the quadriga or
in the exergue.
Denarii of this issue are sometimes countermarked with the name of Vespasian, and there is
a plated hybrid in the Vienna Museum reading ASIAO for ASI AG, and having for obverse type
that of the denarius of P. Clodius M. f., with the head of Apollo (Babelon, vol. i., p. 355, no. 14).
Another, in the Bahrfeldt collection, has the reverse of the denarius of Q. Antonius Balbus
(Babelon, vol. i., p. 158, no. 1).
There are no bronze coins of this issue.
208
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
1374
1375
1376
1377
1378
1379
1380
1381
1382
1383
1384
1385
1386
1387
1388
1389
1390
1391
1392
1393
Weight
59.7
60-7
59-6
58.2
60-0
60.5
57.5
61.3
61.5
61:0
60-7
59.5
58.4
58-7
53.7
58.4
61.7
59.7
62.2
61.8
Metal
and Swze
AR. 8
AR -75
AR -8
AR -8
AR, 8
AR -75
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR. 8
AR. 75
AR, 8
AR. 75
AR, 7
AR -75
AR, 8
AR, 7
AR, 75
AR, -8
AR, -8
AR 75
Obverse
Reverse
SERIES II.
Similar ; letter under chin
of Jupiter, C
Similar ; letter E.
Similar ; letter F.
Similar ; letter 'G
Similar ; letter T
Similar; letter V
Similar ; letter X:
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
With letter on reverse
SERIES I.
Similar ; no letter.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
| Similar ; letter above quad-
riga, B
Similar ; letter D-
[Pl. xxxi. 10.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar ; letter G
Similar ; letter H
Similar ; letter I
Similar ; letter K-
Similar ; letter L.
(Nott)
Similar ; letter NA
(Nott)
Similar ; letter ‘NA
Similar ; letter N
Similar ; letter O
(Nott)
Similar; letter Ö
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar ; letter 'O
CIRC. B.C. 90 ; A.U.C. 664 209
No.
1394
1395
1396
1397
1398
1399
1400
1401
1402
1403
1404
1405
Weight
60-0
55-0
54-5
60-0
58-3
57-0
57.7
61.9
49-3
54-3
61.2
62-7
Metal
and Swze
AR -8
AR. 8
AR 75
AR 8
AR -75
AR. 75
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR 7
AR 75
AR 75
AR. 7
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Obverse
Reverse
Similar ; letter C.
Similar ; letter S
Similar ; letter 'S
Similar ; letter T
(Nott)
Similar ; letter V
(Nott)
SERIES II.
Similar ; letter in the ex-
ergue, A
Similar ; letter ‘k
Similar ; letter L'
Similar ; letter R
Similar ; letter V
Similar ; letter V
Circ. B.C. 90; A.U.C. 6641
L. IVLl . L. F. CAESAR
(LUCIUS JULIUS LUCII FILIUS CAESAR)
Denarius
With same letter on obverse and reverse
Head of Mars 1., wearing
crested helmet orna-
mented at the side with
a feather ; the visor is in
one piece and peaked ;
behind, CAESAR ; above,
letter B
L. IVLl . L. F (in exergue).
Venus Genetrix in biga I.,
drawn by two Cupids,
before whom is a lyre ;
Venus holds sceptre in
r. hand and reins in 1. ;
above, letter B
[Pl. xxxi. 11.]
* The coinage attributed to this year is again an extensive one, due in a great measure, if
not entirely, to the outbreak of the Marsic or Social war, which proved a great strain not only
on Rome but also on those cities which remained faithful to her (see CoINs of ITALY of this
Period). Amongst the issues two at least were of a special nature, those of M. Lucilius Rufus and
C. Fabius, which bear respectively the legend TV (Publice) and EXA. TV (Ea argento publico),
showing that they were struck from bullion taken out of the public treasury, where a large
reserve was kept against such emergencies.
moneyers into two groups.
From their coins it is possible to divide the
To the first group belong L. Julius L. f. Caesar, C. Coilius Caldus,
E E
210
COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight ...". Obverse Reverse
1406 || 60-3 || AR 65 Similar ; letter 8 Similar ; letter 8
1407 || 52-3 || AR 65 Similar ; letter 3 Similar ; letter 8
1408 || 60-6 || AR 7 | Similar; letter Č Similar ; letter Č
1409 || 59.4 || AR 7 || Similar ; letter D Similar ; letter D
1410 | 61-0 | AR 7 || Similar; letter D Similar; letter D
(Nott)
1411 || 60.2 | AR 7 || Similar ; letter D Similar ; letter ‘D
1412 60.2 | AR 7 || Similar ; letter D- Similar ; letter D."
1413 || 51.5 | AR 65 | Similar ; letter D. Similar ; letter ‘D’
1414 | 63-0 || AR 6 Similar ; letter Ö Similar; letter d
1415 || 61-7 || AR 7 || Similar ; letter Q. Similar ; letter 'G'
1416 59-7 || AR 7 || Similar ; letter ‘E Similar ; letter ‘E
(Nott)
w
and L. Appuleius Saturninus, who from certain similarities in their types may have formed a
mint-triumvirate ; and to the second group, P. Vettius Sabinus, who struck only quinarii,
C. Fabius C. f., M. Lucilius Rufus, and L. Thorius Balbus. The resemblance between the
issues of these groups will be referred to in the description of the coins. They are the latest
that occurred in the Cazlona and Oliva hoards (see Tables of Finds).
In the mint-marks there is a slight development, though they still consist only of letters.
In several issues the letters are generally accompanied by dots, ranging in number from one to
four, placed around them, i.e. en satellite, but in one instance, that of C. Fabius, the Greek
alphabet as well as the Latin is used. On the denarii of L. Julius Caesar and on the quinarii
of P. Sabinus the same Latin letter occurs on the reverse as on the obverse.
The denarii show the usual variation in type, but there is a slight revival of the head of
Roma for that of the obverse.
Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 393) was disposed to identify the moneyer L. Julius
L. f. Caesar with the consul of the same name B.C. 90, who commanded one of the armies
of Rome in the Marsic war, rather than to his son, who was consul B.C. 64. Babelon
(vol. ii., p. 5) assigns the coins, however, to the latter, which is much more probable if it be
accepted that this issue took place circ. B. c. 90. L. Julius L. f. Caesar, uncle by his sister Julia
of Mark Antony, the triumvir, was consul B. c. 64, took an active part in the prosecution of the
Catilinarian conspirators, was legate to Julius Caesar in Gaul B.C. 52, and accompanied him
to Rome B.C. 49. After the death of the dictator, on account of his advanced years he did not
take a very active part in state affairs, but opposed the more violent of the Octavian party. On
this account he was placed on the list of the proscribed, but his sister Julia obtained a pardon
for him.
The reverse type of his coins is emblematic of the cult of the Julia family, which claimed
its descent from Venus, and the head of Mars on the obverse may point to past military
successes gained by members of the family as well as to the mythical connection between
that divinity and Venus. Babelon (loc. cit.) suggests that the obverse type is a record of the
moneyer's father, who was engaged in the Marsic war, but against this view it may be urged
that current events were not as yet recorded by moneyers. This type of head of Mars was
imitated on the Oscan coins struck during the Social war (see ITALY).
The mint-marks used by L. Julius Caesar consist of the same letter on the obverse and
reverse, usually accompanied by one or two dots, placed above, below, or at the side. The
letters themselves are often shown reversed. Though the style of the coins of L. Julius Caesar
differs a little from that of the coins of C. Coilius Caldus and L. Appuleius Saturninus, it is
quite possible that all three may have been colleagues at the mint... The slight differences in
style of the various issues of this year may be the result of different officinae employing
separate die-engravers.
There are no bronze coins of this issue.
CIRC. B.C. 90 ; A.U.C. 664
211
No.
1417
1418
1419
1420
1421
1422
1423
1424
1425
1426
1427
1428
1429
1430
1431
1432
1433
1434
Weight
60-9
59-0
59.3
61-5
59.2
50-4
59.2
61:4
58-7
60-4
56.0
43-0
52-4
59.4
58-0
60-0
58-4
59.3
Metal
and Size
AR. 6
AR 65
AR. 65
AR. 65
AR. 6
AR. 6
(plated)
AR. 65
AR. 65
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar ;
Obverse
letter ā
letter G
letter 'G'
letter ‘D’
letter K
letter L'
letter I
letter V
letter F
letter ſº
letter T'''
letter Q.
letter R.'
letter Å
letter XI
letter S
letter S
letter &
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
*
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Reverse
letter 3
letter G
(Nott)
letter 'G'
letter D.
(Nott)
letter k
(Nott)
letter L'
(Nott)
letter -
letter M
letter ſº
letter fº
letter T'''
letter Q.
letter R.
(de Salis Coll.)
letter X
(Nott)
letter X,
letter S
letter Š
letter &
(Nott)
212
COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
C. COIL. CALD
(CAIUS COILIUS CALDUS) '
Denarius
With letter on reverse
Series I.
1435 | 61-5 | AR 75 | Head of Roma 1., wearing | Victory in biga 1.” horses
winged helmet orna- galloping; she holds reins
mented with gryphon's with both hands; below
head; the visor in three horses, C. COIL ; in ex-
pieces and peaked; ear- ergue, CALD ; above,
ring of single drop, and letter A“%
necklace.
1436 || 59-7 || AR 7 || Similar; earring of triple | Similar; letter C
drop.
1437 | 61.1 | AR 75 | Similar. Similar; letter &
(de Salis Coll.)
1438 || 59.5 | AR 75 Similar. Similar ; letter D
1439 609 || AR 7 || Similar; earring of single | Similar; letter D
drop. [Pl. xxxi. 12.]
* Mommsen (Hast. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 389) identifies this moneyer with C. Coilius Caldus,
who was consul B.C. 94, and who had been tribune of the plebs B.C. 107, when he proposed
a lea: tabellarna. Cicero (De Orat. i., 25, 117) describes him as homo novus. He was the
first member of his family to attain the consulship. This attribution, however, does not
coincide with the suggested date of the coins, and it would seem much more probable that
the moneyer was a son of the consul and an uncle of the C. Coelius Caldus who was also a
moneyer some years later (see his coins under date B.C. 61; also Babelon, vol. i., pp. 372-
375), and from whose coins we learn that his uncle was imperator, augur, and decemvir (sacris
faciundis). Blacas (Mommsen, Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 389) and Babelon (vol. i., p. 369)
were both of this opinion. It may be noticed that on some of his denarii the moneyer only
gives his cognomen; this appears to be about the earliest occurrence of such a variety.
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zewt., 1896, p. 90) notices that sometimes the moneyer's name is given as
C. COI v . CAV D for C. COIL. CALD. The occurrence of the old form of V for L was
probably only due to an engraver’s carelessness, as at this time on coins V was epigraphically
out of use, but the letter P still keeps to the early forms of T and P.
* The reverse type probably refers to the successes of the moneyer's father in Spain during
the year of his consulship.
* The mint-marks of this moneyer consist of letters of the alphabet, which are placed on
the reverse only. They are of two series, each extending throughout the alphabet : one
with the letter above the chariot of Victory, the other with the letter in the exergue. The
second series occurs when the cognomen only of the moneyer is given. Each letter is usually
accompanied by one or more points up to four placed en satellite. In respect of the mint-
letters, the head of Roma on the obverse, which is turned to the left, and the general style and
fabric, the coins of C. Coilius Caldus are so similar to those of L. Appuleius Saturninus, next
described, that it may be presumed that these moneyers were colleagues at the mint. We have
noted the changes in the form of the earring, which at this Period, unlike at the earlier
stage of the silver coinage, are of no importance for chronology.
There are no bronze coins of this issue.
CIRC. B.C. 90 ; A.U.C.
213
664
No.
1440
1441
1442
1443
1444
1445
1446
1447
1448
1449
1450
1451
1452
1453
1454
1455
1456
1457
1458
1459
1460
Weight
59.4
60-4
59.5
59.0
59.4
60-2
60.5
57.6
57.7
58.4
49.5
59.5
59-2
59.8
58.5
59.0
61-5
58.8
58.0
55-3
58-4
Metal
and Size
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 7
AR. 75
AR. 7
AR. 75
AR. 7
AR 7
AR. 75
AR, 7
AR 7
AR. '7
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR -7
AR, -75
AR -7
AR. 75
|
Obverse
Similar; earring of triple
drop.
Similar.
Similar; earring of single
drop.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar; earring of triple
drop.
Similar ; earring of single
drop.
Similar.
Similar; earring of triple
drop.
Similar; earring of single
drop.
Similar.
Similar; earring of triple
drop.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar; earring of single
drop.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar; earring of triple
drop.
Similar; earring of single
drop ; countermark O on
face.
Similar; earring of triple
drop ; no countermark.
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Reverse
letter D.
letter F
letter F
letter H
letter H
letter I-
letter k.
same letter.
letter i.
letter l-
letter ‘NA
letter N
letter N-
letter N.
letter O.
letter . Tº
letter T
letter O.
letter R.:
letter T
Similar; letter T.
(Blacas Coll.)
214
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
1461
1462
1463
1464
1465
1466
1467
1468
1469
1470
1471
1472
1473
1474
1475
1476
Weight
59.7
61-9
61-5
60-0
58-5
58-5
61-0
58-0
61-0
60-6
60.5
61.4
55-0
56.3
61-0
60-2
Metal
and Size
AR. ''/
AR, 75
AR 75
AR •75
AR. '7
AR. 8
AR •75
AR. 7
AR, 75
AR, 75
AR, 75
AR. 75
AR, 7
AR. 7
AR. 75
AR. '75
Obverse
Reverse
Similar; earring of single | Similar; letter V
drop.
Similar.
Similar ;
drop.
Similar.
Similar ;
drop.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ;
drop.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar;
drop.
Similar ;
drop.
Similar ;
drop.
Similar.
Similar ;
drop.
Similar;
drop.
Similar ; letter X
(Blacas Coll.)
Series II.
earring of triple
earring of single
earring of triple
earring of single
earring of triple
earring of single
earring of triple
earring of single
Similar; legend CALD un-
der horses’ feet ; in ex-
ergue, letter ‘A
[Pl. xxxi. 13.]
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar ; letter C
Similar ; letter ‘D.
Similar ; letter ‘’D
Similar ; letter E:
Similar ; letter E:-
Similar ; letter :E-
Similar ; letter :F.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; letter G
Similar ; letter H.
Similar ; letter ‘I
Similar ; letter I:
Similar ; letter :k:
Similar ; letter 'L'
CIRC. B.C. 90 ; A.U.C. 664
215
No.
1477
1478
1479
1480
1481
1482
1483
1484
1485
1486
1487
1488
1489
1490
1491
1492
Weight
61:0
61-0
57.0
60.5
61-0
62-0
60-0
57.1
59.5
44-0
59.3
59.3
58-0
56-0
60-0
56-7
Metal
and Size
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR 7
AR 7
AR 7
AR 7
AR 75
AR. ''/
AR 7
AF. 75
AR, 75
AR 7
AR, 75
AR. 8
AR. 75
Obverse
Similar; earring of triple
drop.
Similar; earring of single
drop.
Similar ; earring of triple
drop.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar; earring of single
drop.
Similar ; earring of triple
drop.
Similar ; under chin,
countermark C
Similar; no countermark.
Similar ; earring of single
drop.
Similar; earring of triple
drop.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar; earring of single
drop.
Similar ; earring of triple
drop ; on cheek, counter-
mark O
Reverse
Similar ; letter L:-
Similar ; letter NA:
Similar ; letter NW
Similar ; letter 'N
Similar ; letter O:-
Similar ; letter ‘’O
Similar ; letter T
Similar ; letter :Ol'
Similar ; letter :O:
Similar ; letter “R”
Similar ; letter R.
Similar ; letter T.
Similar ; letter V:
Similar ; letter X
Similar ; letter 'X'.
Similar ; letter X:-
216 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight º'. Obverse Reverse
L. SATVRN
(LUCIUS [APPULEIUS] SATURNINUS) '
Denarius
Type I.
With letter on reverse
Series I.
1493 582 | AR 75 | Head of Roma 1., wearing | L. SATVRN (in exergue).
winged helmet orna- Saturn in quadriga r.,
mented , with gryphon's | horses galloping; he
head; the visor in three holds fala: in r. hand
pieces and peaked; ear- and reins in l. ; above,
ring of single drop, and letter A
necklace; behind, counter- (Blacas Coll.)
mark S
1494 | 61-8 || AR “75 | Similar ; no countermark. Similar ; letter :A
1495 || 59-7 || AR “75 | Similar. Similar; letter B
(Nott)
1496 || 60-5 | AR -75 | Similar. Similar ; letter to
1497 || 59-7 || AR 75 Similar. Similar ; letter C
[Pl. xxxi. 14.]
1498 || 57.4 || AR “75 Similar. Similar ; letter rº
1499 || 61-6 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar ; letter Q
(Nott)
1500 58.5 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar ; letter . n.
* This moneyer may be Lucius Appuleius Saturninus, who was propraetor of Macedonia
B.C. 58, and a friend of Cicero. The coins are of too recent a date to be attributed to the elder
L. Appuleius Saturninus, who was quaestor B.C. 104, and a tribune of the plebs B. c. 102 and 100.
He was a strong supporter of the Marian party. One specimen only of this issue appears to
have been in the Oliva hoard. This is the only member of the Appuleia gens of whom we have
COIIlS.
The reverse type is apparently only an allusion to the cognomen of the moneyer.
The similarity in fabric and style, and also in the obverse type, between the coins of
L. Saturninus and C. Coilius Caldus has already been noted (see p. 212). The mint-marks on
the two issues are also alike. Those of L. Saturninus are of two series, each one consisting of all
the letters of the alphabet, placed in the field on the reverse, either above or below the chariot
of Saturn. The letters are upright or horizontal, and are accompanied by one, two, three,
or four points, en satellite. The variations in the type of the denarius seem to point to some
exceptional circumstances. This is one of the earliest instances of such variation, which does
not again occur in the coinage attributed to the Roman mint during B.C. 90. Though the two
varieties of the main type are but scantily represented in the National Collection, it would
appear that on each of them all the letters of the alphabet as mint-marks occur.
Of the bronze coins of this issue only the as and the uncia are known. The former is of
the usual type and of the uncial standard, which helps to give a date to the whole issue; the
latter has a special type for the reverse, which was not unusual at this time. On both
these coins the name of the moneyer is given in forms differing from those on the denarii.
CIRC. B.C. 90 ; A.U.C. 664
217
No.
1501
1502
1503
1504
1505
1506
1507
1508
1509
1510
1511
1512
1513
1514
1515
1516
1517
1518
1519
1520
1521
1522
Weight
56.4
50-0
59-6
59.0
59.7
54-5
58.0
61:0
59.5
58.2
61.7
58-5
59.5
60-0
60-0
55-2
58.4
50-4
61-5
61-6
62-0
57.8
Metal
and Size
AR.
AR
.
:
:
AR.
º
.
-75
•8
.75
.75
.75
.75
•75
.75
Obverse
Similar ; countermark on
face, T
Similar ; no countermark.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse
Similar ; letter . U.
letter É
(Nott)
Similar ;
Similar ; letter rin
Similar ; letter . ch
letter . ch.
(Nott)
Similar ;
Similar; letter H
Similar ; letter |
Similar ; letter k.
Similar ; letter ‘k.
Similar; letter N
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; letter z
Similar ; letter O.
letter :O:
(Nott)
Similar ;
Similar; letter ſ.
letter - a
(Nott)
Similar ;
Similar ; letter .75.
Similar ; letter T
Similar ; letter V.
Similar ; letter V
Similar ; letter X-
letter 'X
Similar ;
same letter.
F F
Similar ;
218
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
1523
1524
1525
1526
1527
1528
1529
1530
1531
1532
1533
1534
1535
1536
1537
1538
1539
1540
1541
1542
1543
1544
Weight
60-8
58-5
59.5
59.7
58-8
61:0
60-8
61-5
60-2
54-4
59-0
59.7
60-3
55.7
60-0
46-4
61-0
61.3
59.0
60-8
59.7
60-2
Metal
and Size
AR -75
AR. 75
AR -8
AR -7
AR. -75
AR, 75
AR -75
AR. 75
AR •75
AR. 75
AR. -75
AR. 7
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 8
AR -75
(plated)
AR. 8
AR •75
AR. 7
AR •8
AR 75
AR 8
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Obverse
Reven'se
SERIES II.
Similar; letter under horses,
> (Nott)
Similar ; letter ->
Similar ; letter ‘B
[Pl. xxxi. 15.]
Similar ; letter G
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; letter ‘C
Similar ; letter ºn
Similar ; letter . n.
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar ; letter o
Similar ; letter o
Similar; letter É
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; letter rin
Similar ; letter F.
(Cracherode Coll)
Similar ; letter -n.
Similar ; letter H
Similar ; letter ‘l.
Ç
Similar ; letter —.
Similar; letter k
(Nott)
Similar ; letter L
Similar; letter M
Similar ; letter ‘NA
Similar ; letter 3.
(Nott)
Similar ; letter Z
CIRC. B.C. 90 ; A.U.C. 664
219
No.
. 1545
1546
1547
1548
1549
1550
1551
1552
1553
1554
1555
1556
1558
1559
1560
Weight
57.5
60-3
60-0
59-0
60-2
57.7
55.5
59.7
59-0
59.0
59.0
59.2
48.2
58-6
57.3
46.7
Metal
and Size
AR 7
AR.
•75
.75
AR. 8
AR
.75
•75
•75
.75
.75
•75
AR 7
AR. 8
(plated)
Obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
IReverse
Similar ; letter -S.
Similar ; letter O
Similar ; letter O'
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; letter T
Similar ; letter R
Similar ; letter R'
Similar ; letter tº
Similar ; letter -
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar ; letter ...— .
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; letter ‘
Similar; letter X
Similar; letter X
Similar ; letter 'X.
Type II.
With letter on reverse
Head of Roma 1., wearing
winged helmet orna-
mented with gryphon's
head, &c., similar to
no. 1493; behind, L. SZR
Similar.
Similar.
Head of Roma 1., wearing
winged helmet orna-
mented with gryphon's
head, similar to obverse;
behind, letter -C
Similar ; letter H
[Pl. xxxi. 16.]
Similar ; letter O
(de Salis Coll.)
220
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
1561
1562
1563
Weight
56-5
58.0
57.8
468-0
47.0
Metal
and Size
AR '8
AR 75
AR 7
AE 1.3
AE 6
Obverse
RoMA (in exergue). Saturn
in quadriga r., horses
galloping; he holds fala:
in r. hand and reins in l.,
similar to no. 1493 rev.
Similar.
Similar.
Head of Janus, laureate;
above, I
Head of Roma r., wearing
crested helmet ; behind, *
L. SARN
Reverse
Type III.
With letter on reverse
L. SATVRN (in exergue).
Saturn in quadriga r.,
&c., as on obverse; 1 under
horses, letter C
[Pl. xxxi. 17.]
Similar ; letter ‘G
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; letter Ol'
(Nott)
As
RONMA below Prow r. ; be-
fore, l ; above, L. SAT
[Babelon, vol. i., p. 209, no. 4.]
Uncia
within laurel-
wreath ; below moneyer's
name, O -
[Babelon, vol. i., p. 209, no. 5.]
* Cohen (Mon. rép. rom., p. 41) mentions a hybrid with L. SATVRN inscribed on the
obverse as well as on the reverse; and Bahrfeldt (Zeit. f. Num., 1877, p. 29), another with the
obverse of the denarius of Q. Marcius Libo (see p. 94).


CIRC. B.C. 90 ; A.U.C. 664 221
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
Tº . SABIN
(PUBLIUS [VETTIUS] SABINUS)1
Quinarius 2
With same letter on obverse and reverse
1564 27-6 || AR 55 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; Victory standing r., holding
behind, letter B palm in 1. hand and with
r. placing wreath on
trophy; before her, T.
SABIN ; on r. of trophy,
letter B; in exergue, O.
(Quinarius).
1565 29.5 | AR 55 Similar; letter 3 Similar; letter 3
[Pl. xxxi. 18.]
1566 27-0 | AR 65|Similar; letter É Similar; letter É
1567 25.5 | AR 55 | Similar; letter F Similar; letter F
1568 29.5 | AR 55 Similar ; letter G Similar ; letter G
1569 || 30-0 || AR 6 Similar ; letter H Similar ; letter H
1570 288 || AR 55 | Similar; letter H Similar; letter H
1571 26.4 || AR 55 Similar ; letter I Similar ; letter l
1572 28.8 || AR 55 Similar ; letter k Similar ; letter k
(Cracherode Coll.)
1573 287 | AR 5 || Similar; letter k Similar; letter k
1574 26.8 || AR 55 |Similar; letter ‘k Similar; letter ‘k
1575 27.8 || AR 55 | Similar; letter N Similar; letter N
(de Salis Coll.)
* The identification of this moneyer is somewhat uncertain, but he was probably a member
of the Vettia family, as at this time the praenomen Publius and cognomen Sabinus were
generally borne by members of that family. It is therefore not impossible that he was the
Publius Vettius, who was the quaestor of C. Verres in Sicily circ. B. c. 73. He is spoken
of by Cicero as an honourable man (Cicero, in Verr. v. 44).
* The dates of the issue of the quinarii of P. Sabinus and those of C. Egnatuleius and T.
Cloulius have already been discussed (see above, p. 166). The occurrence of the same mint-letter
together on the obverse and reverse is an argument in favour of the later issue of the quinarii of
P. Sabinus, and the use of points en satellite in connection with these letters, similar to those on
the denarii of L. Julius Caesar classed to this year, helps to give us the approximate date of
their striking. These mint-letters extend throughout the alphabet. The letter O on the
reverse is the initial of quimarius and not of quaestor as sometimes interpreted. The type is
practically a copy of the old victoriatus.
The quinarius is the only denomination known of this moneyer. There is a hybrid
consisting of the obverse of the quinarius of P. Wettius Sabinus and of the reverse of the
quinarius of L. Sestius, the pro-quaestor of M. Brutus, whose coins in this work are attributed
to the East, circ. B.C. 43–42 (Bahrfeldt, Zeit. f. Num., 1877, p. 35).
222 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight nº. Obverse Reverse
1576 29-0 | AR 55 Similar; letter R Similar; letter R.
1577 27.5 | AR 6 || Similar ; letter S Similar ; letter S
1578 27.8 || AR 55 | Similar; letter Š Similar; letter Š
1579 27-0 | AR 6 || Similar; letter Š Similar; letter Š
* (Blacas Coll.)
1580 29-0 || AR 55 |Similar; letter X Similar; letter X
C. FAB|. C. F
(CAIUS FABIUS CAII FILIUS)1
Denarius
SERIES I.
With Greek letter on obverse
1581 61-0 || AR 85 | Head of Cybele r., turreted C. FABI. C. F (in exergue).
and veiled, and wearing | Victory in biga r., horses
earring of single drop galloping; she holds goad
and necklace ; behind, in r. hand and reins in
Greek letter B l.; before horses, a heron
or stork (buteo 2).
1582| 603 || AR 85 Similar; letter €. Similar.
1583 57-3 || AR 85 Similar; letter H. Similar.
1584 605 || AR 85 Similar; letter K Similar.
1585 59.5 | AR 85 Similar; letter Å Similar.
* This moneyer is only known to us from his coins. The bird on the reverse would connect
him with the cognomen. Buteo, which was borne by a section of the Fabia gens. Pliny
(Hist. Nat. x. 8, 9) describes the buteo as a bird of prey, but on the coins the bird shown is of
the heron species. The Fabia gens is said to have assumed this cognomen, because a bird of
this species alighted on the prow of the ship which conveyed the consul, N. Fabius M. f.M. n.,
to Sicily, where he conducted the siege of Drepanum during the second Punic war. This
Fabius appears to have been the first to assume the cognomen Buteo. The bird therefore is
in the nature of a type parlant. Beyond the evidence of the coins there is no record of any
member of the Fabia family of this Period who bore the praenomen Caius together with the
cognomen Buteo.
The reverse type is of so general a character that it is not possible to connect it with any
particular member of the Fabia gens, which was one of the most ancient patrician families at
Rome, and which traced its origin from Hercules and the Arcadian Evander. Cybele may
therefore have been the tutelary divinity of the Fabia gens, and in consequence the moneyer
placed her head on his coins.
The mint-marks are of two series: one consisting of all the letters of the Greek alphabet;
the other, of all the letters of the Roman alphabet. These letters are, as before, usually
accompanied by one, two, or three dots, placed en satellite. This is the first use of the Greek
alphabet for such marks.
CIRC. B.C. 90; A.U.C. 664 223
No. Weight .º. Obverse Reverse
1586 60-0 || AR 85 Similar; letter M. Similar.
1587 57.3 || AR 8 Similar; letter Ó Similar.
1588 55-6 || AR 8 Similar; letter P Similar.
1589 58.6 | AR 8 || Similar; letter © Similar.
[Pl. xxxi. 19.]
1590 614 || AR 8 || Similar; letter (0 Similar.
SERIES II.
With Latin letter on reverse
1591 || 56-0 || AR 85 | Similar; no mint-letter, and | Similar; under horses, Latin
behind head of Cybele letter A
EX. A . TV (Ea argento
publico).]
1592 | 60.2 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar; letter A.
1593 || 58.5 | AR 75 | Similar; above head of Similar; letter B
Cybele, countermark r, [Pl. xxxi. 20.]
(Nott)
1594 | 61.5 | AR 8 || Similar ; no countermark. Similar; letter B.
(de Salis Coll.)
1595 || 59.5 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar; letter &
1596 || 61.9 || AR “75 | Similar. Similar; letter C.
(Nott)
1597 || 55-6 || AR, 8 || Similar. Similar; letter D
1598 || 59.5 | AR 85 | Similar. Similar; letter É
1599 || 59-7 || AR 75 | Similar. Similar ; letter E.
* (Nott)
1600 57-5 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar; letter k
1601 || 57-7 || AR, -85 | Similar. Similar; letter i
* The legend EXA. TV (Ea argento publico) shows that this coinage was an exceptional
one, the bullion for which was taken from the public treasury. No doubt it was occasioned by
the stress of the Social war, which was then in progress. Babelon (Rev. Nwm., 1884, p. 41)
suggests that this special issue arose out of the provisions of the Lea Plautia Papiria, passed in
B.c. 89 (see above, p. 189), but as the as prescribed by that law was of the semuncial standard,
and the coin of that denomination struck by C. Fabius is of the uncial standard, it is evident
that this coinage took place before the passing of that law. The date (B.C. 90) given by
Count de Salis is therefore a very probable one; but as no specimens of this coinage, though it
must have been an extensive one, occurred in the Oliva hoard, the issue was late in this year or
early in the following one. There were, however, five specimens in the Ricina hoard (see
Tables of Finds).
224
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
1602
1603
1604
1605
1606
1607
1608
1609
1610
1611
1612
1613
1614
Weight
61.5
60-0
58-7
60.5
4.1.8
60-8
59.5
61:0
58.8
436.0
333-0
61:0
57.7
Metal,
and Swze
AR. '85
AR 85
AR. 8
AR, 7
AR. 75
(plated)
AR, '85
AR, 8
AR. 8
AR. 8
AE 1.3
AE 1.3
AR, 9
AR. 8
Obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse
Similar ; letter N
(Nott)
Similar; letter N
Similar; letter Ö
Similar; letter T
Similar; letter ſº
Similar; letter R.
Similar; letter R
Similar ; letter V
Similar; letter V
As 1
Head of Janus, laurate;
above, I
Similar.
RONMA below Prow r. ;
on the beak stands a
heron or stork (buteo 2);
above, C. FAB|. C. F
Similar.
[Pl. xxxii. 1.]
(Blacas Coll.)
NA. LVCILl . RVF
(MARCUS LUCILIUS RUFUS)?
Denarius
Head of Roma r., wearing
winged helmet orna-
mented with gryphon's
head ; the visor in three
pieces and peaked; neck-
lace, but no earring ;
behind, TV” (Publice);
the whole within laurel-
wreath.
Similar.
Victory in biga r., horses
galloping; she holds whip
in r. hand and reins in
1. ; below, NA. LVCIL! ;
above, RVF; edge serrated.
[Pl. xxxi. 21.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
(Nott)
* This is the only denomination in bronze known of this issue.
the uncial standard.
* This moneyer appears to be unknown except from his coins, which consist of denarii
only. He cannot well be the M. Lucilius who was tribune of the plebs B.C. 64 (Borghesi,
CEuvres compl., t. iv., p. 37), but he may have been the tribune's father.
of the Lucilia gens of whom coins are known.
It is, as already stated, of
He is the only member
Babelon (vol. ii., p. 150) thinks that M. Lucilius
Rufus, L. Sentius C. f., and P. Servilius Rullus (see pp. 227, 230) formed a triumvirate of the mint.
* The legend TV (Publice) shows that, like the coins of C. Fabius (see p. 223), this issue
CIRC. B.C. 90 ; A.U.C. 664 * > 225
Metal
g bverse €7'6?"S
and Size Obve Reverse
L - THOR IVS BALBVS
(LUCIUS THORIUS BALBUS)1
Denarius
No. Weight
YWith letter on reverse
1615 61-8 || AR 85 | Head of Juno of Lanuvium | Bull charging r. ; * below,
r., wearing goat's skin L. THORIVS ; in ex-
tied under the chin ; *| ergue, BALBVS; above
behind, I. S. NA. R. (Juno bull, letter A
Sispes Mater Regina). [Pl. xxxi. 22.]
1616 59.7 | AR, 75 | Similar. Similar ; same letter.
1617 | 60-0 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar ; letter B
1618 61.5 | AR 75 | Similar. Similar ; letter C
1619 || 60-0 || AR, 8 || Similar. Similar ; letter D
1620 | 58.0 | AR •75 || Similar. Similar ; letter E
1621 | 58.6 | AR, '85 | Similar. Similar ; letter F
(Nott)
was a special one, the metal from which it was struck having been taken from the public
treasury. The approximate date of the striking of these coins is to be ascertained from this
legend, and also from the fact that a specimen, which Mommsen (Hist, mom. rom., t. ii., p. 405)
describes as being le plus beau de towte la trouvaille, was in the Oliva hoard.
As so little is known of the Lucilia gens, it would be pure conjecture to identify the
reverse type with any particular member. Its similarity in style and fabric to the reverse type
of the coins of L. Saturninus (see p. 216) should be noted.
From the absence of the usual mint-marks it is scarcely possible to judge of the extent of
this issue, which was a special one ; but specimens of it are not scarce. There is in the Paris
collection a hybrid consisting of the reverse of this denarius and having for the obverse type
the head of Apollo (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 151).
* Lucius Thorius Balbus was a native of Lanuvium. He is described by Cicero (De
Fin., ii. 20) as a man who lived in such a manner that there was not a single pleasure, however
refined or rare, that he did not enjoy. He appears to have taken part in the war in Spain
against Sertorius, and to have been defeated and slain in a battle against Hirtuleius. He is
the only member of the Thoria gens of whom coins are known.
The absence of any bronze coins and of any special marks renders it a little difficult
to assign a date to the issue of this coinage. In this particular instance the finds afford
some evidence. Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 379) places the coinage early in his
Vth Period, i.e. between B. c. 104–84, but the absence of any specimens in the Masera, Riccia,
S. Giovanni Incarico, Roncarolo, and Pozoblanco hoards, and their presence in considerable
number in that of Cazlona, and in a limited degree in that of Oliva, would confine the issue
practically to two years only, B.C. 91–90. Count de Salis placed it to B.C. 90, and considered
these coins to be amongst the latest in the Cazlona and Oliva hoards. In style and fabric
these denarii show considerable variety, some being in low relief with the flam spread, others
in higher relief and of smaller diameter. The former are generally of inferior work.
* The most ancient cult of Juno was at Lanuvium, the birth-place of the moneyer, where
the goddess was worshipped as the protectress of women not only in general, but especially at
the time of marriage and during pregnancy. She therefore received the name of Sispes or
Sispita (Sospes or Sospita), and her statue in the Vatican shows her wearing a long robe, with
a goat’s skin covering her head and tied under the chin, and armed with a spear and shield
(Cicero, de Nat. Deor., i., 29, 82). Her special attribute was the serpent, the symbol of purity
(see coins of L. Procilius, Babelon, vol. ii., p. 386, nos. 1, 2).
* The rushing bull is a type parlamt of the moneyer's name, Thorius.
The mint-marks of this issue extend over the whole Latin alphabet, but, unlike those of
other issues of this year, they are not accompanied by dots.
G. G.
226
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
1622
1623
1624
1625
1626
1627
1628
1629
1630
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
1636
1637
1638
1639
1640
1641
Weight
59.0
61-0
58-5
59.7
54-8
61.5
58-5
62.5
59.3
60-0
58.0
61:0
61:4
59-9
58.0
55-0
58-7
58.0
59.5
61.2
Metal
and Size
AR, 75
AR. 75
AR •8
AR. 8
AR. 75
AR, '85
AR, 75
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR, 8
AR. 75
AR 85
AR. 8
AR. '75
AR. 8
AR, 75
(plated)
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR, 8
AR 75
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
| Similar.
Obverse
Reverse
Similar ; letter G
Similar ; letter H
Similar ; letter |
Similar ; letter k
Similar ; same letter.
Similar ; letter L
Similar ; same letter.
Similar ; letter NA
(Nott)
Similar ; letter N
Similar ; letter O
Similar ; letter T
Similar ; letter O.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar ; letter R.
Similar ; same letter.
(Nott)
Similar ; same letter.
Similar ; same letter.
Similar ; letter S
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar ; letter T
Similar ; letter V
Similar ; letter X
CIRC. B.C. 89 ; A.U.C. 665 227
No. Weight cº, Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 89; A.U.C. 665
L. SENTI. C. F
(LUCIUS SENTIUS CAII FILIUS)
Denarius
With letter on reverse
SERIES I.
1642 | 40-3 || AR 8 | Head of Roma r., wearing | L.SENTI. C. F (in exergue).
winged helmet orna- Jupiter in quadriga r.,
mented with gryphon's | horses galloping; he
head; the visor in three holds sceptre in r. hand
pieces and peaked; ear- and thunderbolt and reins
ring of single drop, and in 1. ; above horses, letter
necklace ; behind, A&G . D
TVB (Argento publico).
1643 60-0 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar ; letter G
1644 || 61.5 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar ; letter H
1645, 61.5 R 8 |similar. Similar ; letter L
[Pl. xxxii. 2.]
1646 || 62.1 | AR 9 Similar. Similar ; letter O
(de Salis Coll.)
1647 | 59.8 || AR 85 | Similar. Similar ; letter T
(Nott)
1648 || 58-3 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar ; letter O.
1649 || 59.5 | AR “75 | Similar. Similar ; letter S
1650 58.5 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar ; letter T
* None of the coins classed to this year were met with either in the Cazlona or Oliva
hoard, but specimens of most of the issues were included in those of Fiesole, Fuscaldo, Cingoli,
and Romagnano Sesia (see pp. 242, 243, and Tables of Finds). The Ricina find just overlaps
B.C. 90, as it contained specimens of the coinages of L. Sentius C. f. and L. Julius. As some of
the moneyers issued the bronze as of the uncial standard they must have held office before the
provisions of the Lew Plautia Papiria came into force, the date of which Count de Salis has
placed to B.C. 88. We have thus an ascertainable limit of time for the striking of these and
the following coins.
The various issues assigned to B.c. 89 may be separated into two series, special and
ordinary. The special series comprises those coins which were struck from bullion taken
from the public treasury, having the legends argento publico or publice, those struck by
an officer of the state who was not an ordinary moneyer, and those which bear a distinct
symbol, denoting that the issue was intended to provide for a particular contingency. These
issues were evidently intended in the main to meet the heavy expenses entailed by the Social
war, then at its height. The ordinary series is that issued by the usual moneyers, who for this
year may have formed a triumvirate of the mint. To the first series we would therefore
attribute the coins of L. Sentius C. f., M. Serveilius C. f., P. Servilius M. f. Rullus, L. Julius, and
C. Fundanius, the last striking in his official capacity as quaestor; and to the second series the
issues of P. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus, L. Cassius Caeicianus, and C. Allius Bala. From
the evidence of the coins themselves it would seen that P. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus
acted as a special as well as an ordinary moneyer. His two issues are also somewhat distinct
in type and fabric. The obverse type of the demarius of the special moneyers is either the
228 COIN_AGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Ret'en'se
SERIES II.
1651 | 55.2 | AR 85 Similar. Similar; letter below horses'
feet, D
(Nott)
1652 | 60-0 || AR 85 Similar. Similar ; letter E
1653 57.4 || AR 9 || Similar. Similar ; letter F
[Pl. xxxii. 3..]
(Nott)
1654 61.5 | AR 85 Similar. Similar ; letter G
(de Salis Coll.)
1655 59.9 || AR 85 Similar. Similar ; letter H
(Nott)
1656 | 60-7 || AR “8 || Similar. Similar ; letter L
(Cracherode Coll.)
1657 || 56.2 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar ; letter M
1658 61.8 || AR 9 || Similar. Similar ; letter O
1659 60-3 || AR “8 Similar. Similar ; letter R.
(Blacas Coll.)
Quadrans'
AE 85 Head of young Hercules r., RoNAA below Prow r. ; be-
wearing lion's skin ; be- fore, ; ; above, L. SENI
hind, 3
[Riccio, Mon. fam. rom., pl. lxiv.]
head of Roma or Minerva, whilst that of the ordinary moneyers is some other divinity, varying
in the ease of each issue. The types of the coins of the former are mostly in low relief and
struck on a large flam, whilst those of the latter are in higher relief and the flam is smaller.
The coinage of this year shows a development of the mint-marks, for besides Greek letters
as well as Latin letters, symbols, consisting of birds, insects, fish, &c., are introduced.
L. Sentius C. f. is only known to us from his coins, and he is the only member of his gens
who struck money. He may have been a son of C. Sentius Saturninus, who was propraetor in
Macedonia during the time of the Social war, B.C., 89–87. As so little is known of the Sentia,
gens the type of the denarius cannot be identified with any particular member.
The formula argento publico shows that the metal from which these coins were struck was
taken from the reserve bullion in the aerarium or public treasury at Rome.
The mint-letters, which extend throughout the Latin alphabet, form two series: in one
case, they are placed above the quadriga; in the other, below. They only occur on the
reverses of the coins.
* This appears to be the only denomination in bronze described of this moneyer. Riccio

CIRC. B.C. 89; A.U.C. 665 229
Metal
... Wei e
No Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
NA. SERVEILI . C. F
(MARCUS SERVEILIUS CAII FILIUS) '
Denarius
With Latin letter on reverse and opposite Greek letter on
obverse
1660 60-0 | AR 85 | Head of Roma r., wearing | M. SERVEILI. C. F (in ex-
winged helmet, &c., simi- ergue). Two warriors, a
lar to no. 1642; behind, Roman and a barbarian,
Greek letter (1) each armed with sword
and shield, fighting on
foot ; near each is his
horse ; * in the exergue,
below the moneyer's
name, Latin letter A *
[Pl. xxxii. 4.]
(Nott)
1661 59-7 || AR 8 || Similar ; letter X Similar ; letter C
1662 62.5 | AR 85 Similar ; letter q> Similar ; letter D
(Nott)
1663 || 59.5 | AR 85 Similar ; letter Y Similar ; letter E
1664 60-5 | AR 8 || Similar ; letter P Similar; letter H.
1665 59.2 | AR 95 || Similar ; letter E Similar ; letter L
1666 || 59.2 | AR 8 || Similar ; letter M. Similar ; letter N
1667 || 59.5 | AR 8 Similar ; letter /\ Similar ; letter O
states that the specimen in his collection is unique, and though he does not give its weight, it is
evidently of the uncial standard. Bahrfeldt, however, is of opinion that this quadrans is false.
* This moneyer may have been a son of C. Servilius M. f. Augur, who was praetor
B.C. 104, accused Lucullus of bribery and malversation in his administration of Sicily, and
was assassinated at Asculum B.C. 90. He would therefore be a brother of P. Servilius Vatia.
Isauricus, who was consul B.C. 79, was defeated by Julius Caesar in his candidature for
the office of Pontifex Maximus, and died at an advanced age B.C. 44 (Mommsen, Hast. mom. rom.,
t. ii., p. 315). Nothing appears to be known of the moneyer beyond what we learn from his
COIIlS.
* This reverse type, like that of the denarii of C. Serveilius struck a few years earlier
(see p. 179), commemorates the heroic deeds of M. Servilius Pulex Geminus, the consul
B.C. 202.
* The employment of opposite Latin and Greek letters of the alphabet for mint-marks on
the same coin is a further development of the use of these signs. The Latin letter starts from
the beginning of the alphabet, and the Greek one from the end; thus the Latin A corresponds
to the Greek (1), B to Sł', C to X, D to q), &c., but as there are fewer letters in the Roman
than in the Greek alphabet, Z of the former would correspond to T of the latter. The order
of the above coins is based on the letters on the reverse.
There is nothing to indicate on these coins that this issue was a special one, but
for similarity of style and fabric they should be compared with the denarii of L. Sentius C. f.
and P. Servilius C. f., which belong to that class.
No bronze coins of M. Serveilius are known.
230 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
1668 605 || AR 85 Similar; letter K Similar ; letter T
(Nott)
1669 60-6 || AR 85 | Similar; letter H Similar ; letter S
1670 59-6 || AR 85 | Similar; letter e Similar ; letter V
1671 59.3 | AR 8 || Similar; letter A Similar ; letter X
ſ' . SERVIL NA. F., RVLLI
(PUBLII SERVILII MARCI FILII RULLI)
Denarius
1672 607 || AR 85 Bust of Minerval., wearing D . SERVILI. M. F (in ex-
crested helmet and aegis; ergue). Victory in biga
behind, RVLLI r., horses galloping; she
holds reins in r, hand
and palm in 1. ; * below
horses' feet, T * (Publice).
1673 || 604 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxxii. 5.]
1674 60-3 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
1675 60-0 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
L. VLl
(LUCIUS JULIUS)*
Denarius
1676 61-0 || AR “75 Head of Roma r., wearing | Victory in biga r., horses
winged helmet, &c., simi- galloping; she holds
lar to no. 1642; behind, reins with both hands ;
ear of corn. below horses, L. IVLI
! Rullus was a cognomen of the Servilia gens, but little is known of the members who bore
it. Mommsen (Host. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 406) would identify this moneyer as the father of
T. Servilius P. f. Rullus, who was tribune of the plebs B.C. 63, and who was the proposer of the
agrarian law known as the Servília lea, which was vigorously and successfully opposed by
Cicero.
* The reverse type relates to some military success of a member of the family, which,
however, is uncertain, owing to our lack of information. The moneyer's name is evidently in
the genitive, not the nominative case as usual.
* The letter P (Publice), like ARG. TVB (Argento publico), or EX, A, DV (Ea argento
publico), shows that these coins were struck from bullion withdrawn from the public treasury,
and that the issue was therefore a special one, probably to meet the expenses of the Social war
(see above, p. 191). P. Serveilius Rullus, like the following moneyer, L. Julius, did not use
any mint-marks. Some denarii of this issue were countermarked during the reign of Vespasian.
There are no bronze coins of this moneyer.
* The identification of this moneyer is uncertain. Mommsen (Hist. mon, rom., t. ii.,
pp. 290, 393) has also attributed this issue to circ. B.C. 89, but he does not say who the moneyer
CIRC. B.C. 89 ; A.U.C. 665 231
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
1677 606 || AR 85 Similar. Similar
1678 60.5 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
1679 59.0 | AR 8 similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxxii. 6.]
1680 58.5 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
C. FVNDAN OR FVNDA
(CAIUS FUNDANIUS)
Denarius
With letter on obverse
1681 60:1 | AR “75 | Head of Roma r., wearing C. FVNDAN (in exergue).
winged helmet, &c., simi-| Male figure in triumphāl
lar to no. 1642; the quadriga r., horses walk-
helmet is , ornamented ing; he holds sceptre and
with a circle above the laurel - branch ; on the
wing; behind, letter A nearest horse is seated a
youth, holding laurel-
branch over r. shoulder ;
above, O (Quaestor).
[Pl. xxxii. 7.]
(Nott)
was. Babelon (vol. ii., p. 4), who places the coins at circ. B.C. 106, identifies him with L. Julius
Caesar, who was consul B.C. 90, and gives the coins reading L, IVLI, L. F. CAESAR (see
above, p. 209) to the consul of B.C. 64. Whilst accepting this last attribution, it seems
impossible to assign so early a date to the above coins reading L, IVLl, for the following
reasons: (a) none of them were in the Cazlona and Oliva hoards, but several specimens were
met with in that of Fiesole; (b) their fabric and style are very similar to those of other denarii
classed to the years B. c. 90–89; and (c) this moneyer appears to have struck the as of the
uncial standard (see below), which was only revived during the years B.C. 91–89. It is very
evident therefore that this moneyer is not the consul of B.C. 90, nor can he be identified with the
consul of B.C. 64, unless we suppose that he held office in two consecutive years, issued coins of
different types, and varied the reading of his name, all of which assumptions are improbable.
The type of reverse records some victory gained by a member of the Julia gens, and the
ear of corn on the obverse probably points to a special issue to meet the expense of a largesse
of corn to the inhabitants of Rome, which may have occurred in B.C. 89. Like P. Servilius
Rullus, L. Julius did not place any mint-marks on his coins.
To this issue may be attributed the as reading L. IV Ll, described, but not figured, by
Riccio (Catalogo, p. 100, no. 11). It is of the usual type, with the moneyer's name above the
prow, and being of the uncial standard, belongs to the same period as the above denarii.
Bahrfeldt questions the genuineness of this coin.
* This moneyer, who struck money in his capacity as quaestor, has been identified with
C. Fundanius, the father of Fundania, wife of M. Terentius Varro, and of the tribune of the
plebs of the same name in B. c. 72 (Mommsen, Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 390). Babelon (vol. i.,
pp. 514, 515), however, thinks that the moneyer whose quaestorship he places at B.C. 101 was
the same person as the tribune of B.C. 72.
Cavedoni (Ripostigli, pp. 87, 195) and Borghesi (CEuvres compl., t. ii., pp. 307, 308),
having explained that the reverse type of the denarius relates to the triumph of Marius in
B.C. 101, on his return from the expedition against the Teutones and the Cimbri, and that the
youth seated on the nearest horse may be his adopted son, suggest that C. Fundanius was
quaestor in that year, and that he struck these coins on that occasion; and also that the
reverse type of the quinarius is a record of the defeat of Teutobodus, king of the Teutones at
Aquae Sextiae, where he was taken prisoner and afterwards brought to Rome to adorn the
232
COIN AGE OF ROME
No. Weight a.º. Obverse Reverse
1682 62-2 || AR 75 Similar ; letter B Similar.
(Nott)
1683 594 | AR 75 Similar; letter & Similar.
(Nott)
1684 61.2 AR 75 Similar ; letter E Similar.
1685 603 || AR 8 Similar ; letter É Similar.
(Blacas Coll)
1686 61-0 | AR 75 Similar ; letter E. Similar.
1687 61.5 | AR 75 Similar ; letter 'F Similar.
1688 57-6 || AR 75 Similar ; letter . I Similar.
1689 61-0 || AR 8 || Similar ; letter ‘k Similar.
1690 60-2 || AR 8 Similar ; same letter. Similar.
1691 61-3 || AR 75 | Similar ; letter L Similar.
(Nott)
1692 56.5 | AR 7 Similar ; letter R Similar.
(de Salis Coll.)
1693 50.7 | AR 75 Similar ; letter R Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
1694 | 58.2 | AR 75 Similar ; letter V Similar.
(Nott)
1695 || 56-0 | AR 7 || Similar ; letter X Similar.
triumph of Marius. Borghesi (loc. cit.), however, was of opinion that the quaestor of B.C. 101
and the tribune of the plebs of B.C. 72 could not well have been the same person, as there would
have been an interval of nearly 30 years between his holding the two offices. The attribution of
the coins of C. Fundanius to a somewhat later date, in accordance with the evidence of finds and
on account of their similarity of fabric and obverse type to those of L. Sentius, M. Serveilius,
and L. Julius, partly removes this difficulty, but at the same time it seems more probable that
the quaestor and tribune were father and son. The explanation of the reverse types of the
denarius and the quinarius would not necessarily be affected by this change of date, as it is
possible that the moneyer himself may have taken some part in the expedition, which cul-
minated in the triumph of Marius in B.C. 101. A similar type of reverse occurs on the aureus of
Cn. Pompeius Magnus (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 342, no. 6).
As C. Fundamius was a quaestor, his issue of coins was a special one like others of this
year, and probably intended to meet the heavy expenses of the Social war. He also struck
quinarii, but no bronze money. He is the only member of the Fundania gens of whom coins
are known.
On the denarii as well as on the quinarii this moneyer uses for mint-marks letters of the
Latin alphabet. usually accompanied by one or two dots, a common form at this time.
CIRC. B.C. 89; A.U.C. 665 233
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
Quinarius
With letter on obverse
1696 || 30-0 || AR 6 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; C. FVNDA (in field). Victory
behind, letter C. standing r., holding palm-
branch in 1. hand, and
with r. placing wreath on
trophy of Gaulish arms, at
the base of which kneels
a captive (Teutobodus?)
on 1. knee, his hands tied
behind him ; * in exergue,
O” (Quinarius 3).
1697 || 25:1 | AR 55 | Similar; letter F Similar.
[Pl. xxxii. 8.]
1698 || 25-0 | AR 6 Similar; letter H Similar.
1699 || 29.5 | AR 55 Similar ; letter L Similar.
1700 || 25.5 | AR 5 || Similar ; letter 'O Similar.
1701 || 28.6 | AR 55 Similar; letter R Similar.
1702 28:9 || AR 55 Similar ; letter S. Similar.
1703 || 29.1 | AR 55 | Similar; letter T Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
LENſ. NAR. F
(PUBLIUS CORNELIUS LENTULUS MARCELLI
FILIUS) 3
Denarius
With same Latin letter on obverse and reverse
SERIES I.
1704 || 51.4 || AR 75|Bust of young Hercules r., LENſ. Wº... F (in exergue).
turned from the spectator, Roma armed, standing
wearing lion's skin ; club facing, holding spear and
over 1. shoulder ; behind resting 1. hand on her
head, shield ; below bust, hip; she is crowned with a
RoMA; behind, letter 'A' | wreath by the Genius of the
Roman people, who holds
a cornucopiae in 1. hand;
in the field, between them,
letter 'A' ; the whole with-
in laurel-wreath.
(Nott)
* This reverse type has been explained in the note to the denarii (see p. 231).
2 On the denarii of C. Fundanius the letter O is the initial of Quaestor, but on the
quinarii it is probably the mark of value, as in previous instances.
* Possibly a son of M. Claudius Marcellus, who served in Gaul under Marius, B.C. 102, and
H H
234 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
1705 61-0 | AR 75 Similar; letter Ö Similar; letter G
º [Pl. xxxii. 9..]
1706 || 56-7 || AR 75 Similar; letter É Sinilar; letter É
1707 || 59.6 || AR 7 || Similar; letter É. Similar; letter É:
(Nott)
1708 || 59.1 | AR 75 Similar ; letter F. Similar; letter F.
1709 || 59-7 || AR 7 || Similar; letter F. Similar; letter F.
(Nott)
1710 || 59.8 || AR 75 Similar ; letter Ö. Similar ; letter "Ol'
(Cracherode Coll.)
1711 || 58.6 || AR 7 || Similar; letter R. Similar; letter R
1712 || 61-0 | AR 7 | Similar; letter V Similar; letter V
SERIES II.
1713 59.9 || AR 7 Similar ; letter before head, Similar ; letter to 1. of
E Roma, É
(Nott)
took an active part in the defeat of the Teutones at Aquae Sextiae. M. Claudius Marcellus had
two sons, M. Claudius Aeserninus and P. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus, the latter taking the
name of Cornelius Lentulus because he was adopted by a member of this branch of the
Cornelia gens. He is mentioned by Cicero as an orator of considerable merit, and figures as
one of the legates of Pompey in the war against the Pirates. From the evidence of finds, and
also from the fact that he struck the as of the uncial standard (see p. 236), he must have filled
the office of moneyer shortly before B.C. 88. It would appear also from his coins that he
struck two issues of the denarius bearing the same type : one as an ordinary moneyer of the
mint, the other as a special moneyer; the latter issue being distinguished by the legend
T. E. S. C (Publice ea sematus consulto), similar to others of this year. He would therefore
rank as an ordinary moneyer with L. Cassius Caeicianus and C. Allius Bala as his colleagues,
and as a special one, with L. Sentius C. f., M. Serveilius, P. Servilius, and C. Fundanius.
The bust of Hercules for obverse type occurs on other denarii of the Cornelia gens, and
the reverse has been explained by Babelon (vol. i., p. 401) as illustrating the fact that the Senate
authorized the issue of this special coinage. As, however, contemporary events were not at this
time illustrated in the types of the coins we are unable to accept this interpretation; and
whilst suggesting that, like the triquetra on the as, the type may relate to the successes of
M. Claudius Marcellus in Sicily during the second Punic war, B.C. 212, perhaps it would be
more discreet to follow Eckhel, who says (Doct. num. vet., vol. v., p. 188), “Typum aversae
sensus perobscuri explicare non tento.” We may, however, notice that the Genius of the
Roman people figures on later coins struck by members of the Cornelia gens, viz., by
P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, circ. B. c. 74 (Babelon, vol. i., p. 419, no. 58), and by Cn.
Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus, who was quaestor in Spain circ. B.C. 76–72 (Ib., vol. i., p. 417,
nos. 54, 55). The former has also for the obverse type of his denarii the head of Hercules. It
is evident that the Cornelia gens specially favoured the cult of the Genius of the Roman people.
The mint-marks used by the present moneyer are of two series: one with the same Latin
letter on obverse and reverse; the other similar, but with Greek letters. Each series has a
further subdivision in the position of the letters on either side. In both cases they are usually
accompanied by one or two dots, and occasionally by three.
The reverse of the denarius of P. Cornelius Lentulus forms a hybrid with the obverse of
that of Piso and Caepio (see above, p. 170, and Bahrfeldt, Zeit. f. Num., 1877, p. 36).
CIRC. B.C. 89; A.U.C. 665 235
No. Weight a.º. Obverse Reverse
1714 || 61.4 || AR 75 Similar; letter F Similar; letter F
(Blacas Coll.)
1715 60:8 || AR, 75 Similar; letter G - Similar; letter G
(de Salis Coll.)
1716 || 61.9 || AR “75 | Similar; letter G Similar; letter G
. (Nott)
1717| 56.8 || AR “75 | Similar; letter k Similar; letter k
(Nott)
With same Greek letter on obverse and reverse
SERIES I.
1718 58.0 | AR -75 Similar ; behind bust, Similar; in field between
Greek letter A Roma and the Genius,
Greek letter A
1719 603 || AR 8 |Similar; letter O Similar ; letter G)
- [Pl. xxxii. 10.]
1720 | 59.8 || AR 7 | Similar; letter G Similar; letter Ó
1721 61-0 || AR 75|Similar; letter TT Similar; letter TT
(Nott)
1722 || 609 || AR 7 Similar ; letter si. - Similar ; letter *
(Nott)
SERIES II.
1723 58.3 || AR “75 Similar ; letter before head, Similar; letter to 1. of Roma,
A (Blacas Coll.)
Dermarius with T . E. S. C
With same Latin letter on obverse and reverse
1724 || 60.7 || AR 7 || Similar ; under bust, in- || Similar ; letter to 1. of
stead of RONAA, the Roma, I
letters T. E. S. C." (Pub- [Pl. xxxii. 11.]
lice ea: sematus consulto); (Nott)
before head, letter I
* From this inscription it is evident that this coin belongs to a special issue. The letters
on the coins with T. E. S. C appear to vary, as Bahrfeldt (Zeit. f. Nun., 1877, pp. 46, 47)
describes specimens in the Paris and Copenhagen collections with O. on both sides. He also
mentions others with O. and 6, but most of these seem to be plated.
236 COIN AGE OF ROME
ſ # * ~ * Metal tº º ºf tº ºn a $.
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
As *
RoMA below Prow r. ;
above, LENſ. NR. F.; be-
fore, triquetra?
373-0 | AF 1:2 | Head of Janus, laureate;
above, I
[Babelon, vol. i., p. 402, no. 27.]
L. CASSI. CAEICIA/*
(LUCIUS CASSIUS CAEICIANUS)
Denarius
With Latin letter on obverse and opposite Latin letter
: O71. )'0 U 67°S 6
1725 61.9 AR 75 Bust of Ceres 1., slightly | L: CASSI (in exergue). Two
| draped, head wreathed yoked Oxen 1. ; above,
with corn ; behind, plough, and letter X
CAEICIA/, and letter “A [Pl. xxxii. 12.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
* The as is the only denomination in bronze known of this issue. It is of the uncial standard,
and must therefore have been struck sometime between B.C. 91–89 (see above, p. 190). The
specimen, from which the above illustration is taken, is in the D’Ailly collection. The
triquetra on the reverse has been slightly altered by tooling.
* As the triquetra is the emblem of the Island of Sicily, it probably here records the taking
of Syracuse by M. Claudius Marcellus, B. c. 212, when he had to contend with the skill and science
of Archimedes, the most famous mathematician of ancient times. From this date the Syracusans
placed their city under the patronage of Marcellus and his descendants, and instituted an annual
festival, called the Marcellea, which continued to be celebrated down to the time of Verres.
* The cognomen Caeicianus or Caecianus in connection with the Cassia gens appears on
coins only at this time. The name of L. Cassius Kaeciamws is met with in an inscription which
was not anterior to the time of Augustus (Gruter, p. 864, no. 11). The form Caeicianus for
Caecianus has analogies in Caeicilius for Caecilius (Henzen, Inscript. lat. Select., no. 5114),
conquaeisivi for conquaesivi, &c. The reverse type evidently refers to some important act of
colonization carried out by an ancestor of the moneyer, and the wreathed head of Ceres to
the success and fertility of the new colony. Pliny (Hist. Nat., iv. 12) mentions two islands of
the Archipelago called Caeciae, which, if their history was better known, may have been those
colonized by a member of the Cassia gens, of which these coins are a memorial (Babelon,
vol. i., p. 326). Dr. A. Vercoutre (Amm. de la Soc. franç. de Num, vol. xv., 1891, pp. 21-26)
suggests that the cognomen Caecianus was derived from Caecius or Cacus, and that the oxen
here shown are those which Hercules stole from that shepherd; and that the head of Ceres
on the obverse is only put there to correspond with the reverse type. This interpretation
may be ingenious, but it is not convincing.
The mint-letters used by this moneyer show a further development of these marks. They

CIRC. B.C. 89 ; A.U.C. 665 237
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
1726 602 || AR 8 || Similar; letter A Similar; letter X
1727 61.9 || AR 7 || Similar ; letter B Similar; letter V
(Blacas Coll.)
1728 || 580 | AR 7 || Similar; letter B Similar ; letter V
1729 || 60:8 || AR 7 || Similar; letter B Similar; letter V
1730 | 60-5 | AR 75 Similar; letter C. Similar ; letter T.
(Blacas Coll.)
1731 57.8 || AR 75 Similar ; letter D Similar; letter 'S
1732 56-3 || AR 7 || Similar; letter E similar; letter R
1733| 60-6 || AR 7 | Similar; letter É Similar; letter R
1734 57-0 || AR 7 || Similar ; letter E. Similar ; letter R.'
1735 | 584 || AR 7 || Similar; letter F Similar ; letter O.
1736 55.4 AR 75 Similar; letter F Similar ; letter S
(Nott)
1737 || 61-6 || AR 7 || Similar ; letter G Similar ; letter ‘ſ’
1738 62.4 || AR 75 Similar; letter G. Similar; letter ſ”
1739 609 || AR 7 || Similar; letter G Similar; letter T
1740 59.2 AR “75 Similar; letter H Similar ; letter O
1741 | 60-0 | AR 7 | Similar; letter H Similar; letter Ö
occur both on the obverse and the reverse. On the obverse the letter starts from the
beginning of the Latin alphabet, whilst on the reverse it starts from the end. Thus A on the
obverse corresponds to X on the reverse, B to V, C to T, &c. The letters seem to run from A
to K on the obverse, and from X to M on the reverse, and they are usually accompanied by a
single dot placed above, below, to r. or 1. ; the same order being preserved for the letters on
the reverse. No. 1736 with F on the obverse and S on the reverse (it should be Q) is evidently
a blunder on the part of the engraver. Riccio (Catalogo, p. 63, no. 57) describes a denarius
cast and plated, with the moneyer's name reading backwards, and with the mint-letter G on the
obverse and C on the reverse. Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 82) describes a similar, or
perhaps the same piece in the Haeberlin collection. No bronze coins of this issue are known.
L. Cassius Caeicianus was probably an ordinary moneyer, i.e., one of the triumviri monetarii,
and had as his colleagues, P. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus and C. Allius Bala. There is
nothing on the coins to indicate their date of issue, so we can only trust to the evidence
of finds (see Tables of Finds).
238 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
C. ALLI. BALA
(CAIUS ALLIUS [AELIUS] BALA)'
Denarius
With letter on obverse and symbol on reverse
1742 603 || AR 7 | Female head (Diana 2) r., C. A LLI (in exergue).
diademed and wearing | Diana in biga of stags
necklace; . . hair rolled galloping r. ; she holds
back and falling in locks | torch in r. hand, and
down her neck; behind, spear and reins in 1. ;
BALA ; under chin, her quiver is slung be-
letter A hind ; beneath stags,
symbol,” anchor; the
whole within laurel-
wreath.
(Cracherode Coll.)
1743 58.9 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar; same symbol.
(Blacas Coll.)
1744 60-0 || AR 7 || Similar ; letter B Similar; symbol, grass-
hopper.
(Nott)
1745 59.8 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar ; same symbol.
[Pl. xxxii. 13.]
1746 59.9 || AR 7 || Similar ; letter C Similar ; symbol, ear of
COFI).
(Nott)
1747 60-0 || AR 75 | Similar. Similar; symbol, grass-
hopper.
(Nott)
| This moneyer appears to be known only from his coins, which are similar in style and
work to those of Publius Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus and Lucius Cassius Caeicianus, and
Mommsen (Hist, mon. rom., t. ii., p. 381) has drawn attention to their similarity in respect
of their thickness and the smallness of the flam to the denarii of L. Julius L. f. Caesar
(see above, p. 209); but those of C. Allius Bala are probably of a little later date, as no
specimens occurred in the Cazlona and Oliva hoards.
* This type may refer to the annual festival in honour of Diana held on the Aventine,
where her temple stood, and at which torch races occurred. It is possible that an ancestor of
the moneyer was instrumental either in the introduction of this festival or was otherwise
connected with it. The female head on the obverse has been identified as of Diana. C. Allius
Bala was apparently the first moneyer to introduce a symbol as a mint-mark in conjunction
with a letter. Several symbols occur with the same letter on the obverse, and the same symbol
is repeated with several letters.
The small bronze coin having on the obverse a closed hand and the legend BALA,
and on the reverse C. ALIO within a wreath, which is figured by Riccio (Mon. fam. rom..
Pl. li.) and by Babelon (vol. i., p. 111, no. 5), is of local fabric, probably Sicilian or
Spanish, but it may have been struck by the same moneyer, C. Allius Bala, as quaestor
or praetor. As, in that instance, his name is in the ablative case, some such title as quaestore
or praetore seems to be understood. The only specimen known of this coin is cited as being in
the “Collezione Classense,” which still exists at Ravenna (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 14).
CIRC. B.C. 89 ; A.U.C. 665 239
No.
1748
1749
1750
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
Weight
56.2
52-0
59.3
57.8
60-0
59.4
58.0
61.5
59.6
60-0
58.0
60-0
61:0
53-0
48-4
60-4
59-0
61.2
58-5
Metal
and Size
AR. 7
AR, 7
AR. 7
•65
AR.
:
•65
Obverse
Similar ; letter D
Similar.
Similar ; letter F
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; letter G
Similar.
Similar ; letter H
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; letter I
Similar ; letter k
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; letter NA
Reverse
Similar; symbol, crayfish.
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar; symbol, quiver
with strap.
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, dolphin.
* (Nott)
Similar; symbol, duck.
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, grass-
hopper.
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, griffin.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; same symbol.
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, quiver
with strap.
Similar; symbol, tortoise.
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, dolphin.
Similar ; symbol, sacrificial
knife.
Similar; symbol, dolphin.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; symbol, grass-
hopper.
Similar; symbol, quiver
with strap.
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, caduceus.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; symbol, crab.
Similar; symbol, fly.
Similar; symbol, griffin.
Similar; symbol, grass-
hopper. -
240
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
1767
1768
1769
1770
Weight
59.4
55.0
56.4
59.0
1771
52-5
Metal
and Size
.7
AR
AR.
AR &
.7
Obverse
Similar ; letter N
Similar ; letter O
Similar.
Similar ; letter T'
Similar ; letter S
Reverse
Similar; symbol, plough.
Similar ; symbol, crab.
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, ear of
COTIl.
Similar; symbol, plough.
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar; symbol, grass-
hopper.
(Blacas Coll.)
. 241
PERIOD IX.
Circ. B.C. 88–86; A.U.C. 666–668
IN the same year that the Lea Plautia Papiria was passed (see above, p. 189),
another one was proposed by the tribune, C. Papirius Carbo, by which the
weight of the as was reduced to half an ounce (semuncial). This law is known
as the Lea, Papiria Semumciaria." It not only reduced the weight of the bronze
money, but it also revived the issue of the sestertius, which had been in abeyance
at least since B.C. 229. Count de Salis did not, however, consider that its pro-
visions came into operation till the following year. The coins leave no doubt as
to the origin of these reforms; since on the sestertius we meet with the legend
E. L. T. (Ea: lege Papiria), and on the bronze money L. P. D. A. T (Lege
Papiria de aere publico); thus denoting the authority which legalized these
changes.
It is to this Period, B.C. 88–86, that we would assign the burials of the
Fiesole, Fuscaldo, Cingoli and Romagnano Sesia hoards; those of the first two
occurring in B.C. 87, and those of the other two at some time during the following
year (see below, pp. 242, 243, and TABLEs of FINDs).
DENOMINATIONS AND TYPES.—The denominations struck during this Period
are therefore, in silver, the denarius, the quinarius and the sestertius; and in
bronze, the as of the Semuncial standard and its divisions down to the uncia.
The variations in the type of the denarius, as mentioned in the last Period,
are still more extended, and in one instance only is the head of Roma found
on the obverse. The mark of value, which has the form 3%, or >k, also occurs
only in the case of the coinage of L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, and even then
only on a limited portion of that issue. From this date this sign, as the mark
of value of the denarius, disappears, with the exception of the special issue
of L. Rustius, struck circ. B.C. 76. It is not unusual for a moneyer to employ
more than one type for his denarii, or several variations of the same type. Of
the coins of D. Silanus there are three obverse types and three variations of that
of the reverse; of those of L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, four chief variations of the
reverse type; of those of Q. Titius, two obverse types; of those of C. Vibius
Pansa, three obverse and four reverse types; and of those of L. Titurius Sabinus,
three reverse types. The quinarius occurs in four issues and the sestertius in
two only, and from their rarity it would appear that few of the latter were
coined. The type is varied in each instance, with one exception, that of Cnaeus
Lentulus (see p. 310), who continues the former one of the head of Jupiter and
of Victory crowning a trophy for his quinarius. The system of employing marks
to distinguish the dies is considerably extended, especially in the case of the
* It is generally called the Lea Plautia, Papiria, but perhaps without good reason, see
below, pp. 250, 283, 317, 510.
-j- I I
242 COINAGE OF ROME
coinage of L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, where symbols, numbers, letters and signs
denoting the as and its fractions occur separately and in combination on the
obverse and reverse. During this Period the serrating of the edge of the
denarius is suspended. In the bronze series the issue of the as is continued,
and its divisions down to the sextans. No specimen is recorded of the uncia
bearing a moneyer's name. It is, however, probable that it was also struck.
The usual obverse and reverse types of the bronze money are generally adhered
to ; but changes occasionally occur.
The moneyers' names do not call for any remarks, except that L. Cal-
purnius Piso Frugi styles himself Nepos (see p. 251). This is the first instance
of an indication of the grandfather's name.
CLASSIFICATION.—For the classification of the coins of this Period our
principal sources of evidence are the provisions of the Lea, Papiria, which
introduced the change in the standard of the bronze money, and the hoards of
coins which were unearthed at Fiesole (near Florence), Fuscaldo (Calabria),
Cingoli (Central Italy) and Romagnano Sesia (Piedmont).
The Fiesole hoard was discovered in 1829, and from the account given by
Zannoni (Dei demarii consolari e di famiglie Romane, disotterrati in Fiesole, nel
1829; Firenze, 1830), it consisted of over 4000 denarii, and of these he described
2110 specimens. There do not appear to have been any quinarii. Except for the
early pieces without and with symbols, it is one of the most complete hoards
which have been recorded, nearly all the issues with moneyers' names to the
time of its concealment being represented. It contained examples of all the coin-
ages attributed to B.C. 90–87, whether struck inside or outside Rome, with the
exception of those of C. Marcius Censorinus and L. and C. Memmius Galeria, and
thus bridges over the period which witnessed the close of the issue of the bronze
money of the uncial standard and the introduction of the semuncial standard.
All the bronze coins of the moneyers assigned to B.C. 88–87 are of the lighter
weight. Moreover, the later issues, of which only a few or a single piece was in
the Oliva hoard, were much more fully represented in that of Fiesole; for of coins
of L. Scipio Asiagenus the numbers were 9 and 17; of C. Coilius Caldus, 2 and
16; of L. Saturninus, 1 and 29; and of L. Thorius Balbus, 1 and 39. Of issues
B.C. 88–87 not in the Oliva hoard there were in the Fiesole hoard: of D. Silanus,
125 specimens; of L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, 211; of Q. Titius 439; of C. Vibius
Pansa, 50; and of L. Titurius Sabinus, 28. The burial of the hoard must
therefore have occurred towards the end of B.C. 87, and it is quite possible
that it was connected with the military operations of Marius and Cinna, as it
was in that year that the former arrived in the north of Italy previous to his
march on Rome. This is also the date assigned to it by Cavedoni (Ripostigli,
p. 18).
The Fuscaldo hoard was discovered in 1850 in a street of that town called
S. Leonardo. The find consisted of about 1030 denarii. Twenty-four years
later, in 1874, the owner, Sig. Gennaro Valenza, brought 871 of these to Naples,
having previously given about 50 to his friends, and retaining about 110 of the
best preserved for himself. Of the 871 pieces which were brought to Naples, Prof.
G. de Petra gives a description in the Museo Italiano di antichitā classica, 1885,
pp. 349-351—Gli ultimº ripostigli di denari. Though less extensive than the
CIRC. B.C. 88–86; A.U.C. 666–668 243
Fiesole hoard, that of Fuscaldo corresponds to it precisely in date, the latest
pieces which it contained being those of D. Silanus and L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi
(B.C. 88), and of Q. Titius and C. Vibius Pansa (B.C. 87). These coins and most
of those of the moneyers of the two previous years are described as being “newly
struck” or d fleur de coin. The only other issue of the same date not recorded,
but many specimens of which were in the Fiesole hoard, is that of L. Titurius
Sabinus. It is, however, quite possible that these coins may have been amongst
those distributed by Sig. Valenza amongst his friends, or retained for himself. It
is unfortunate that Prof. de Petra did not describe these also, in which case we
should have had an account of the whole hoard. We have, however, no hesi-
tation in fixing the burial of this hoard to B.C. 87, thus making it contem-
poraneous with that found at Fiesole.
The Cingoli hoard was unearthed in 1864, near the Villa di Avenale, about
four miles from the site of the ancient town of Treia, in the Cingoli district,
and was described by Sig. Raf. Garrucci (Bull. di corrisp. arch., 1865, pp. 170 f.),
into whose hands eventually nearly all the coins came, though some had pre-
viously been scattered. The number examined by Sig. Garrucci was 1347, and
he carefully noted how many pieces there were of each issue and their condition.
He, however, gives a warning that two or three pieces of later date were added
by the peasant who discovered the hoard, amongst which was the denarius of
Tiberius Claudius Ti. f. Ap. n. (B.C. 80). To this one we would add the single
piece of P. Crepusius (B.C. 83). Besides including coins of all the moneyers of
B.C. 88–87, which were represented in the Fiesole hoard, it had in addition
those of C. Marcius Censorinus, and L. and C. Memmius Galeria (B.C. 87), and
those of Cn. Cornelius Lentulus and L. Rubrius Dossenus (B.C. 86). Its burial
therefore took place a few months later than the Fiesole hoard, circ. B.C. 86, and
about the same time as that found at Romagnano Sesia.
The Romagnano Sesia hoard was discovered as recently as 1895, and consisted
of about 300 denarii, which represented the issues of 89 moneyers, not including
9 coins of the early period without symbol or name. An account is given of
the hoard by Sig. Serafino Ricci (Riv. Ital., 1896, pp. 233 f.). The earliest
pieces with moneyers' names date from the first half of the second century
B.C., and the latest bring us down to B.C. 86, including coins of Q. Titius, C.
Vibius Pansa, L. Titurius Sabinus, C. Censorinus, and L. and C. Memmius
Galeria (B.C. 87); and of Cn. Cornelius Lentulus and L. Rubrius Dossenus
(B.C. 86). These show that the burial of the Romagnano Sesia and the Cingoli
hoards must have taken plage almost within a few weeks of each other.
There was a large output of coins from the mint at Rome during this
Period, which was probably due partly to the suppression of the local issues and
mints and partly to events which happened at that time; as it was in B.C. 87
that the democratic revolution of Marius and Cinna occurred. To their arrival
at Rome may be attributed several special issues of coins.
244 COINAGE OF ROME
g Metal 4 • *****
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 88; A.U.C. 666
| D . SILANVS L. F *
(DECIMUS [JUNIUS] SILANUS LUCII FILIUS)
Denarius
Type I.
t TWith letter on obverse and number on reverse
1772 | 617 | AR 7 | Head of Roma r., wearing D. SILANVS. L. F (in ex-
winged helmet, orna- RONWA
mented with gryphon's
head; the visor is in
three pieces and peaked,
and the neck-piece is long
and angular; earring of
ergue). Victory in biga
r., horses galloping; she
holds reins with both
hands; above, number
|||
single drop; behind,
letter A
* The moneyers attributed to this year are two in number, viz., D. Junius Silanus L. f. and
L. Calpurnius Piso L. f. Frugi. They appear, from the legends on some of their coins, the
sestertii, to have been the first appointed after the passing of the Lea Papiria. From the
similarity of their issues it may be concluded that they were colleagues at the mint ; since
they both struck denarii of several types, sestertii, and bronze coins of the semuncial standard,
and also used a number of mint-marks of great variety, especially L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi,
who also struck quinarii. These very extensive coinages may be due to the expenses incurred
in the Social War, to supply the metal for which a large amount of bullion was withdrawn from
the public treasury (Mommsen, Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 407). To the coinages of these two
moneyers we would add, as being struck about this time, some bronze pieces of the semuncial
standard which are without moneyers' names, but some of which bear symbols, such as were
employed in the early days of the Roman Republican money. Others show that they were
issued under the provisions of the Lea, Papiria (see p. 282).
* Decimus Junius Silanus is only known to us from his coins. He cannot be the D. Silanus
who was praetor B.C. 70, and consul B. c. 62, for the name of his father was Marcw8 and not Lucyws
(Mommsen, Hist. Mon. Tom. t. ii., p. 410). The name of L. Silanus is only met with in history at a
later period. -Decimus Silanus issued denarii of three different obverse types, this being the first
occurrence of so much variety. In B. c. 94 the triumvirs of the mint, M. Caecilius Metellus,
Q. Fabius Maximus, and C. Serveilius, had each employed two obverse types, but no moneyer
hitherto had used three. The type of the head of Roma needs no explanation. The mask of
Silenus, like that of Pan on the coins of C. Vibius Pansa (see below, p. 295), is an allusion to the
cognomen Silanus, and the plough which sometimes occurs below it may be a type parlant of
Bubulcus (“ploughman’’), a name borne by some members of the Junia gens. Of the same
nature is the torque which occurs on Types II. and III., and which refers to the first T. Manlius
Torquatus, whose son was adopted by D. Junius Silanus, an ancestor of the moneyer. The head
of Salus records the dedication in B.C. 302 of the temple to that divinity near the Quirinal by the
dictator, C. Junius Bubulcus Brutus, in commemoration of his great victory over the Samnites
near Bovianum, in consequence of which he was accorded the honour of a triumph, a
circumstance which would explain the reverse type of all the silver money of this coinage.
The issue of Type I. must have been a very extensive one, as each of the letters on the
obverse has an accompanying number on the reverse, which runs from 1 to XXX. As all
the letters of the alphabet occur on the obverse, it would appear that over 700 different dies
were used for this issue. Babelon (vol. ii., p. 108, no. 16) figures a variety of this type reading
only D. SILANVS . ROMA, i.e., with the patronymic omitted.
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 166) describes a hybrid in the Gotha collection with the
obverse of Type I. of D. Silanus and the reverse of the denarius of L. Farsuleius Mensor
(Babelon, vol. i., pp. 493, 494, no. 1 or 2). It has the edge serrated. There is another hybrid
in the Paris collection formed of the reverse of the denarius of the above type of D. Silanus
and of the reverse of that of C. Egnatius Maxumus (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 108).
The bronze coins struck by D. Silanus are, as already mentioned, of the semuncial
standard, but only the as and semis have been described (see p. 250).
CIRC. B.C. 88; A.U.C. 666
245
No.
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
1781
1782
1783
1784.
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
Weight
60-6
59.7
58-5
61:0
57.2
60-5
60-0
60-7
60-8
61-0
61-7
61.3
61-0
54-6
61-0
60-4
61.2
63-8
59-6
59.4
60-9
60-5
58-3
61:4
Metal
and Suze
AR -75
AR 7
º
.75
•75
•65
.
-75
AR.
Obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; letter B
Similar ; letter C
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; letter D
Similar.
Similar ; letter E
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; letter F
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar; letter G
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; letter H
Similar.
Similar.
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Reverse
number XII
number X|| ||
(Nott)
number VIII
number ||
[Pl. xxxii. 14.]
Similar; number VI
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
number VII
number XV
(Nott)
number Vllll
number XXIX
(Nott)
number || ||
number XIII
number XVI
number XXVII ||
number Vl
number VII
number XVIII
number XX|||
(Nott)
number VII
(Nott)
number XI
number XX
number XX|| ||
number Vl
number X|| |
(Nott)
number XVII ||
(Nott)
246
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
1797
1798
1799
1800
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
1811
1812
1813
Weight
61•0
62-0
58-5
60-0
60-9
61•1
60-7
61*0
58*2
61-7
45-5
59-8
59•0
60-7
61-3
58-3
61*4
58-3
60-0
62-0
59•3
61 •0
64-0
57•1
61*5
Metal,
amd Size
ÆR,
•75
:
•75
ÆR,
•75
ÆR.
:
(
p
l.
CI,
f;
•
;
)
:
•65
•75
:
Obverse
Similar.
Similar ; letter I
Similar.
Similar ; letter k
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; letter L
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; letter N^
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; letter N
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; letter O
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; letter T
Similar.
Reverse
Similar; mumber XX
Similar; number XVI
Similar ; number XXVI
Similar; mumber V
Similar ; number XI
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; number XII
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar; number VII
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar ; number XIII
Similar; number XXIII
Similar ; number Illl
Similar; number Vlll
Similar ; mumber XI
Similar; mumber XVIIII
Similar; mumber XXVI
Similar ; number V
(Nott)
Similar; number VI
Similar ; mumber XXX
(Nott)
Similar; number X
Similar ; number XI
Similar; number XIll
Similar ; number XV
Similar ; number XXII
Similar; number XXVII
Similar ; mumber III
Similar ; number IIII
CIRC. B.C. 88; A.U.C. 666
247
No.
1822
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
1837
1838
1839
Weight
57.7
62.5
59.2
59.5
57.7
60-9
60-8
60-0
58-2
59-0
60-2
60-0
61-0
60-8
58-5
59.4
60-2
61-0
Metal
and Size
AR. 75
AR, 7
AR 7
AR, 7
AR •75
Obverse
Similar; letter O.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; letter R
Similar.
Similar; letter S
Similar.
Similar.
Similar; letter T
Similar; letter V
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; letter X
Similar.
Similar.
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Reverse
number I
number VIII
number X|| ||
number XVI ||
(Nott)
number XXV
number XX
number XX|| ||
number V
number XXII
number XXX
number XI
(Nott)
number II
number XXI
(Nott)
number XX|| ||
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
number XXVI
number || ||
number VI
number XVII
248
COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight
1840 || 59-0
1841 || 60.5
T842 | 60-0
1843 57-5
1844 59:0
(pierced)
1845 61-0
1846 62-2
Metal
and Size
AR -7
AR -75
AR, 75
AR. 8
AR •75
AR •75
AR •75
Obverse
Reverse
Type II.
With letter on obverse and symbol on reverse
Mask of Silenus r., bearded
and with pine-wreath;
below, Rol\\A; behind,
letter B ; 1 the whole
within a much orna-
mented torque.
D . SI LANVS. L. F (in
exergue). Victory in
biga r., horses galloping;
she holds whip with
loose thong in r. hand,
and palm-branch and
reins in l. ; below horses,
symbol, a Gaulish trum-
pet (carnya).
[Pl. xxxii. 15.]
(Nott)
TWith symbol on obverse and reverse
Similar; nö letter behind Similar; same symbol, a
mask; below, symbol, a
plough * instead of the
legend RoNAA.
Gaulish trumpet.
[Pl. xxxii. 16.]
Type III.3
With letter on, obverse
Head of Salus r., diademed
and wearing necklace;
hair tied behind; below,
SA-VS; under chin,
letter A ; the whole
within a much orna-
mented torque.
Similar ; letter B
Similar ; letter C
Similar ; letter D
Similar; reading SALVS
for SA-VS, and letter NM
D. SI LANVS - L. F (in
exergue). Victory in
biga r., &c., similar to
no. 1840; below horses,
RONMA
[Pl. xxxii. 17.]
(Nott)
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
(Nott)
* The mint-letter varies, and is Latin or Greek (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 110).
* As this symbol does not appear to change, it may be part of the type.
the case with the carnya, on the reverse.
* All the letters of the Latin alphabet occur with this type, and not unfrequently they are
placed in a retrograde direction.
The same may be
CIRC. B.C. 88; A.U.C. 666
249
No.
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
Weight
61.5
47.3
61.2
59-8
57-0
60.5
Metal
and Size
AR. 8
AR 65
AR. 75
AR 75
AR 75
AR 7
Obverse
Reverse
Type III. var. a
With symbol on reverse
Head of Salus r., &c., simi-
lar to no. 1842; below,
SALVS; all within torque.
Similar.
*
D . S I LANVS. L. F (in
exergue). Victory in biga
r., &c., similar to no.
1840; she holds palm-
branch in r. hand and
reins in 1. ; below horses,
symbol, grasshopper.
[Pl. xxxii. 18.]
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, stem of
prow.
Type III. var. b
With letter on obverse and symbol on reverse
Similar ; under chin of
Salus, letter T *
Similar.
Similar.
Similar; Victory holds whip
with loose thong in r.
hand, and palm-branch
and reins in l. ; below
horses, symbol, grass-
hopper.
[Pl. xxxii. 19.]
Similar; same symbol.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; symbol, wing.
(de Salis Coll.)
Type III. var. c
Head of Salus r., &c., simi-
lar to no. 1842; no legend
below; all within torque.
D. SI LANVS. L. F (in
exergue). Victory in biga
r., &c., similar to no. 1840;
below horses, RONAA; no
symbol.
[Pl. xxxii. 20.]
(Nott)
-
1 This letter varies, although the three specimens here described have the same one
(Babelon, vol. ii., p. 109).
K. K.
250 COINAGE OF ROME
g
Metal
No. * * e
o. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
Sesterºtius'
13.5 | AR 5 | Head of Roma r., wearing D. SILANVS (in exergue).
winged helmet, orna- Victory in biga r., horses
mented , with gryphon's galloping.
head ; behind, E. L. Tº
(Ea lege Papiria).
[Babelon, vol. ii., p. 110, no. 21.]
AR 5 Similar ; behind head of
Roma, RONAA
Similar.
[Babelon, vol. ii., p. 110, no. 22.]
As 3
1853 || 257-0 || AE 1:15 | Head of Janus laureate; D . SILANVS L. F above
above, I Prow r. ; no mark of
value.
[Pl. xxxii. 21.]
(Blacas Coll.)
1854 226-0 | AF 1'15 Similar. Similar.
1855 | 198-0 | AF 1: 1 | Similar. Similar.
1 After an interval of nearly 150 years the issue of the silver sestertius was revived by the
Lew Plautia Papiria (see pp. 189, 241). As, from the evidence of finds, this denomination had
by this time probably passed out of circulation, it seems to have been considered necessary to
place on the new piece some official sign showing that its currency was sanctioned by law, and
for that purpose it was inscribed with the legend E. L. P. (Ea lege Papiria), so that the populace
would recognize under what authority it was struck. This new coin, possibly on account of its
small size, does not appear to have been received with much favour, since, after this year, there
is a further interval of forty years before we meet with another issue, which was also due to
special circumstances (see coins of C. Vibius Pansa, under B.C. 49). L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi,
the colleague of D. Junius Silanus, placed the same inscription on his sestertli (see p. 280).
Those of D. Junius Silanus are exceedingly rare. There was a specimen of each variety in the
Borghesi collection, which were purchased by the dealer Martinetti at Rome, and a specimen
with E. L. ſ , on the obverse is in the royal collection at Copenhagen (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit.,
1896, p. 166; and 1900, p. 60). It is not known where the Borghesi specimens are at present.
* The as has no mark of value on the reverse, as figured by Babelon (vol. ii., p. 111, no. 23).
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 167) says that in the name of the moneyer the letter A is
sometimes given as A or A, but on the six specimens in the British Museum it is always A.
Riccio (Catalogo, p. 126, no. 101) describes the semis of this issue. Bahrfeldt says he has
not seen a specimen of this coin, and therefore doubts the accuracy of Riccio's description.
These appear to be the only denominations in bronze mentioned of the coinage of D. Silanus.


CIRC. B.C. 88; A.U.C. 666 251
No. reight º'. O. verse Reverse
1856 176-0 || AE 1.1 ! Similar. Similar.
* (Blacas Coll.)
1857 | 154-0 | E 1.15 Similar. Similar.
1858 129-0 || AE 1.1 Similar. Similar.
L. PISO L. F. FRVGI
(LUCIUS CALPURNIUS PISO LUCII FILIUS
FRUGI)
Denarius
Type I.
With symbol on obverse and reverse
1859 60-0 || AR 75 | Head of Apollo r., laureate; L. PISO . FR/. W (Nepos)
hair in ringlets; behind, below Naked horseman
symbol, tanner's knife, galloping 1., holding
Tepitopečs (no. 1); bead lighted torch in r. hand
and reel border. and reins in 1. ; above,
mark of value, Sk; below,
Symbol, axe, dolabra
(no. 2).
[Pl. xxxiii. 1.]
1860 59.4 || AR 75 | Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
1 This moneyer was the son of L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, who served with distinction in
Sicily in B.c. 133, and died in Spain circ. B.C. 111. The grandfather of the same name would
be the consul of B.C. 133, in which year he commanded in the war in Italy against the slaves.
This relationship of the moneyer is confirmed by the legends on his coins, in which he signs
himself as mepos as well as filius. Neither Babelon nor Mommsen mentions the coins with the
legend L., TISO , F R/. M (mepos), but the specimens in the British Museum leave no doubt as
to the correctness of this reading. The last letter might be mistaken for the monogram WL,
but the horizontal stroke on the right of the letter Vl is only an indication of the ground under
the horse's feet, which appears not infrequently on the earlier issues of this series. Bahrfeldt
(Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 74) mentions other examples of this variety, and would read the last letter
as L. N (Lucii nepos). Like his father and grandfather, the moneyer was a man of honour
and integrity. In B.C. 87 he accused P. Gabinius of extortion, when propraetor at Athens, and
he was the colleague of Verres in the praetorship, B.C. 74, when he thwarted many of the schemes
of the latter. The legend on the sestertius (see p. 280), which he struck, shows that L. Calpurnius
Piso held the office of moneyer very soon after the passing of the Lew Plautia Papiria, and from
the similarity of their issues his colleague in office appears to have been D. Junius Silanus.
The type of the head of Apollo and of the horseman refers to the Ludi Apollinares which
were established in B.C. 212, and the annual celebration of which was proposed in the following
year by the praetor, L. Calpurnius Piso, an ancestor of the moneyer. The head of Apollo, which
serves as the obverse type of all the silver coins, denarii, quinarii, and sestertii, shows no change,
except that on a few rare pieces of the first denomination it is turned to the left instead of to the
right; but there are four chief varieties (Types I.--TV.) of the horseman-type of the reverse of
the denarius, viz., (1) with rider to 1. with torch ; (2) with rider to 1. with palm-branch ; (3) with
rider to r. with palm-branch ; (4) with rider to r. with whip. These, no doubt, illustrate the
different horse-races which took place at the games. On the earlier denarii of each variety of
type we meet with the mark of value, 3% or ><, and the name of “Roma” in full or in monogram,
and with a bead and reel border instead of a border of dots on the obverse of the first two
varieties. This is almost the latest occurrence of the mark of value on the denarius (see above,
p 241). The reverse type of the sestertius, a riderless horse, probably illustrates another mode
of racing at the games, and the Victory on the reverse of the quinarius and on the prow of the
bronze coins records some military or naval victory, in which an ancestor of the moneyer took
an active part as commander.
The numerous and varied mint-marks, consisting of symbols, numbers, letters, and
signs representing the as and its fractions divided into twelfths, unciae, show that this
-j-
252 COINAGE OF ROME
^.
No. Weight ..". Obverse Reverse
Type I. var. a
With symbol on obverse and reverse
1861 59.4 || AR “75 | Head of Apollo r., &c., L. T. ISO - L. F below
FRVGl
Naked horseman gallop-
ing 1., bearing torch, &c.,
similar to no. 1859; be-
low chin, mark of value,
Sk; behind head, symbol,
quiver (no. 3); bead and similar to no. 1859;
reel border. above, symbol, arrow 1.
(no. 4).
(Nott)
issue is one of the largest that occurred at the Roman mint. Besides single numbers
and letters, there is a complicated arrangement and combination of symbols, numbers,
letters, and fractional signs. It has not been possible to ascertain the order in which these
mint-marks were used, but in the classification of this issue we have adopted as our guide
principally the mark on the reverse in the case of each type, taking first the symbols, then the
numbers, then the letters, and lastly the fractional signs. Besides letters of the Roman alphabet,
those of the Greek one are occasionally used, and the distinctive fractions are only three in
number, viz., I (= as), S (= semis), and • (= uncia). Combinations of these fractions occur;
thus, I • (= 1+3), S . . . (= +}), . . (= #), &c. All these fractions have special names,

'gy—a # ſº. 5 || || º l = 4
* I ſº B-7s. I [A | | | |-
sk tºº-ſº-ſºº -º-º-ºº:
ºf Reſºlº ſºlºſs ºr
§ 3 || 0 || 1 |*|† || 2 |*|† ſºlº
| 4 |z|fl lºgº ºf ſix ſlal-ſ:
—º-sº-ſº "g Hº-T", ſi || ||
H-Hº-Hº-Hº-Hº-Hº-Hs
wºrstºº {
Q |&|4|4|9|8 || | | | | | * *
e'ſ, ſº ſº; ſº
thus, S . . . (= deunx), . . (= triens), ... • (= quadrans). A much more extended use was
made of these fractional signs by C. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, the son of L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi,
when he held the office of moneyer a few years later, circ. B.C. 64. Illustrations of the various
symbols, which occur on coins in the National Collection, are given above, and numbers referring
to them accompany the descriptions of the coins. A more complete series of these symbols is
given by Babelon (vol. i., pp. 293, 294).
As already mentioned, this very extensive coinage may have been due to the great
expenses incurred by the Social war and the suppression of the local mints.
* There are hybrids formed of the obverse of this type and the reverses of the denarii of
CIRC. B.C. 88 ; A.U.C. 666
253
No.
Weight
1862 60-1
1863 | 61.1
1864 || 61.5
1865 58-7
1866 59.2
1867 57-5
Metal
and Size
AR. 75
AR. 8
AR, 75
AR. ''W
|
AR 75
AR. 75
Obverse
Similar; symbol, wing (no.
5).
Similar; symbol, anchor
(no. 7).
Reverse
Similar; symbol, caduceus
(no. 6).
[Pl. xxxiii. 2.]
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, trident
(no. 8).
(de Salis Coll.)
Type I. var. b
With symbol on obverse and reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859; below
chin, mark of value, × ;
behind head, symbol,
double axe, bipennis (no.
9); bead and reel border.
Similar ; mark of value, 3% ;
symbol, owl (no. 11).
T ISO. FRVGI below Naked
horseman galloping l.,
bearing torch, similar to
no. 1859; below legend,
symbol, club 1. (no. 10).
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; symbol, head of
Apollo r. (no. 12), above
horseman.
[Pl. xxxiii. 3..]
(Nott)
Type I. var. c
With symbol on obverse and reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c., simi-
lar to no. 1859; below
chin, mark of value, Sk;
behind head, symbol,
column (no. 13); bead
and reel border.
Similar; symbol, oil-jar,
lekythos (no. 19); border
of dots instead of bead
and reel border.
Fº "below Naked
horseman galloping 1.,
bearing torch, &c., similar
to no. 1859; above,
symbol, hydria (no. 14).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, lituus
(no. 20).
[Pl. xxxiii. 4.]
(Nott)
M. Volteius M. f., with reverse a wild boar (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 565, no. 2), and of C. Postumius,
with reverse a hound (ib., vol. ii., p. 382, no. 9).
* Babelon (vol. i., p. 291, no. 10) figures another variety of this type with the name
FRVGl behind the head of Apollo on the obverse, and a symbol before ; and on the reverse
TISO L. F below the horseman and a symbol above. It has a bead and reel border on the obverse.
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, pp. 72-74) mentions several examples which had come under his
notice, but which read L' ſº ISO L' F, and he suggests that the absence of the praenomen
may be due to imperfect striking.
254
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
1868
1869
1870
1871
1872
Weight
44'5
55-5
62-7
59.3
52-4
Metal
and Size
AR -75
(plated)
AR, 75
AR, 75
AR, 7
AR, 7
Obverse
Type
Reverse
II.
With symbol on obverse and reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859;
below chin, mark of
value, 9%; behind head,
symbol, grain of corn
(no. 15); bead and reel
border.
Similar; symbol, double
hook (no. 17); border of
dots instead of bead
and reel border.
Similar ; symbol, greave
(no. 21).
L. Tº ISO . FRVG
RONAA
Naked horseman gallop-
below
ing 1., bearing palm-
branch, directed over his
shoulder, and holding
reins; above, symbol,
flute, tibia (no. 16).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, modius
(no. 18).
Similar ; symbol, spear-
head (no. 22).
[Pl. xxxiii. 5.]
With symbol and fractional sign on obverse and reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859;
below chin, mark of
value, 3% ; behind, sym-
bol, bipennis (no. 9);
above which, fraction • ;
bead and reel border."
Type
L . Tº ISO . FRVGI
RONAA
Naked horseman gallop-
ing I., and bearing palm-
branch, similar to no.
1868; above, symbol,
Sacrificial knife, culter
(no. 26); below which,
fraction • *
[Pl. xxxiii. 6.]
(Nott)
below
III.
With letter on obverse and symbol on reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859;
behind, mark of value, Sk;
below chin, letter B. ;
border of dots.
L. Tº ISO . FRVGI
RONAA
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch over 1. shoulder,
and holding reins in r.
below
hand; above, symbol,
star (no. 23).
(Nott)
* As the bead and reel border does not occur again, it is probable that it was placed only on the
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zewt., 1896, p. 74) figures a variety of this type,
now in the Capitoline Museum, with the legend RONAA repeated on the obverse behind the
head of Apollo, and with a symbol or letter below the chin instead of the mark of value.
early pieces of this issue.
CIRC. B.C. 88 ; A.U.C.
255
666
No.
1873
1874
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
1881
Weight
61.3
55-4
59.8
58.7
56-8
58.0
58-8
61.6
60-0
Metal
and Size
AR 8
AR, 7
AR 7
AR 75
AR -75
AR 75
AR 75
AR 7
AR 75
Obverse
Similar ; letter C
Similar.
Reverse
Similar; symbol, sword in
sheath (no. 24).
[Pl. xxxiii. 7.]
Similar; symbol, caduceus
(no. 25).
(Nott)
Type III. var. a
With number on reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859;
below chin, mark of
value, 3% *
Similar; mark of value, >k,
behind head.
Similar.
L . Tº ISO FRVG | below
Naked horseman gallop-
.ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; below, num-
ber X
(Nott)
Similar; number XV
[Pl. xxxiii. 8.]
Similar; same number.
With letter on obverse and reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859;
behind, mark of value, × ;
below chin, letter A
Similar; mark of value, 3%
Similar ; mark of value, >k
Similar; mark of value, 3% ;
letter H
L T | SO FR VG I below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r, bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; above, letter
C; behind horse, * 1
Similar; letter F
Similar; letter R
[Pl. xxxiii. 9..]
Similar; letter D ; under
horse, *
(Nott)
1 A pellet, point or fractional sign is always found on the reverse of this variety, in addition
to the mint-letter.
letter.
letter.
It is of two forms, 3% and X.
It is placed in various positions in the field, sometimes near the mint-
Occasionally it is met with on the obverse, when it is usually on the right of the mint-
This is the last series of this issue on which the mark of value of the denarius occurs.
256
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
1882
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889
1890
Weight
56-7
59.1
57.1
60-1
53-6
62-7
58-4
59.0
Metal
and Size
AR. 75
AR. 8
AR 7
AR 75
AR, 7
AR 7
AR -75
AR •8
AR 7
Obverse
Similar; mark of value, Sk
Similar ; letter L
Similar; mark of value, 3% ;
letter L.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; letter T
Reverse
Similar; letter k ; behind
horse, *
(Nott)
Similar; letter N ; behind
horseman, "
(Nott)
Similar; letter D ; behind
horseman, "
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar; letter F; behind
horse, *
Similar; letter G; behind
horse, *
Similar; letter O ; behind
horseman, "
(Nott)
Similar ; letter le
Type III. var. b
With symbol on reverse
Head of Apollo r.,
similar to no. 1859.
&c.,
L . Tº ISO FRVG
RONAA
Naked horseman, gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; above, symbol,
helmet (no. 27).
[Pl. xxxiii. 10.]
below
Type III. var. c
With letter on obverse and symbol on reverse
Head of Apollo r.,’ &c.,
similar to no. 1859;
below chin, letter A
º
L . Tº ISO FRVGI
RONAA
Naked horseman, gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; above, symbol,
stag between two pellets
(no. 28).
below
* Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, pl. iii., 62) figures a variety of this issue with the head of
Apollo to 1.
CIRC. B.C. 88; A.U.C. 666 257
No. Weight
1891
1892
1893
1894
1895
1896
1897
1898
1899
62-0
60-6
58.8
62-0
56.5
61-5
62-0
59.4
Metal
and Size
AR. 75
AR 75
AR. 75
AR 7
AR. 75
AR, 7
AR. 7
AR 75
AR. 75
AR. 8
Obverse
Similar ; letter E
Similar ; letter F
Similar ; letter H
Similar ; letter k
Reverse
Similar ; symbol, goat's
head (no. 29).
[Pl. xxxiii. 11.]
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, mallet
(no. 30).
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; symbol, spear (no.
31).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, bottle (?)
(no. 32).
(Nott)
Type III. var. d
With number on obverse and reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859;
behind, number C
Similar; number CII ||
Similar ; number CXIII
Similar ; number CXV
Similar; number CVTTT
L. Tº ISO FRVGI bel
ROAA €10 W
Naked horseman galloping
r., bearing palm-branch,
&c., similar to no. 1872;
above, number CXXXTT
(Nott)
|
Similar ; number CXXVITT
Similar; number CXXXT
[Pl. xxxiii. 12.]
Similar; number CXXXVITTT
(N Ott)
Similar; legend,
L. Tº ISO FRVG
ROAA
number CXXX
| (Nott)
Type III. var. e
With number on obverse and reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859; be-
hind, number VII
L - tºº, FRVGI below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to no.
1872; above, number VTT
[Pl. xxxiii. 13.]
(Nott)
1900
60-7
* It does not seem possible to establish any order of relation between the numbers on the
obverse and those on the reverse of the coins of this series.
With the exception of the first
L L
25S
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
1901
1902
1903
1904
1905
1906
1907
1908
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
JJ'eight
60-7
61:4
51.0
Ö9. 1
61-5
61:4
56-8
58.8
59.3
58-3
60-4
61:0
60-0
57-4
59.6
59.7
60-2
61:4
Metal
and Size
AR, 7
AR. 7
•8
AR. 7
AR 8
AR. 8
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR. •8
AR, -8
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR. '75
AR 75
AR 7
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR 8
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Obverse
number X
number XVI
number XVI ||
number XX
number XXXI
number XXX| ||
number XXXVII
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Reverse
number XT
(Nott)
number XXT
(Nott)
number XXXI
same number.
(Nott)
number XXXXT
number XXXXTITT
number XXXXVIT
number XXXVIIII Similar; number N.VTT
(Blacas Coll.)
number XXXXV
number XXXXVI
number
XXXXVIII
same number.
number
XXXXVI || |
number J,
number Jyll
same number.
number J/VI || |
number Jyx! ||
number UXV
number NZXVI ||
|
- . .
|Similar;
|
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
| tº º
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
number UXV
(Nott)
number VXVſ
(Nott)
number NZVII
number NXT
same number.
*w-esses
number NZX|| ||
(Nott)
number NXT
number NZXVII
(Nott)
number XXCVT
(Nott)
number N-XXVTTT
number XXCTTTT
(Nott)
1920
58-1
number XXCIII
coin described, the number on the reverse is always the higher one.
not advance evenly on the two sides; thus we have XXXXVI obv. and W XVI rev.;
XXXXVIII obv. and Ny VIII wer. ; V || obv. with Ny XII and Ny XVII rev., &c.
Also, the numbers do
CIRC. B.C. 88; A.U.C. 666
259
No.
1921
1922
1923
1924
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
Weyht
61:4
60-8
60.5
62-7
58.8
57.0
59.5
58.8
62-0
61.3
61.3
58.2
61:0
58.8
54-0
61:4
59.3
Metal
and Size
AR 8
AR. '85
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR. 75
AR. '85
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR, 7
AR. 75
AR, 7
AR. 75
AR 7
AR.
.75
Obverse
Similar ; number JuxVIIII
Similar ;
number UXX| ||
number VXXVII
Similar ;
number N-XXVI ||
Similar ;
Similar ; same number.
Similar ; number Nº. XXX
number NZXXXVII
Similar ;
number
N-XXXVI ||
Similar ;
number NZXXXXV
Similar ;
number
NZXXXXVII
Similar ;
number
NZXXXXVI ||
Similar ;
Similar ; number C
Similar ; number CII
Similar ; number CV
Similar ; number CX
number CXXIV
Similar ;
Reverse
number XXCVII
xxxiii. 14.]
number XXCVT
(Nott)
number XCV
Similar ;
[Pl.
Similar ;
Similar ;
number XCIV
(Nott)
number XCVTI
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar; number C
number CV
(Nott)
Similar ;
Similar; number CVTT
Similar ; number CVIII |
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; number CXV
Similar ; number CVl Il
Similar ; number CX| ||
(Nott)
Similar ; number CXX
(Nott)
Similar ; number CXX|| |
Similar ; number *º-
CXXXVI ||
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; number
CXXXXVI || ||
With symbol on obverse and number on reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c., L. T. ISO FRV Gl
similar to no. 1859; be-
hind, symbol, caduceus
(no. 6).
below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., Similar to no.
1872; below, number l
[Pl. xxxiii. 15.]
(Nott)
260
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
Weight
61.1
60-0
59.3
61-5
64-4
59-0
60-7
Metal
and Size
AR. 8
AR 7
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR, 7
AR. 65
AR 75
AR, 75
AR 75
Obverse
Type III
IReverse
. var, f
With number on reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859.
L . Tº ISO FRVGI below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; below legend,
number VXXVIIT
[Pl. xxxiii. 16.]
(Blacas Coll.)
With number on obverse and reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859; be-
hind, number CXVII 2
Similar ; number CXXIV
L . Tº ISO FRVG | below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; below legend,
number TTTT
(Nott)
Similar; number VTTTT
(Woodhouse Coll.)
With symbol on obverse and number on reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859; be-
hind,” symbol, grain of
barley (no. 15).
Similar ;
33)
symbol, fly (no.
Similar; symbol, lyre (no.
34).
Similar; symbol, bow (no.
35).
Similar ; symbol, grain of
barley (no. 15).
Similar; symbol, sandal
(no. 36).
L . Tº ISO FRV G | below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; below legend,
number || |
(Nott)
Similar; number V
[Pl. xxxiii. 17.]
(Nott)
Similar; number VTTI
(Nott)
Similar; number XT
Similar; number XVT
(Nott)
Similar; number XVII
(Nott)
1 This and the following coins of the moneyer are without the name of “Roma.”
* In this series the higher number is on the obverse.
* In this series the symbol is placed behind the head of Apollo, or below his chin; and the
same number on the reverse occurs with more than one symbol on the obverse, and vice versa.
CIRC. B.C. 88 ; A.U.C. 666
261
No.
1947
1948
1949
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
Weigl,
58-
572
6(-6
$1.5
59-9
60-9
60-0
57.2
60-2
61.5
60-9
60-0
62-0
61:0
57.1
Metal
and Suze
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR 8
AR. 75
AR. 8
AR. 75
AR 7
AR. 7
AR 75
AR, 75
AR. 8
AR. 75
AR 75
AR. 75
AR, 7
AR. 7
Obverse
Similar; symbol, Scorpion
(no. 37).
Similar; symbol, cornu-
copiae (no. 38).
Similar; symbol, shield
(no. 39).
Similar; symbol, wreath
(no. 40).
Similar; symbol, Sandal
(no. 36).
Similar; symbol, standard
surmounted by stag (no.
41).
Similar ; symbol, cornu-
copiae (no. 38).
Similar ; symbol, cornu-
copiae (no. 38).
Similar; symbol, wine-
skin (?) (no. 42).
Similar ; symbol, prow (no.
43).
Similar; symbol (below
chin), head of goose (no.
44).
Similar; symbol (behind
head), shield (no. 39).
Similar ; trident
(no. 8).
symbol,
Similar; symbol, thunder-
bolt (no. 45).
Similar; symbol, horse's
head with bridle (no. 46).
Similar; symbol (below
chin), pomegranate (no.
Similar; symbol (behind
head), altar (?) (no. 48).
Reverse
number XVI ||
(Nott)
Similar ;
number XXI
(Nott)
number XXTIT
Similar ;
Similar ;
number XXVII
(Nott)
Similar ;
number XXVIII
(Nott)
Similar ;
same number.
(Nott)
Similar ;
Similar ; number XXVIIll
number XXXT
(Nott)
Similar ;
same number.
(Nott)
Similar ;
number XXXVIII
(Nott)
Similar ;
Similar; same number.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; number XXXXIT
(Nott)
Similar; number XXXXVITT
(Nott)
Similar; number N.V.
(Nott)
Similar; number NVT
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar; number NXXXI
Similar; number VXXXX
(Nott)
262
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
j
|
Weight aft º, Obverse
60-0 | AR 7 Similar; symbol (below
| chin), pomegranate (no.
| 47).
|
61.2 | AR 75 Similar; symbol, trophy
(no. 49).
601 | AR 7 Similar; symbol (behind
head), altar 2 (no. 48).
605 || AR 75 Similar; symbol, wing (no.
5).
62-2 || AR 75 Similar; symbol, trophy
(no. 50).
602 || AR 75 Similar; symbol (below
chin), two flutes (?) (no.
51).
593 || AR 75 Similar; symbol, cock's
head (no. 52).
61.2 | AR 75 Similar ; symbol, wreath
(no. 53).
59-6 || AR 8 || Similar; symbol (behind
head), helmet (no. 54).
601 | AR 7 || Similar; symbol (below
chin), human head (no.
55).
568 || AR 75 Similar; symbol (behind
head), eagle (no. 56).
61.2 | AR 8 || Similar; symbol (below
chin), wolf's head (no.
57).
60-7 || AR 65 Similar; symbol (behind
head), tripod (no. 58).
614 | AR 7 || Similar; symbol (below
chin), human head (no.
55).
602 | AR 75 Similar; symbol (behind
head), head-dress of Isis
(no. 59).
|
|
Revese
Similar ; number XCI
(Not)
numbe. XCVTTT
(Nott)
Similar ;
number XCVTTTT
(Nott)
Similar ;
number Cl
(Nott)
Similar;
number Cll I
(Nott)
Similar;
number CXVITT
(Nott)
Similar;
number CXX
Similar ;
number CXXTT
(Nott)
Similar ;
number CXXVT
Similar ;
number CXXXI
(Nott)
Similar ;
number CXXXTTT
(Nott)
number CXXX|T]
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ; number CXXXV
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; number CXXXXI
Similar; number CXXXXT
(Nott)
CIRC. B.C. 88 ; A.U.C. 666 263
Metal
Obverse Reverse
and S12e
No. Weight
| With symbol and number on obverse and number on reverse
1979 61-0 || AR -7 º of Apollo r., &c., L. T. ISO FRVGI below
similar to no. 1859; Naked horseman gallop-
behind, symbol, bunch of ing r., bearing palm-
grapes (no. 60); below branch, &c., similar to
chin, number X no. 1872; below legend,
number NXXXVI
[Pl. xxxiii. 18.]
With two letters on obverse and number on reverse
1980 || 59.4 || AR 75 | Head of Apollo r., &c., L. T. ISO FRVGI below
similar to no. 1859; Naked horseman gallop-
behind, letter l ; below ing r., bearing palm-
chin, letter A branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; below legend,
number I
(Nott)
1981 | 604 || AR “75 | Similar; behind head, letter | Similar; number VTT
D; below chin, letter C
With same double letter on obverse and number on reverse
1982 60-0 | AR 75 | Head of Apollo r., &c., L TISO FRVGI below
similar to no. 1859; Naked horsemangalloping
behind, letter C ; below r., bearing palm-branch,
chin, letter C &c., similar to no. 1872;
below legend, number
| XXXIT
| (Nott)
1983 || 61-6 || AR “75 Similar ; letters X and X Similar ; same number.
(Blacas Coll.)
1984 58-7 || AR 75 Similar ; letters F and F Similar ; number XXXVTT
1985 60:7 | AR 75 Similar ; letters k and k Similar ; number XXXXV
(Nott)
1986 62-3 | AR 7 || Similar ; letters H and H | Similar; number XXXXVTT
(Nott)
1987 602 AR 75 | Similar; letters k and k Similar; number tº-
| XXXXVIII
1988 598 || AR 75 Similar; letters S and S Similar; number wVII
| (Nott)
1989 60-4 AR 75 Similar; letters N and N | Similar; number J.XTT
| t [Pl. xxxiii. 19.]
264
COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
57.2
57.7
62-0
57.5
59.6
59-1
58-6
62-8
59.5
61.7
63-1
58-3
58-3
57-4
63-1
Metal
and Size
AR •75
AR, 75
AR, 75
AR, 7
AR 75
AR, 75
AR, 75
AR, 7
AR, 75
AR, 75
AR, 75
AR, 75
AR. 75
AR, 8
AR. 75
Obverse
Similar ; letters L and L
letters NA and NW
Similar ;
Similar ; letters N and N
Similar ; letters N and N
Similar ; letters L and L
Similar ; letters D and D
Similar ; letters SP and SP
letters 6 and €
Similar ;
Similar ; letters B and B
Reverse
number VXTTT à
(Nott)
Similar;
number NXVIT
Similar;
number NZXX
(Nott)
Similar ;
number NZXXTI
Similar ;
number VXXTTT
Similar ;
number NZXXX
(Nott)
Similar ;
Similar; number CXXXXTIT
(Nott)
Similar ; number CXVIITI
Similar ; number CXN-VTTT
(Blacas Coll.)
With fractional sign on oliverse and number on reverse
Head of Apollo r.,
similar to no.
behind, fraction • *
&c.,
1859;
Similar ; fraction •
Similar ; fraction .”
C. C.
Similar ; fraction • *
Similar ; fraction : :
Similar ; fraction (under
chin), S ; : *
L T | SO FRVG | below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; below legend,
number XVTTTT
(Nott)
[Pl. xxxiii. 20.]
number XXTITT
(Nott)
Similar ;
number XXXVIT
(Nott)
Similar ;
Similar ; number Nº.
number VXXT
(Nott)
Similar ;
Similar ; number XCTTT
(de Salis Coll.)
* These and the letters on the two following coins are Greek. It may be that Latin letters
were used down to number C (= 100) on the reverse, after which those of the Greek
alphabet were adopted.
CIRC. B.C. 88; A.U.C. 666
265
No.
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Weight
61:0
59.8
59.7
59.5
60-8
59.7
59.4
60-8
Metal
and Size
AR, 8
AR. 8
AR. 7
AR. 7
AR. 8
AR. 7
AR. 75
AR. 7
AR. 7
Obverse
Reverse
With symbol on obverse and symbol and letter on reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859; below
chin, symbol, bucranium
(no. 61).
Similar ; symbol (behind
head), sword in sheath
(no. 62).
Similar ; symbol, top of
meta (?) (no. 64).
Similar ; symbol, arrow en-
twined with serpent (no.
66).
L T | SO FR VG | below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; below legend,
symbol, staff (no. 73);
above horseman, letter B
Similar ; symbol, pentagon
(no. 63); letter D
Similar; symbol, pincers
(no. 65); letter k
[Pl. xxxiii. 21.]
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; symbol, staff (no.
67); letter O.
(Nott)
PWith symbol and letter on obverse and reverse"
SERIES I.
Head of Apollo r., &c., simi-
lar to no. 1859; behind,
symbol, trident (no. 8);
below chin, letter C.
(O. 2).
Similar; symbol, hammer
(no. 74); letter V
Similar; same symbol;
letter A
Similar; symbol, trident
(no. 8) ; letter M
Similar; symbol, hammer
(no. 74); letter B
L T | SO FR V G | below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; above, symbol,
trident (no. 68); below
legend, letter A
Similar: same symbol and
letter.
[Pl. xxxiii. 22.]
(Nott)
symbol ;
Similar ; same
letter B
Similar; same symbol and
letter.
Similar; same symbol;
letter C
(Nott)
2013
60.5
1 In this issue the mint-marks on the reverse are of two series, one with the symbol
above the horseman and the letter below, the other with the letter above and the symbol
below. There is a frequent repetition of the same symbols on the obverse and reverse.
It seems impossible to evolve any system of connection between the symbols and letters on
the obverse and those on the reverse.
MI MI
266
COIN AGE OF ROME
No.
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2024
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
Weight
57.5
61-8
61.8
57.5
61-5
58-4
59.8
60-4
61-0
61-1
59.7
61:0
63-7
57.7
60.5
60-8
Metal
and Size
AR 7
AR 7
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR, 8
AR -75
AR. 7
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR. 7
AR '8
AR 75
AR 85
AR. 75
AR -75
AR -75
Obverse
Similar ;
letter E
same symbol ;
Similar; same symbol and
letter.
Similar; symbol, trident
(no. 8); letter E
Similar;
letter X
same symbol;
Similar; same
letter O (O. 2).
symbol;
Similar; symbol, hammer
(no. 74); letter I
Similar; symbol, trident
(no. 8); letter T
Similar; symbol, anchor
(no. 70); letter A
Similar ; symbol, trident
(no. 8); letter E
Similar; symbol, hammer
(no. 74); letter R.
Reverse
Similar ; symbol;
letter E
S8, Iſle
Similar; symbol, caduceus
(no. 25); same letter.
Similar; symbol, trident
(no. 68); letter H
Similar; same symbol;
letter L
Similar; same symbol;
letter O
Similar; symbol, flute (no.
69); letter R
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, trident
(no. 68); same letter.
Similar; symbol, caduceus
(no. 25); letter T
(Nott)
Similar;
letter V
same symbol;
Similar; symbol, flute (no.
69); same letter.
(Nott)
Similar ; same symbol; Similar; same symbol and
letter X letter.
SERIES II.
Similar; symbol, fly (no.
71); letter A
Similar; symbol, anchor
(no. 70); letter C
Similar; symbol, fly (no.
71); letter E
Similar ; symbol, hammer
(no. 74); letter R
Similar ; symbol, fly (no.
71); letter C
Similar; symbol, pentagon
(no. 63), below legend;
letter C, above horseman.
Similar; symbol, staff (no.
72); same letter.
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, staff (no.
67); same letter.
Similar; same symbol;
same letter.
Similar ; symbol, pentagon
(no. 63); letter E
CIRC. B.C. 88; A.U.C. 666
267
No.
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
2036
2037
2038
2039
Weight
60-8
57.6
60-8
60-3
58-6
60-0
61.2
60-2
58.2
Metal
and Size
AR. 8
AR. 75
AR. 7
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 8
AR 75
AR. 75
AR 7
Obverse
Similar; same symbol;
letter C
Similar; same symbol;
letter B
Similar ; symbol, anchor
(no. 70); letter D
Reverse
Similar; symbol,
(no. 65); letter H
pincers
Similar; symbol, staff (no.
73); letter M
Similar; symbol, staff (no.
72); letter V
With number and fractional sign on obverse and symbol
and letter on reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859; be-
hind, number l ; below
chin, fraction S : •
Similar ; number V, below
chin ; fractions •l, behind
head.
L . Tº ISO FRVGI below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; above, symbol,
caduceus (no. 25); below
legend, letter F
[Pl. xxxiii. 23.]
Similar; symbol, pincers
(no. 65), below legend;
letter F, above horseman.
With symbol and fractional sign on obverse and symbol
and letter on reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859; be-
hind, symbol, fan, flabel-
lum (no. 75); below chin,
fraction : •
Similar; same symbol and
fraction.
Similar; symbol, cadu-
ceus (?), below chin ;
fractions II, behind head.
Similar; symbol, arrow (no.
76), behind head; frac-
tion • *, below chin.
Similar; symbol, bucra-
nium (no. 61), below chin;
fractions | *, behind head.
L . Tº ISO FRVGI below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to no.
1872; below legend, sym-
bol, staff (no. 72); above
horseman, letter C
(Nott)
[Pl. xxxiv. 1.]
Similar;
letter E
same symbol;
Similar; symbol, caduceus
(no. 25), above horseman;
letter E, below legend.
Similar ; , , same symbol;
letter N
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, trident
(no. 68); letter O
268
COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight
2040 580
2041 60.4
2042 59-7
2043 61-0
2044 61.2
2045 55-2
2046 || 57-9
Metal
and Size
AR -8
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR, 8
AR, 7
AR 7
AR, 75
Obverse
Reverse
TWith symbol, fractional sign and letter on obverse
and symbol and letter on reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c., simi-
lar to no. 1859; behind,
symbol, bow (no. 77), and
fraction : ; below chin,
letter A
L T | SO FRV G | below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; above, symbol,
caduceus (no. 25); below
legend, letter L
[Pl. xxxiv. 2.]
With two letters on obverse and symbol and letter
O71, 7'60)07"Se
Head of Apollo r., &c., simi-
lar to no. 1859; behind,
letter N ; below chin,
letter G
Similar ; letters H and G
Similar ; letters V and G
L T | SO FRV G | below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; above, symbol,
caduceus (no. 25); below
legend, letter C
[Pl. xxxiv. 3..]
Similar; same symbol;
letter E
Similar; same symbol;
letter G
(Cracherode Coll.)
With symbol on obverse and letter on reverse
SERIES I.
Head of Apollo r., &c., simi-
lar to no. 1859; behind,
symbol, fish-spear (no.
78).
Similar; symbol, quiver
and bow (no. 79).
Similar; same symbol.
L. Tº ISO FR VG | below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to no.
1872; above, letter D :
(Nott)
Similar ; letter G; before
horse, *
(Nott)
Similar ; letter NA; below
horse, *
[Pl. xxxiv. 4.]
(Nott)
* On this issue the mint-letter is placed above the horseman or below the legend, and is
sometimes accompanied by one or two dots.
the reverse.
A fraction or pellet also occasionally occurs on
CIRC. B.C. 88 ; A.U.C. 666
269
No.
2047
2048
2049
2050
2051
2052
2053
2054
2055
2056
2057
2058
2059
2060
Weight
62-4
60-4
58-7
57.3
60.5
60-0
61:0
61.9
59.3
56-0
Metal
and Size
AR. 7
AR -7
AR. 75
AR 7
AR, 7
AR, 7
AR, 75
AR -75
AR •7
AR. 65
AR 7
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR 7
Obverse
Similar; same symbol.
Similar; symbol,
terminating in
(no. 80).
flower
Reverse
Similar; letter N ; behind
horse, *
sceptre Similar; letter X
SERIES II.
Similar ; symbol, wing (no.
5).
Similar; symbol, uncertain
(no. 81), below chin.
Similar; symbol, bird with
wreath in its beak (no. 82),
behind head.
Similar ; symbol, cornuco-
piae (no. 38).
Similar ; symbol, helmet
(no. 54), below chin.
Similar ; same symbol.
Similar ; staff, entwined
with serpent (no. 84),
behind head.
Similar; symbol, crane (no.
85).
Similar; symbol, uncertain
(no. 86), below chin.
Similar; below legend,
letter E
(Nott)
Similar ; letter 'F'
Similar ; letter k.
(Nott)
Similar; letter 'L'
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; letter T :
Similar; same letter.
Similar ; letter Ol'
Similar ; letter S.
(Nott)
Similar ; letter V:
(Blacas Coll.)
With symbol and number on obverse and letter on reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c., simi-
lar to no. 1859; behind,
symbol, hammer (no. 74);
below chin, number I
Similar; symbol, trident
(no. 8); number III
Similar; same
number ||
symbol;
L . Tº ISO FRVGI below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; above horse-
man, letter L
[Pl. xxxiv. 5.]
Similar ; letter B', below
legend.
Similar ; letter ‘E
(Blacas Coll.)
270
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
2061
2062
2063
2064
2065
2066
2067
2068
2069
Weight
59-7
Metal
and Size
AR •7
AR -8
AR •75
AR -75
AR •75
AR 7
AR -7
AR •75
AR 7
AR •75
Obverse
Similar; symbol, grass-
hopper (no. 100), below
chin ; number XI, behind
head.
Similar; symbol, fibula
(no. 87), behind head;
number XVI, below chin.
Similar; symbol, trident
(no. 8); number ||
Reverse
Similar ; letter O.
Similar; letter 'S
Similar; letter T
|With symbol and letter on obverse and letter on reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c., simi-
lar to no. 1859; behind,
symbol, bow (no. 88);
below chin, letter N
Similar; same symbol and
letter.
Similar ; symbol,
(no. 89); letter V
ear (?) .
L . Tº ISO FRVGI below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; below legend,
letter 'G'
[Pl. xxxiv. 6.]
Similar ; letter ‘l’
Similar ; letter O. :
With letter on obverse and reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859; be-
hind, letter L.
Similar ; letter A, below
chin.
Similar ; letter A
L T | SO FRV G | below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; above, letter B;
below horse, *
(Nott)
Similar ; letter G'
[Pl. xxxiv. 7.]
Similar ; letter ‘NA-
|With two letters on obverse and one on reverse"
SERIES I.
Head of Apollo r., &c., simi- L TISO FRVGI
lar to no. 1859; behind,
letter T ; below chin,
letter S
below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., holding palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; above, letter C.
(Blacas Coll.)
2070
58-7
56.9
59.5
61.2
59.6
56-6
59.0
60.1
58.8
| There are two series of this issue, one with the mint-letter above the horsenaan on the
reverse, the other with the mint-letter below the legend.
CIRC. B.C. 88 ; A.U.C. 666 271
No.
2071
2072
2073
2074
2075
2076
2077
2078
2079
2080
2081
2082
2083
2084
2085
2086
2087
2088
2089
2090
2091
Metal
and Size
AR,
AR.
AR,
AR,
AR,
AR.
.7
.75
-8
.75
.75
.75
.75
.75
.75
•75
.75
.75
.75
|
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Reverse
Similar ; letter 3
Similar; letter H
Similar ; letter I.
(Nott)
Similar ; letter k.
Similar; letter L.
[Pl. xxxiv. 8.]
Similar; letter T
(Nott)
Similar; letter M
Similar ; letter N
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; letter O
Similar; same letter.
Similar ; letter P
Similar ; letter O.
Similar ; letter X
(Nott)
Similar ; letter Y
(Nott)
SERIES II.
Weight
56-7
59.4
60-6
59.0
60-0
60-6
63.7
63.5
58-5
60-2
60-0
57-5
59.0
60-2
61-8
49-7
62-3
60.5
62-3
60-0
60-8
Obverse
letters /\ and B
letters T and B
letters T and C
letters F and D
letters M and C
letters S and B
letters E and D
letters H and G
letters O and C
letters S and C
letters NW and C
letters G and B
letters D and O
letters k and B
letters O and C
letters T and E
letters H and E
letters T and C
letters l and A
letters NW and E
letters T and A
Similar; letter B, below
legend.
Similar ; letter 'B'
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; letter D
[Pl. xxxiv. 9..]
Similar ; same letter.
Similar ; letter I
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; letter O.
Similar; letter S
(Nott)
272
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
2092
2093
2094
2095
2096
2097
2098
2099
2100
2101
2102
2103
2104
2105
Weight
59-0
62-0
61-6
57.0
58-4
63-6
61.7
60-0
60-0
61-8
59.3
57.2
60-7
56.4
Metal
and Size
AR. 8
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR, 7
AR 7
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR, 7
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR, 7
AR 7
AR, 7
AR, 7
Obverse
Similar ; letters NW and E
Similar; letters L and E
Similar; letters S and L
Reverse
Similar; letter T-
(Nott)
Similar ; letter ‘T.’
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; letter V
(Blacas Coll.)
With fractional sign on obverse and letter on reverse
Head of Apollo r.,
similar to no.
behind, fraction :
&c.,
1859;
Similar ; fraction :
©
Similar ; fraction :
C
Similar ; fraction : , behind
head ; below chin, -
be-
Similar ; fraction : • ,
hind head.
Similar; fraction ::
Similar; fraction : , behind
head; below chin, -
Similar ; fraction : , be-
hind head. O
Similar ; fraction : ... •
Similar; fraction :
Similar; fraction : •, be-
low chin.
L . Tº ISO FRVG | below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; above, letter
B ; below horse, *
Similar ; letter E
[Pl. xxxiv. 10.]
(Nott)
Similar; letter G
Similar; letter H-
(Nott)
Similar; letter l ; below
horse, *
Similar; letter L.
Similar; letter ‘T.’
Similar ; letter R
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; letter T.
Similar; letter V
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar;
legend.
(Nott)
letter X', below
CIRC. B.C. 88; A.U.C. 666
273
No.
2106
2107
2108
2109
2110
2111
2112
2113
Weight
63.9
60-7
60-4
61:4
62.6
61:4
60.5
Metal
and Size
AR. 7
AR, 7
AR. '75
AR, 7
AR. 75
AR 7
AR •7
AR -75
Obverse
Reverse
TWith fractional sign and symbol on obverse and letter
O77, 7°0'06/'Sø
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859; be-
hind, fraction : : ; be-
low chin, symbol, star (no.
23).
L T | SO FRV G | below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; below legend,
letter T
[Pl. xxxiv. 11.]
With fractional sign and letter on obverse and letter
O??, ?'60)07°S 62
Head of Apollo, r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859; be-
hind, fraction : : ; be-
low chin, letter R.
Similar ; fraction S; letter
A
Similar; fraction : - ; letter I
Similar; fraction ... • ; letter I
* : letter
© 3
Similar ; fraction
A
Similar ; fraction • ; letter
R (?).
L. Tº ISO FR VG | below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; above, letter G.
(Nott)
Similar ; letter k
Similar ; letter k.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; letter .N.
[Pl. xxxiv. 12.]
Similar; letter R
Similar; letter.X.
With double letter and fractional sign on obverse and letter
O72, 7°00)07'S62
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859; be-
hind, Č; below chin, C
L ſº ISO FRVG | below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; below legend,
letter F
[Pl. xxxiv. 13.1
(Nott)
N N.
274
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
2114
2115
2116
2117
2118
2119
2120
2121
2122
Weight
60-2
57.2
60-7
59-9
58-3
62.2
61.9
58-4
62-3
Metal
and Size
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR. 75
AR, 7
AR. 75
AR. 8
AR. 75
AR 7
Obverse
Reverse
With symbol and number on obverse and two letters
O77, 7'60)07°Sø
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859; be-
hind, symbol, trident (no.
8); below chin, number
VII
Similar ; symbol, grass-
hopper (no. 100), below
chin ; number X, behind
head.
Similar; symbol, arrow (no.
76), behind head; number
V, below chin.
Similar; symbol, trident
(no. 8); number VII
Similar; same symbol;
number | ||
L. Tº ISO FR VG | below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; below legend,
letters A D
[Pl. xxxiv. 14.]
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; letters A E
Similar ; letters A L
(Nott)
Similar; letters A R.
Similar; letters A S
(Nott)
With two letters on obverse and reverse *
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859; be-
hind, letter k; below chin,
letter F
Similar ; letters H and F
Similar; letters NW and F
Similar; letters S and F
L . Tº ISO FRVG | below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; above, letter A ;
below, letter B
[Pl. xxxiv. 15.]
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar; letters C and A
Similar; letters .G and R.
Similar ; letters I and F
(Nott)
1 In this series the letter on the obverse below the chin of Apollo does not change. It
seems impossible to explain the order of the other letters, and their connection.
CIRC. B.C. 88; A.U.C. 666
275
No.
2123
2124
2125
2126
2127
2128
2129
Weight
60-0
61-1
61-0
59.5
58-3
58-7
61.3
Metal
and Size
AR -7
AR. 75
AR •75
AR 7
AR 7
AR -8
AR 75
Obverse
Reverse
Type III. var. g
TWith symbol on obverse and number on reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859; be-
hind, symbol, prow (no.
43).
Similar; symbol, crescent
and star (no. 90).
Similar; symbol, head-dress
of Isis (no. 59).
Similar; same symbol.
Similar; symbol, tripod (no.
58).
L. Tº ISO FRVG below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; below legend,
number VTTTI
Similar; number J.VTTTT
[Pl. xxxiv. 16.]
(Nott)
Similar ; number
CXXXXVI
Similar; same number.
Similar ; number
CXXXXVTT
(Nott)
With symbol and number on obverse and number on reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c., L. T. ISO FRVG below
similar to no. 1859; be-
hind, symbol, trident (no.
8); below chin, number
VI
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to
no. 1872; below legend,
number Cll
[Pl. xxxiv. 17.]
(de Salis Coll.)
With double Greek letter on obverse and number on reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859; be-
hind, letter € ; below
chin, letter €
L. Tº ISO FR VG below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., bearing palm-
branch, &c., similar to no.
1872; below legend,
number CXVITTT
[Pl. xxxiv. 18.]
(Nott)
276
COIN AGE OF ROME
No.
2130
21:31
2132
2133
2134
2135
2136
Weight
61-5
60-3
62.2
57.5
61.5
Metal
and Suze
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR. 75
AR. 7
AR 7
Al{ .7
AR. 75
AR. 75
Obverse
Reverse
Type IV."
With letter on obverse and symbol on reverse
Head of Apollo r.,’ &c.,
similar to no. 1859; be-
low chin, letter F |
|
Similar; letter C (Q)
Similar; letter R.
Similar; letter S
Similar ; letter T
Similar; same letter.
L. Tº ISO . FRV G||
RONAA
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r. ; he holds whip in
r. hand and reins in 1. ;
behind, symbol, head of
Satyr (no. 91).
(Blacas Coll.)
below
Similar; symbol, owl (no.
11).
Similar; symbol, eagle (no.
92).
[Pl. xxxiv. 19.]
Similar; symbol, head of
Satyr (no. 91).
(Nott)
wheel
Similar ; symbol,
(no. 93).
Similar ; same symbol.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
Type IV. var.
With number on obverse and reverse
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to no. 1859; be-
hind, number X|| ||
Similar ; number XXII
below
L . Tº ISO FRV G||
RA
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., holding whip, &c.,
similar to no. 2130;
above, number XXV
[Pl. xxxiv. 20.]
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar ; number XXVIIII
(Nott)
2137
59.7
1 The issue of this type, the horseman bearing a whip, appears to have been small.
As all
the coins bear the name of “Roma,” either in full or in monogram, they probably formed part
of the earlier series of this coinage.
2 Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, pl. iii. 61) figures a variety of this issue in the Haeberlin
collection with the head of Apollo to 1. instead of to r.
CIRC. B.C. 88; A.U.C. 666
277
No.
2139
2140
2141
2142
2143
2144
2145
2146
2147
Weight ...".
30-3 || AR
30-0 || AR, "55
31.4 || AR 6
33.4 || AR 65
29-0 || AR 6
30.8 || AR 6
30-0 || AR 55
34-2 || AR 55
30.5 | AR 55
•55
31.7 AR.
Obverse
Reverse
Quinarius'
Type I.
With symbol on obverse *
-6 Head of Apollo r., laureate,
hair in ringlets; behind,
symbol, butterfly (no. 94).
Similar; same symbol.
Similar; symbol,
branch (no. 95).
palm-
Victory 4 walking r., hold-
ing wreath in r. hand and
palm-branch before her in
1.; before her, L. PISO ;
behind, FRVGI
[Pl. xxxiv. 21.]
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar.
Similar; palm-branch di-
rected over 1. shoulder.”
(Nott)
Type I. var, a
With symbol on obverse
Head of Apollo r.,
similar to no. 2138;
behind, symbol, bipennis
(no. 105).
Similar; symbol, club (no.
96).
Similar ; symbol,
copiae (no. 38).
COI’Ill]-
Similar ; same symbol.
Similar ;
(no. 97).
symbol, dolphin
Similar; symbol, ear (no.
98).
Similar ; flower
symbol,
(no. 99).
|
Victory walking r., holding
wreath and palm-branch,
similar to no. 2140, di-
viding legend, L.T I SO;
in exergue, FRVGI
[Pl. xxxiv. 22.]
(Nott)
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
. Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
* There are four varieties of the reverse type of the quinarius, the moneyer's name being
variously written and placed in different positions.
* In the case of the quinarius the mint-mark, symbol, number, letter, or fractional sign
always occurs on the obverse.
* The Victory may refer to the successes of the moneyer's grandfather, L. Calpurnius Piso
Frugi, in the war against the slaves during his consulship B. c. 133. The moneyer's father also
commanded in this war.
* Babelon (vol. i., p. 296, no. 14) wrongly describes and figures this variety as Victory
“bearing in her left hand a reversed spear and a parazonium.”
278
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
2148
2149
2150
2151
2] 52
2153
Weight
30.8
30-7
34-6
33.7
27.9
33.5
Metal
and Size
AR. 6
AR 55
AR, "55
AR, "55
AR, "55
AR, "55
AR, "55
AR. 6
Obverse
Similar ; symbol, goat's
head (no. 101).
Similar; symbol, sacrificial
knife (no. 102).
Similar; symbol, tanner's
knife (no. 1).
Similar; symbol, lizard (no.
103).
Similar; symbol, pileus
surmounted by star (no.
104).
Reverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
(Nott)
With number on obverse
Similar ; behind head of
Apollo, number ||
Similar.
|[Pl. xxxiv. 23.]
With symbol and number on obverse
Similar ; behind head of Similar.
Apollo, symbol, arrow (Nott)
(no. 76); below chin,
number || ||
TWith letter on obverse'
SERIES I.
Similar ; behind head of Similar.
Apollo, letter A
Similar ; letter C Similar.
[Pl. xxxv. 1.]
(Nott)
Similar ; letter E Similar.
(Nott)
Similar ; letter H Similar.
(Nott)
Similar ; letter NW Similar.
2154
2157
2158
2159
26-0
30-0
33-0
29-0
33-0
31:0
AR. 55
AR, "55
AR, "55
AR, "55
1 There are two series of this variety: one with the mint-letter behind the head of Apollo;
the other with the mint-letter below his chin.
CIRC. B.C. 88; A.U.C. 666
279
No.
2160
2161
2162
2163
2164
2165
2166
2167
2168
2169
2170
2171
2172
2173
2174
Weight
33-6
30-4
31-6
33-0
32.0
32.8
36.6
28-0
34-0
32.5
31-0
33-4
30.6
Metal
and Size
AR. 65
AR, "55
AR 55
AR, "55
AR, "55
AR. 6
AR 55
AR, "55
AR, "55
AR, "55
AR, "55
AR, "55
AR. 65
AR. 6
AR. 6
Obverse Reverse
Similar; letter O Similar.
Similar ; letter S Similar.
(Nott)
Similar ; letter T Similar.
(Nott)
SERIES II.
Similar ; letter A, below Similar.
chin of Apollo. [Pl. xxxv. 2.]
(Nott)
Similar ; letter I Similar.
(Nott)
Similar ; letter k Similar.
Similar; letter O Similar.
(Nott)
Similar ; letter T Similar.
(Nott)
Similar ; letter V Similar.
Similar ; same letter. Similar.
Similar; letter X Similar.
(Nott)
|With fractional sign on obverse
Similar ; behind head of
Apollo, fraction 2 * *
Similar; same fraction.
Similar ; fraction S: , be-
low chin.
Similar; same fraction.
Similar.
[Pl. xxxv. 3..]
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
* This sign, 2, when used as a fraction of the as represents the sextula (i.e., of the
uncia), but as it is in this instance accompanied by the sign for the uncia it is probably
intended to indicate the semis.
280 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight ama Size
Obverse Reverse
Type I. var. b
With fractional sign on obverse'
2175 28-3 || AR 6 | Head of Apollo r., &c., Victory walking r., holding
similar to no. 2138; wreath and palm-branch,
behind, fraction : similar to no. 2140;
behind her, L. Tº ISO ; in
exergue, FRVGI
Type I. var. c
|With symbol on obverse
2176 30.5 AR 6 Head of Apollo r., &c., Victory walking r., holding
similar to no. 2138; wreath and palm-branch,
behind, symbol, trident similar to no. 2140;
(no. 8). around, L. T. ISO
[Pl. xxxv. 4.]
(Nott)
Sestertius 2
Type I.
2177 14-7 || AR '45 | Head of Apollo r., laureate; Bridled horse galloping r.,
hair in ringlets; behind, without rider; below,
T ISO FRVGI ; above, E. L. Tº
(Ea lege Papiria).
[Pl. xxxv. 5.]
(de Salis Coll.)
Type I. var.
2178 || 14-9 || AR 4 || Similar; no moneyer's Similar.
name. . [Pl. xxxv. 6.]
As
2179 207-0 || AE 1:1 | Head of Janus, laureate; Prow r., on which stands
above, I Victory r., holding palm-
branch; * above, L. Tº ISO ;
below, FRVGI
! Babelon (vol. i., p. 295, no. 13) figures this variety with a symbol, caduceus, on the obverse.
* L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, like his colleague, D. Silanus, issued the sestertius with the
legend E.L.D. (see p. 250). The riderless horse refers to the Ludi Apollinares. It is a mode
of racing still practised in Italy.
Babelon (vol. i., p. 297, no. 17) figures from Borghesi (Oewvres compl., t. i., pl. i. fig. 4) a.
variety of no. 2177, which is without any legend on the reverse. The non-appearance of the
legend may have been due to the condition of the coin, as Bahrfeldt (Num. Zewt., 1896, p. 75)
has already suggested.
* The Victory on the prow and the type of the quadrans point distinctly to some naval
victory in which a member of the Calpurnia gens took an active part.
CIRC. B.C. 88; A.U.C. 666
281
2180
2181
2182
2183
2184
2.185
2186
2187
Weight
196-0
188-0
161-0
160-0
157.0
150-0
107.0
48-0
37-0
Metal
and Size
AE 1.1
AE 1-2
AE 1.15
AE 1.1
AE 1.1
AE 1.05
AE tº 65
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Head of Jupiter r., laureate ;
Obverse
behind, S
Head of Apollo r., laureate,
hair in ringlets; behind, 3
Head of Apollo r., &c.,
similar to the preceding.
Reverse
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xxxv. 7.]
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
| Similar.
Similar.
Sermis
Similar; no Victory on
prow."
[Pl. xxxv. 8.]
Quadrans
Type I.
Prow r. ; above, L. PISO
[Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 76.”]
Type II.
An anchor and a rudder in
saltire ; on 1., L. T. ISO
[Pl. xxxv. 9..]
! Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 76) figures a specimen of the semis in the Bignami
collection, now in the Capitoline Museum, without the legend FRVGI under the prow. Other
examples are in the Bahrfeldt collection, and in those at Copenhagen and Cortona.
* This illustration is copied by Bahrfeldt from the Zeit. f. Münzkwmde, vol. ii., pl. v., no. 4.
The moneyer's name is not quite accurately given, but should read as on the other bronze coins,
L' ſ lSO. There are specimens in the Paris and Berlin cabinets, and also in the Capitoline
Museum.
O O

282 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight ...! sh. Obverse Reven'se
BRONZE
SERIES I.
Inscribed semuncial bronze coins without
momeyer's mame or symbol
L. Tº . D. A. D."
(Lege Papiria De Aere Publico)
As
2188 197-0 || AE 1.1 | Head of Janus laureate ; Prow r. ; above L.T.D.A.T
above, I (Lege Papiria de aere
publico).
Sermis
2189 || 110-0 | AF 9 Head of Jupiter r., laureate ; Similar.
behind, S
2190 | 95.0 | AE •9 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxxv. 10.]
2191 94-0 || AE '95 || Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Triers
2192 | 68-0 | AF 75 | Head of Minerva r., wear- || Similar ; below prow, . . . .
ing crested Corinthian (Gnecchi)
helmet ; above, e < * *
2193 600 | F 75|Similar. Similar.
* Various suggestions have been made as to the interpretation of these initials. Borghesi
(CEuvres compl., t. i., p. 379) proposed to read them as L. Plautius Decianus Aedilis Plebis,
but Mommsen (Hist, mom. rom., t. ii., p. 420) remarks that the plebeian aediles never struck
bronze coins. Cavedoni (Bull. dell’ Inst. arch., 1844, p. 187) suggests that the inscription
in full may be Lege Papiria Diminutwm Assis Pondus, and Dr. H. Gaebler (Zeit. f. Num.,
1902, p. 174, note), Lege Papiria de Assis Pondere; but we prefer to accept Mommsen's
reading (loc. cit.), which is Lege Papiria de Aere Publico, as it would convey to the Roman
people an intimation of the authority under which this bronze money of the semuncial
standard was issued. This interpretation of Mommsen seems to be confirmed by the previous
inscriptions on silver coins, Ea, Argento Publico and Argento Publico.
CIRC. B.C. 88; A.U.C. 666 283
No. Weight º 62 Obverse Reverse
Quadrans '
52-0 | AF 65 | Head of young Hercules r., Similar to no. 2188; below
wearing lion's skin; be- legend, marks of value,
hind : © º O
[Babelon, vol. i., p. 76, no. 225.]
SERIES II.
Semumcial bronze coins without moneyer's name
or symbol “
As 3
2194 | 180-0 || AE 1-0 | Head of Janus laureate; RoNAA above Prow r.
above, I g [Pl. xxxv. 11.]
2195 || 176-0 | AF 1:2 . Similar. Similar.
Sermis
2196 || 134-0 || AE '95 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; RoNAA below Prow r. ;
behind, S above, S
2197 || 111-0 | AF 9 || Similar. Similar.
2198 || 99-0 || AE '85 | Similar. Similar.
2199 || 85-0 | AF 9 || Similar. Similar.
2200 || 103-0 || AE 9 Similar. Similar ; R ONWA *
[Pl. xxxv. 12.]
* Varieties of the quadrans have the marks of value above the legend or below the prow.
* These bronze coins without a moneyer's name or symbol, and without the legend L.T.D.A.T.,
being of the semuncial standard, must have been struck after the passing of the Lew Plautia.
Papiria, B.C. 89, and before B. c. 81, from which date the issue of bronze money at Rome was in
abeyance for a considerable period. Though some of these coins may have been struck during
or immediately after B.C. 88, yet as others so closely resemble in fabric those with moneyers’
names of a few years later, it is possible that their issue may have extended over some time,
for there are denarii of circ. B. c. 84 (see below, p. 335), which likewise do not bear a moneyer's
name. It is therefore not improbable that these anepigraphous issues were simultaneous.
* Varieties of the as have also the mark of value | on the reverse, above or before the
prow (D’Ailly, Mon. rom., pl. lvi., nos. 7, 8).
* The old forms A, A, and M for A are mere variations of no chronological importance,

284
COINAGE OF ROME
22O1
2207
2208
2209
2210
2211
2212
2213
2214
2215
2216
Weight
123-0
106-0
96.0
63.0
112.0
115-0
61:0
53-0
48.0
36-0
54.0
62-0
49.0
48.0
40’0
22-0
Metal
and Size
AE -9
AE -9
AE -9
AE •8
AE -85
AE -95
AE •75
AE •65
AE •65
AE •6
AE •75
AE •65
AE •7
AE •65
AE •7
AE 55
Obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse
Similar ; RONMA; S before
prow. -
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
Similar; prow l. ; above,
RONMA; before, S
Similar; below prow,
ANAO >! ; above, 2
Triers
Head of Minerva r., wear- | RONAA above Prow 1. ; be-
ing crested Corinthian
helmet; behind, 3
fore, 3
©
[Pl. xxxv. 13.]
Quadrans
Head of young Hercules r.,
wearing lion's skin; be-
hind, 3
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
RONAA above Prow r. ; be-
low, * * *
[Pl. xxxv. 14.]
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
similar.
Similar; RONMA
Similar ; RONA/\
Similar ; prow 1. ; above,
RONWA ; before, 2
Sextans
Bust of Mercury r., wear-
ing winged petasus and
chlamys; above, * *
Similar.
Similar.
RONAA above Prow r. ; be-
low, * *
[Pl. xxxv. 15.]
Similar.
Similar ; ROMA
CIRC. B.C. 88; A.U.C. 666 285
Metal
No. y’ s
0. TVeight and Size
Obverse Reverse
Uncia
1*0 | AR 5 | Head of Roma r., wearing | Prow r.; below, .
helmet with visor.
[D'Ailly, Mon. rom., Pl. lxiv., no. 12.]
SERIES III.
Semuncial bronze coins with moneyers' symbols i
HUMAN FOOT
Sermis "
2217 | 104-0 || AE 9 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; RoNAA below Prow r.;
behind, S above, symbol, human
foot.”
[Pl. xxxv. 16.]
(Blacas Coll.)
PROW
Sermis
2218 128-0 | AF '95 || Similar. Prow r., before, S.; above,
symbol, prow 1."
[Pl. xxxv. 17.]
VICTORY
Sennis
2219 || 72-0 || AE 9 || Similar. RoNAA below Prow r.;
above, S and symbol,
Victory flying r.”
[Pl. xxxv. 18.]
* It is probable that these coins with moneyers’ symbols belong to the early period
after the introduction of the semuncial standard, but, on the other hand, it is not impossible
that they may be pieces of the uncial standard of irregular weights.
* This semis came from the Blacas Collection, and weighs 104 grs. D'Ailly (Mom. 'rom,
Vol. ii., pt. 2, p. 541) gives its weight as 12 gram. 50 cent. 23 mm. (= 1930 grs.), and, in
consequence, has classed it to the uncial standard. He, however, describes a specimen in his
own collection as weighing 8 gram. 65 cent. 24 mm. (= 1340 grs.), which, like the Blacas coin,
would belong to the semuncial standard.
* This may be a symbol of a member of the Furia gens, a cognomen of which was Crassipes
(Babelon, vol. i., p. 526, no. 19).
* This is a somewhat common symbol on the early coins of the republic.
* This is also a common symbol on earlier bronze coins, some of which are of the sextantal
standard. These last are classed by Count de Salis to a local issue, and are described under
ITALY (circ. B.C. 268–217). D'Ailly (Mon. rom., vol. ii., pt. 2, p. 595) describes four specimens
of the semis weighing from 114 to 75 grs., and classes them with coins of the uncial standard.

286 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 87; A.U.C. 667'
O . TITI
(QUINTUS TITIUS)?
Denarius
Type I.
2220 | 61.5 | AR 7 || Male head (Mutin us | O. . TITI on tablet, from
Titinus 2) r., with pointed which springs Pegasus 1'.
beard, and bound with [Pl. xxxvi. 1.]
winged diadem; lock of
hair falling down the
neck.”
1 Count de Salis has assigned the coinages of six moneyers to this year, three of whom,
Quintus Titius, Caius Vibius Pansa, and Lucius Titurius Sabinus, may have formed a trium-
virate of the mint, whilst the other three, Caius Marcius Censorinus and the brothers Lucius
and Caius Memmius may have been extraordinary officers of the mint. It was in B. c. 87 that the
Cinnan revolution took place. Early in that year Sulla quitted Italy for Greece to prosecute the
war against Mithradates VI., king of Pontus, leaving as consuls Lucius Cornelius Cinna and
Cnaeus Octavius. In consequence of party strife Cinna fled from Rome to Campania, where
he was joined by Marius, who had landed in Etruria from Africa. Towards the end of the
year their combined forces marched on Rome, and after a short siege the city capitulated, this
capitulation being followed by the so-called “Marian reign of terror.” These events appear to
be reflected in the coinage attributed to this year. The ordinary moneyers, who would have
been appointed before Sulla quitted Rome, were Q. Titius, C. Vibius Pansa, and L. Titurius
Sabinus. They remained in office till the arrival of Marius and Cinna, when they were probably
deposed, their places being taken by C. Censorinus and L. and C. Memmius, who issued special
coinages to provide money for the troops and for largesse amongst the Marian party. This view
seems to be confirmed by the evidence of the Fiesole hoard, which contained coins of all three
ordinary moneyers, but none of those of the special ones. Owing to this circumstance it would
also appear that the concealment of this hoard may have been connected with the military
movements of Marius and Cinna, as it is only in this way that the absence of the coins of the
special issues can be accounted for. With the exception of a few quinarii struck by Q. Titius, all
the silver coins of this year are denarii, and all the moneyers, except L. and C. Memmius, issued
bronze money which is of the semuncial standard. Many of the bronze coins bear special types.
Mint-marks, consisting of symbols, numbers, letters, and fractional signs, as on the coinage of
the previous year, were freely used in each issue, except in that of Q. Titius.
* Nothing certain appears to be known of the moneyer Quintus Titius beyond what we
learn from his coins. It is, however, not impossible that he was the Q. Titius who occupied
himself with commerce, and joined Sulla after the battle of Chaeroneia, in B. c. 86. He was
certainly a moneyer when Sulla was in Rome, and the types of his bronze money show that he
was a colleague of C. Vibius Pansa at the mint. He is the only member of the Titia gens of
whom coins are known.
* The identification of this head is somewhat uncertain. D'Ailly and Betti (Rev. Num.,
t. iv., pp. 21-26) would identify it with Somnus, and so connect it with a certain Titus,
the supposed founder of the Titia gens, to whom Jupiter is said to have appeared in a dream.
Borghesi (CEuvres compl. t. ii., pp. 5-7) supposes it to be the head of the Gaulish Mercury,
the type occurring on Gaulish copper coins with the name of TATINOS. Ch. Lenormant
and Ad. de Longpérier (Rev. Num, t. iii., pp. 11-14, and t. iv., pp. 178-184) suggest that it
is the head of Mutinus Titinus, a surname of Priapus, who had a temple at Rome, and who
was specially worshipped by young married women. The pegasus on the reverse appears also
to be connected with this divinity. It may be noted that it is the chief type of the coins of
Lampsacus, where the cult of Priapus was specially honoured. In further support of this
identification there may be quoted a janiform bust in marble, in the Cabinet des Médailles at
Paris, one face being that of the beardless Bacchus crowned with ivy; the other that of the
CIRC. B.C. 87; A.U.C. 667 287
No.
2221
2222
2223
2224
2225
2226
2227
2228
2229
2230
2231
2232
2233
Weight
61-5
60-0
55-6
55-2
62.2
62.1
61:0
56-0
27.5 |
25.3
241-0
166-0
146.0
Metal
and Size
AR. 7
AR. 7
AR, 75
AR 65
AR. 75
AR 7
AR 75
AR, 8
AR, "55
AR. 55
AE 1:25
AE 1-2
AE 1.05
Obverse Reverse
Similar. Similar.
(Nott)
Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar.
(Nott)
Type II.
Head of young Bacchus r., Similar.
beardless; bound with
ivy-wreath; lock of hair
falling down the neck.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xxxvi. 2.]
Similar.
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Quinarius
Bust of Victory r.,' draped, Pegasus springing to r. ;
hair drawn back, and
below, O.. TITI
collected into a knot [Pl. xxxvi. 3..]
behind. -
Similar. Similar.
As
Head of Janus with long *| O. . TITI above Prow r.
pointed beard.
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xxxvi. 4 rev.]
Similar.
Similar.
priapic god, Mutinus Titinus, with a pointed beard, and wearing a winged diadem (Babelon,
The association of these two heads shows the relationship between the
cults of Bacchus and the Roman Priapus, and would account for the head of the former on
vol. ii., p. 490).
other denarii of Q. Titius (see Type II.).
one of the coins restored by Trajan.
* The bust of Victory probably refers to some military exploit of an ancestor of the
The denarius with the head of Mutinus Titinus was
Q. Titius appears to have been the only moneyer of B.C. 87 who struck quinarii.
moneyer.
* In the arrangement of the beard the head of Janus on these coins resembles very closely
that of Mutinus Titinus on the denarii (see no. 2220).
288 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight a.º. Obverse Reverse
2234 |133-0 || AE 1-0 | Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
2235 | 102.5 | AF 1:05 || Similar; head of Janus Similar.
laureate ; beard not
pointed; above, I
With symbol on reverse
2236 142-0 AE 1-05 | Head of Janus with long Similar; before prow, cor-
pointed beard; similar to nucopiae."
no. 2231.
Sennis
92-0 | AF '85 | Head of Apollo r., laureate; O. . TITI (in exergue).
behind, S Minerva helmeted, and
holding reins and sceptre,
in quadriga r., horses
galloping.
*
[Babelon, vol. i. p. 491, no. 5.”]
Triers
2237 63-0 || AE 75 | Mask of Pan r., bearded, ITIT ... O behind Ceres
bound with ivy-wreath ; (Demeter) diademed and
behind, 3 wearinglong double tunic,
: walking r., and bearing
in each hand a lighted
torch; before her, a pig;
all within laurel-wreath.*
[Pl. xxxvi. 5.]
| Other symbols on the reverse, above, before, or below the prow, are a crescent, a star,
a palm-branch, a caduceus, the caps of the Dioscuri, a dolphin, &c. (see Mommsen, Hist. mom.
Tom., t. ii., p. 412; Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1897, pp. 83-85, and 1900, p. 83). Some of these
asses have the head of Janus laureate, &c., as on no. 2235.
* The semis, triens, and quadrans struck by Q. Titius all bear types copied from the
denarii of C. Vibius Pansa, which make it all the more probable that these moneyers were
colleagues at the mint. Thus the semis is similar to Type II. of the denarius of C. Vibius
Pansa, the triens to Type I., and the quadrans to Type IV. All these bronze coins are
extremely rare, and Bahrfeldt (loc. cit.) enumerates those which he has met with.
* Borghesi (CEuvres compl., t. i., p. 338) says there was a specimen of this semis in his
collection as well as one in the Museo Verità, Verona, and Bahrfeldt mentions that others are
in the Paris, Copenhagen, and University of Kief collections.
* Babelon (vol. ii., p. 492, no. 6) figures the triens with the moneyer's name in the exergue.

CIRC. B.C. 87; A.U.C. 667 289
M tº º Metal * -
0. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
Quadrans
60-0 || AE 75 Mask of Pan r., &c., as on O . TITI below Mask of
the preceding; behind, 3 Silenus r., bearded.
[Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1896, pl. xi., no. 264.]]
C., VIB|VS C. F. DANSA
(CAIUS WIBIUS CAII FILIUS PANSA) 2
Denarius
Type I.
With symbol on obverse
2238 59.5 | AR “75 | Head of Apollo r., laureate; C.VIBIVS. C. F behind Ceres
behind, PANSA; below | (Demeter), diademed and
chin, symbol, cornuco- wearing long double tunic,
piae. walking r., and bearin
- in each hand a lighted
torch ; before her, a pig.
2239 || 63.9 || AR 75 Similar; symbol, flower. Similar.
[Pl. xxxvi. 6.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
2240 57.5 | AR 75 | Similar ; symbol, star. Similar.
* Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 86) mentions two specimens of this rare quadrans, one
in the Bignami collection, now in the Capitoline Museum, the other in the Vienna collection.
* This moneyer was probably the father of C. Vibius C. f. C. n. Pansa, who was consul
B. c. 43, and who himself struck coins in B.C. 49, adopting for some of them the types used by
his father. Of C. Vibius Pansa, the moneyer of B.C. 87, not much is known beyond what we
can gather from his coins. He was proscribed by Sulla in B.C. 82, which may have caused his
son to espouse the side of Julius Caesar, of whom he was always a faithful adherent. On
account of the interchange of types on their coins Quintus Titius and C. Vibius Pansa were
evidently colleagues at the mint.
The types of the coins of C. Vibius Pansa both in silver and bronze are somewhat varied.
Of the silver there are four, each one showing some variation. Thus on Type I. the design
on the reverse is sometimes within a laurel-wreath; on Type II. the quadriga of Minerva
is to r. or 1., and the head of Apollo on the obverse is varied; on Type III. the quadriga of
Minerva is sometimes in the same direction on both the obverse and reverse; and on Type III.
the masks of Pan and Silenus are interchanged. In the case of the bronze coins the as has on
the reverse a triple instead of a single prow, and the obverse type of the quadrans is copied
from the quinarius of Q. Titius.
As so little is known of the early members of the Vibia family, it is almost impossible to
P P

290 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight aft. Obverse . Reverse
With fractional sign on obverse
2241 || 58.5 | AR “75 | Similar; below chin of Similar.
Apollo, fraction, S-
Type I. var.
|With symbol on obverse
2242 58.2 | AR 8 | Head of Apollo r., laureate, C.VIBIVS. C. F behind Ceres
&c., similar to no. 2238; (Demeter) walking r., and
below chin, symbol, goat's bearing in each hand a
head. lighted torch, &c., similar
to no. 2238; all within
laurel-wreath.
2243 || 58.8 || AR 8 || Similar ; symbol, thunder- || Similar.
bolt. [Pl. xxxvi. 7.]
Type II.'
With symbol on obverse
2244 61-0 || AR 8 | Head of Apollo r., laureate; C. VIBIVS. C. F (in ex-
behind, TANSA; below ergue). Minerva in quad-
chin, symbol, arrow- riga r., horses galloping;
head. she holds trophy in r.
hand, and spear and reins
in 1.
connect the types of these coins with their history. Vibius Accuaeus, apparently so called
from the town of Accua, in Apulia, was a commander of a Pelignian cohort in the Roman army
in B.C. 212; Vibius, one of the Bruttii, came with his brother Paccius to the consul, Q. Fabius,
in B.C. 209, to obtain pardon from the Romans; and Vibius Wirrius, a citizen of Capua, induced
his countrymen to revolt from the Romans and to espouse the cause of Hännibal after the
battle of Cannae, B.C. 216. It is evident that the family did not settle at Rome till a some-
what late date. -
The type of Ceres or Demeter appears to illustrate the goddess seeking the path by which
her daughter Persephone was taken down to Hades. She is accompanied by a pig, the animal
which was specially sacrificed to her at her festivals, but which in this instance can scarcely
refer to that part of the legend which relates that pigs turned over the soil in order to conceal
the route by which Persephone had travelled.
The cult of Demeter and Persephone was of the greatest importance in South Italy, at
Metapontum, amongst the Bruttii, at Croton, Locri, Rhegium, &c. We have noted that the
Vibia gens was apparently of Bruttian origin.
The head of Apollo and Minerva (or Roma) in a chariot do not convey any suggestion as
to their special significance, but the masks of Pan and Silenus are no doubt types parlants of
the cognomen Pansa. For his mint-marks this moneyer used symbols, numbers, letters (Greek
and Roman), and fractional signs, all of which, with one exception (see Type IV. var., p.
295), are placed on the obverse only. It is only on Type II. that all these mint-marks
OC Clil".
There can be no hesitation in attributing all the bronze coins with the name of C. Vibius
Pansa to this moneyer, and not to his son, since long before B.C. 49 the issue of bronze money
had ceased at the Roman mint, and was not revived for some years later. They are of the
semuncial standard.
1 The head of Apollo on the obverse is of two forms. One shows it well modelled
CIRC. B.C. 87; A.U.C.
667 291
No.
2.245
2246
2247
2248
2249
2250
2251
2252
2253
2254
2255
2256
2257
2258
2259
2260
2261
Weight
59.5
61:4
56.5
58.2
61-6
62-0
56.0
53-0
(pierced)
59.7
58-5
59-0
59.4
58.0
61:0
60.5
50-6
58.2
61-6
Metal
and Size
AR. 8
AR, 75
AR. 75
AR 75
AR 7
AR •75
AR 75
AR. 75
AR 85
AR •8
AR, 75
AR, 75
AR, 75
AR. '8
AR. ''Z5
AR -75
AR 7
AR •7
AR 85
Obverse
Similar.
Similar ; symbol, two
arrow-heads.
Similar.
Similar; symbol, bucra-
nium. -
Similar; symbol, caduceus.
Similar; symbol, caduceus
and trident in saltire.
Similar.
Similar; two caps of the
Dioscuri.
Similar; symbol, dolphin. -
Similar; symbol, human eye.
Similar; symbol, head of
goose.
Similar ; symbol, helmet
with crest.
Similar ; symbol, lion
running to r.
Similar ; symbol, lituus.
Similar ; symbol, lizard.
Similar; symbol, lyre.
Similar; symbol, owl
Similar ;
branch.
symbol, palm-
Reverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xxxvi. 8.]
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
| Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xxxvi. 9..]
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Nott)
2262
2263
59.7
Similar.
Similar.
in somewhat high relief, and with thin locks of hair;
spread, in low relief, and the locks of hair heavy and scattered (see Pl. xxxvi., nos. 8, 9).
Though issued simultaneously, these varieties point to the work of different officinae,
separate engravers being employed at each. Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, pl. xii. 273)
figures a variety of this type with a Victory above the quadriga. The coin seems to be of
rather coarse work.
the other has the head wide-
292
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
2264
2265
2266
2267
2268
2269
2270
2271
2272
2273
2274
2275
2276
2277
2278
2279
2280
2281
2282
Weight
57-6
57.0
62-0
60-0
59.3
59-0
59.7
58.4
60-0
61.2
56.6
58-6
57.5
57.6
58.4
57.8
58-0
59.2
59.8
Metal
and Size
AR, 7
AR. ''/
AR -75
AR •75
AR -75
AR 7
AR •75
AR 8
AR •8
AR •8
AR •8
AR. ''Z5
AR, 7
At 75
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR 8
AR •75
AR. -7
Obverse
Similar; symbol, prow.
Similar; symbol, stem of
prow.
Similar;
ring.
symbol, finger-
Similar; symbol, sceptre
with double fillet.
Similar; symbol, serpent.
Similar.
Similar ; symbol, simpu-
lum.
Similar; symbol, star.
Similar; symbol, thunder-
bolt.
Similar; symbol, trident.
Similar ; symbol, trophy.
Similar ; symbol, vase with
two handles.
Similar.
Similar; symbol, vase with
strap (ampulla).
Similar; symbol, wing.
Similar; symbol, wreath.
Reverse
Similar.
Similar.
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
|With number on obverse
Similar; below chin of
Apollo, number ||
Similar ; number | ||
Similar ; number XI
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
CIRC. B.C. 87; A.U.C. 667 293
No.
2283
2284
2285
2286
2287
2288
2289
2290
2291
2292
2293
2294
2295
2296
2297
2298
Weight
59.0
61:0
60-0
61-7
59.0
60-4
60.1
60-0
60-0
60-3
59.3
60-0
58-7
60-8
63.4
62-0
Metal
and Size
AR, 7
AR. 75
AR •75
AR. 75
AR. 8
AR, 75
AR •75
AR. 75
AR, 7
AR 7
AR, 75
AR 7
AR. 75
AR •8
AR •75
AR 8
Obverse Reverse
With Latim letter on obverse
Similar ; below chin of Similar.
Apollo, letter A
Similar ; letter F Similar.
Similar ; letter | Similar.
Similar ; letter k Similar.
[Pl. xxxvi. 10.]
Similar ; letter N Similar.
Similar ; letter W Similar.
Similar ; letter O Similar.
Similar ; letter S Similar.
Similar ; letter V Similar.
With Greek letter on obverse
Similar ; below chin of Similar.
Apollo, letter TT
Similar ; letter q> Similar.
TWith fractional sign on obverse
Similar ; below chin of Similar.
Apollo, fraction S: (Nott)
Similar ; fractions S: £ 3 - || Similar.
Similar ; fractions [.. I* Similar.
[Pl. xxxvi. 11.]
With letter and fractional sign on obverse
Similar ; below chin of Similar.
Apollo, letter and fraction [Pl. xxxvi. 12.]
O: • (Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; letter and fraction | Similar,
Re (de Salis Coll.)
294
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
2299
2300
2301
2302
2303
2304
2305
2306
2307
Weight
61.5
60-8
61:0
61.2
60-6
58-5
63.4
60-8
61.3
Metal
gº size Obverse
Type II.
With symbol
AR 8 | Head of Apollo r., laureate,
&c.; similar to no. 2244;
below chin, symbol,
caduceus.
AR 75 Similar; symbol, flower.
AR 7 || Similar; symbol, crested
helmet.
AR 75 Similar; symbol, star.
AR 8 || Similar; symbol, uncertain,
AR 75 | Similar ; below chin of
Apollo, number ||
AR. 75 Similar ; number | ||
AR 7 || Similar ; same number.
Type II.
AR 7 | Head of Apollo r., laureate;
hair collected into a knot
behind, and falling down
the neck; behind,
TANSA ; below chin,
uncertain symbol.
Reven'se
var. a
on obverse
C. VIBIVS. C. F (in ex-
ergue). Minerva in quad-
riga, similar to no. 2244;
but it is to 1. instead of
to r. ; she holds Spear
and reins in r. hand, and
trophy in 1.
[Pl. xxxvi. 13.]
Similar.
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
|With number on obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
var. bº
TWith symbol on obverse
C. VIBIVS. C. F (in ex-
ergue). Minerva in quad-
riga r., &c., similar to no.
2244.
[Pl. xxxvi. 14.]
* Fr. Gnecchi (Riv. Ital., 1889, p. 180) mentions a variety of this type in his collection
with a Victory above the quadriga.
* Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, pl. xii., no. 272) figures a similar coin to this, on which
the symbol is also uncertain.
Babelon does not appear to have noticed this variety.
CIRC. B.C. 87; A.U.C. 667 295
No.
2308
2309
2310
2311
2312
2313
Weight
59.3
58.2
61:0
60-7
143-0
(pierced)
130-0
Metal
and Size
AR 7
AR 8
AR -75
AR 7
AE 1:1
AE 1:1
Obverse Reverse
Type III.'
PANSA (in exergue). C. VIBIVS. C. F.; (in ex-
Minerva in quadriga 1., ergue). Minerva in quad-
horses galloping; she riga r., horses galloping;
holds spear and reins in she holds trophy in r.
r. hand, and trophy in 1. hand, and spear and reins
(same as no. 2299 rev.). in 1. (same as no. 2244).
[Pl. xxxvi. 15.]
Type IV.
Mask of Pan r., bearded, Mask of Silenus r., bearded,
and with goat's ears; and wearing ivy-wreath,
below, TANSA tied with fillet ; below,
C. VBIVS. C. F
[Pl. xxxvi. 16.]
(de Salis Coll.)
Type IV. var.
With symbol on obverse and reverse
Mask of Silenus r., bearded, Mask of Pan r., bearded,
and wearing ivy-wreath, and with , goat's ears;
tied with fillet; behind, below, C. VBíVS. C. F.;
PANSA; below chin, before, symbol, sistrum.
symbol, two bells. [Pl. xxxvi. 17.]
Similar; symbol, torque. Similar; symbol, flute.
As
| Head of Janus, laureate; C. PANSA below Triple
no mark of value above.” prow r.; above, RoNAA
and palm-branch ; before,
caps of the Dioscuri.
Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxxvi. 18.]
(de Salis Coll.)
! Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, pl. xii., no. 274) figures a variety of this type with the
quadriga to 1. On both sides of the coin.
* Babelon (vol. ii., p. 542, no. 10) describes this type of the as as having a pointed beard,
but his illustration shows a curling one, as do also the specimens in the British Museum. On
some of these coins we have the closed P for T. This is the earliest occurrence of this form,
but it may be due to the ultskilfulness of the engraver.
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, pp. 99, 100) mentions other varieties of the as ; one as
no. 2312 with C. VI B | VS - C - F above, and ROMA below the triple prow, and others similar
with C VI BI or C VIB IVS below the triple prow. He questions the description of the as
with a single prow and mark of value and the legend C Vl Bl VS, as given by Babelon
(vol. ii., p. 543, no. 12).
296
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
2314
2315
2316
2317
2318
2319
2320
Weight
214-0
156-0
195.0
153-0
233.0
177.0
171-0
110-0
45-0
Metal,
and Size
AE 1-1
AE 1-05
AE 1-15
AE 1.15
AE 1-3
AE 1.15
AE 1.2
• 65
Obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar; mark of value, I,
above head of Janus.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse
Similar; moneyer's name,
C.VIB1. RJ (= DANSA)
below prow ; no caps of
the Dioscuri before, and
no palm-branch above."
Similar.
[Pl. xxxvi. 19.]
Similar, mark of value, 1,
before prow.
Similar; without RoNAA
and mark of value.
Similar ; moneyer's name,
C. VIB|. AIS 3 ; RoNWA
above prow, and mark of
value before.
Similar; moneyer's name,
C - VIBI . A ; without
RONAA; mark of value
before prow.
Similar.
[Pl. xxxvi. 20.]
Sermis
Head of Jupiterr., laureate;
behind, S.
C. VIB|. A. above Prow r. ;
below, RoNAA; before, S
[Babelon, vol. ii., p. 543, no. 13.]
Quadrans
Bust of Victory r., draped;
hair drawn back, and col-
lected into a knot behind.”
C. VIBI above Prow r.
below, * * *
[Pl. xxxvi. 21.]
* Fr. Gnecchi (Riv. Ital., 1896, p. 18, no. 9) describes a variety of this type with ROMA
and a palm-branch above the triple prow, and C. VIB I PASA below; before, caps of the Dioscuri.
* Varieties of this monogram are DAſ and DA/S (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 99).
* This bust of Victory is similar to that on the quinarius of Q. Titius (see above, p. 287,
no. 2229), which shows that C. Vibius Pansa adopted for his bronze coins a type of the silver
of Q. Titius, in the same way as the latter copied the types of the former.

CIRC. B.C. 87; A.U.C. 667 297
Voº Metal º *
No. Weight and Size Obverse Ren'erse
L. TITVRI. L. F. SABIN
(LUCIUS TITURIUS LUCII FILIUS SABINUS 1)
Denarius
Type I.”
2322 62-0 || AR 75 Bearded head r. of the L. TITVRI (in exergue).
Sabine king, Tatius; be- Two soldiers facing each
fore, A (Tatius); behind, other, and each bearing a
SABIN Sabine woman in his
ablº IſlS.
[Pl. xxxvii. 1...]
(Cracherode Coll.)
2323 52-0 || AR “75 | Similar. Similar.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
2324 57-1 | AR “75 Similar ; before head of Similar. -
Tatius, A. TV (Argento [Pl. xxxvii. 2.]
publico), and below chin,
palm-branch; A omitted.
2325 60:1 | AR 7 Similar; the inscription, Similar.
A . TV, before head of [Pl. xxxvii. 3..]
Tatius, omitted. (de Salis Coll.)
1 Nothing certain is known of this moneyer beyond what we learn from his coins. Mommsen
(Hist. mon. Pom., t. ii., p. 413) would identify him with a certain Titurius, who, as lieutenant of
Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius, commanded in Spain against Sertorius (Sallust, Hist., ii. 28, ed. de
Dietsch), and who was the father of Q. Titurius Sabinus, the lieutenant of Julius Caesar in the
war against the Gauls (B.C. 57–54). He is the only member of the Tituria gens of whom coins
are known. The family, from its cognomen, evidently traced its descent from the Sabines, and,
perhaps, from King Tatius himself, whose portrait is given on the denarii. The coins of L.
Titurius Sabinus are amongst the latest in point of date that occurred in the Fiesole hoard (see
Tables of Finds). There were eighteen specimens of Type I., ten of Type II., but none of
Type III., which are the most common.
* Like other moneyers whose coins are attributed to this period, L. Titurius strikes denarii
with several reverse types, and generally accompanied by mint-marks, symbols, numbers, or
letters. The reverse designs of Types I. and II. refer to the surname of the moneyer's family,
the rape of the Sabines, and the death of Tarpeia. The crescent moon with star above
Tarpeia evidently records the introduction of the worship of Luna into Rome by the Sabine
king, Tatius. Besides the temple dedicated to her on the Aventine, she had a second
sanctuary in the Capitol, probably on or near the spot where Tarpeia met her death.
Propertius (iv. 4, 23) also connects Luna with the history of Tarpeia.
Saepe illa immeritae causata est omina lunae,
Et sibi ting wendas dia.it in amne comas.
P. Petronius Turpilianus, who was a triumvir of the mint under Augustus (circ. B. c. 14),
figures on his coins the death of Tarpeia, and the crescent moon and star, as separate types
(Babelon, vol. ii., p. 301, nos. 19, 20).
-- The type of Victory in a chariot relates to some success of a member of the Tituria gens,
of which we do not appear to have any documentary record.
It is difficult to explain why on some of the coins of Types I. and II. the legend A. TV
(Argento publico) should have been added. There may have been a special issue of bullion for
the coins of these types.
Q Q
298
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
2326
2327
2328
2329
2330
2331
2332
2333
2334
2335
Weight
60.1
58-6
63.0
61:4
61.2
58-6
59.6
62-0
59.0
63-6
Metal
and Size
AR
:
AR
•75
•75
•75
•75
-75
.75
Obverse Reverse
Type II.
Bearded head r. of the L. TITVRI (in exergue).
Sabine king, Tatius; Tarpeia, her hair di-
behind, SABIN ;- before, shevelled, facing and
A . TV (Argento publico), buried to the waist in
and below chin, palm- shields; with raised
branch. hands she thrusts off
two soldiers, who, on
either side, are about to
cast their shields on her;
above, crescent moon and
star.]
[Pl. xxxvii. 4.]
Similar. Similar.
Similar ; the inscription, Similar.
A . TV, before head of
Tatius, omitted.
Similar.
[Pl. xxxvii. 5.]
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Type III.
With symbol on reverse
Bearded head r.
Sabine king,
behind, SABIN
of the
Tatius;
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
L. TITVRI below Victory
in biga r., horses gallop-
ing ; she holds wreath in
r. hand, and reins in 1. ;
in exergue, symbol, two
8, FI’OWS.
[Pl. xxxvii. 6.]
Similar; symbol, branch.
Similar ; symbol, caduceus.
Similar ; symbol, cuirass.
Similar; symbol, fish to r.
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar; symbol, fish to 1.
1 Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 88) describes a denarius of this type in the Haeberlin
collection with the monogram A on the obverse, and a hybrid in the Vienna collection with this
reverse and with the helmeted head of Roma and the mark of value 36 on the obverse. In
the Haeberlin collection there is also a denarius with the head of Tatius on the reverse as well
as on the obverse.
It is not a hybrid.
CIRC. B.C. 87; A.U.C. 667 299
No.
2336.
2337
2338
2339
2340
2341
2342
2343
2344
2345
2346
2347
2348
2353
2354
Weight
64-3
602
64-2
58-5
56.9
61:4
56.2
(pierced)
52-3
60.5
61.5
57.3
64-0
59.8
64.8
62-1
54-3
62.9
57.5
57.2
Metal
and Size
AR 75
AR, 8
AR. 8
AR 75
AR. 8
AR 7
AR 75
AR. 8
AR 75
AR, 75
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR 7
AR. 65
AR, 7
AR. 8
AR. 75
AR. 7
AR, 75
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse

Similar; symbol, palm-
branch.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar; symbol, rudder.
Similar; symbol, sceptre.
Similar; symbol, scorpion.
Similar; symbol, spear
with narrow head.
Similar; symbol, spear
with broad head.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; symbol, thunder-
bolt.
Similar; symbol, trident.
With number on reverse
Similar; in exergue, num-
ber TTT
Similar ; number XVII
Similar ; number Cll I
Similar ; number CV
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar; number NMI'
TWith Greek letter on reverse
Similar; in exergue, letter A
Similar ; letter B
Similar ; letter H
Similar ; letter €3.
[Pl. xxxvii. 7.]
Similar ; letter ||
Similar ; letter T.
* Babelon (vol. ii., p. 499) says that the numbers run on to CXXI, and that the monogram
M is followed by figures to MXXII at least. He also mentions that there is a series with
Latin as well as Greek letters, and gives a list of symbols hitherto found on these coins.
300 COIN AGE OF ROME
No. Weight *. Obverse Reverse
As l
2355 232-0 || AE 1.2 | Head of Janus, laureate ; L. TITVRI - L. F above
above, l Prow r. ; below, SANVS
2356 | 159-0 | AF 1-1 || Similar. Similar; before prow, Vic-
tory with wreath.
(Blacas Coll.)
2357 1510 | AF 1-05 || Similar. Similar.
2358 142-0 || AE 1-05 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxxvii. 8.]
2359 1910 || AE 1.1 | Similar. Similar; below prow, SASNS
2360 170-0 || AE 1.1 | Similar. Similar; below prow, SASIN
2361 || 140-0 || AE 1-05 || Similar ; no mark of value. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
2362 132-0 || AE 1-05 || Similar. Similar.
2363 147-0 | AF 1'15 Similar. Similar ; before prow, I
Sermis
2364 96-0 || AE 9 | Head of Jupiterr., laureate; 7V.] above Prow r., below,
behind, S (?) GA2
[Pl. xxxvii. 9..]
2365 | 94-0 || AE -85 Similar. Similar; 8 moneyer's name,
(Boyd)
Quadrans “
2366 | 66-0 || AE -8 | Head of Apollo r., laureate; Similar ; moneyer's name,
behind, i. 5/.] ; below prow, 8A8
I Like C. Vibius Pansa, L. Titurius varies a good deal the spelling of his cognomen on his
bronze coins.
2 Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 89) describes a variety reading SAINVS in his own
collection; and another, similar to no. 2355, in the Capitoline Museum with the same legend.
He mentions two other asses also in the Capitoline Museum reading L., TITVRI without L. F.
* Babelon (vol. ii., pp. 504, 505, nos. 1, 3) figures a variety of the semis with the legend
on the reverse, L'TV& ; and a triens with helmeted head of Roma on the obverse, and a prow
with TVR and ROMA on the reverse. He has ascribed all the coins with this monogram to
the Turillia gens, but as some are evidently accompanied by the cognomen SAB | NVS, in a
more or less abbreviated form, they probably belong to the Tituria gens, and may therefore be
attributed to L. Titurius Sabinus. -
* Bahrfeldt (op. cit., p. 91) describes a sextans now in the Capitoline Museum with
the monogram only.
CIRC. B.C. 87; A.U.C. 667 301
Metal
- bvers
and Size Obverse Reverse
No. Weight
C. NA&CI , CENSO OR CENSORI
(CAIUS MARCIUS CENSORINUS 1)
Denarius
Type I.
2367 61.2 | AR 7 | Heads of Numa Pompilius, C. CENSO (in exergue).
bearded, and of Ancus | Two horses galloping r. ;
Marcius, not bearded, on the near one is seated
jugate r., and diademed.” a rider (desultor), naked
but for a conical cap,
holding whip in r. hand,
and reins in 1.
[Pl. xxxvii. 10.]
|With symbol on reverse
2368 58-4 || AR -75 | Similar. Similar; below horses,
symbol, arrow.
(de Salis Coll.)
2369 || 58.8 || AR 65 | Similar. Similar; symbol, arrow-
- head.
2370 63-6 || AR •7 | Similar. Similar; symbol, two birds
(doves)pecking each other.
(Cracherode Coll.)
* This moneyer is probably C. Marcius Censorinus, one of the leading men of the Marian
party, and the accuser of Sulla for malversation on his return from Asia in B.C. 91. He entered
Rome with Marius and Cinna in B. c. 87, and took a leading part in the massacres which ensued.
He served with the Marian party in the campaign of B.C. 82 against Sulla, but being taken
prisoner in the battle fought near the Colline Gate, he was put to death. It is possible that
he acted as a special moneyer for Marius and Cinna, who, on their entry into Rome in B.C. 87,
seized upon the bullion in the treasury and turned it into money. None of the coins of
C. Censorinus, nor of those of L. and C. Memmius, were present in the Fiesole hoard. Their
absence has been accounted for (see pp. 242, 286). Specimens of each issue were, however,
met with in the Cingoli and Romagnano Sesia hoards, which, since they were buried circ.
B.C. 86, fixes the date very approximately of these special issues (see p. 243).
* The Marcia gens claimed descent from the ancient kings of Rome, Numa Pompilius and
Ancus Marcius, hence the representation of their heads on the coins of C. Marcius Censorinus.
The reverse types of all the denarii, and the obverse type with the head of Apollo, com-
memorate the foundation of the Ludi Apollinares, which were instituted in B.C. 212, in virtue
of a prophecy of the soothsayer Marcius. The horse-races which took place at those games
have already been referred to in describing the coinage of L. Calpurnius Piso (see above, p. 251).
Type I. represents the race in which a rider (desultor) was provided with two horses, from one
to the other of which he sprang during the race. The riderless horse, as shown in Type II.,
occurs on previous coins of L. Calpurnius Piso (see p. 280, note 2). C. Censorinus used a
variety of mint-marks, consisting, as usual, of symbols, numbers, letters, and fractional signs.
The types of his bronze coins, which are of the semuncial standard, are referred to with
their descriptions (see pp. 305, 306).
302
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
2371
2372
2373
2374
2375
2376
2377
2378
2379
2380
2381
2.382
2383
2384
2385
Weight
64-7
62-3
56.3
55-5
63-8
55-2
57.7
58-5
664
58-9
61.3
57-0
51-5
60.1
60.5
Metal
and Size
AR 7
AR 7
AR 7
AR -8
AR. 75
Æt. -65
AR 65
AR. 75
AR -7
AR. 8
AR. 7
AR, 7
AR. 75
AR. '75
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
similar
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Obverse
Reverse
Similar; symbol, dolphin.
Similar ; symbol, rudder.
[Pl. xxxvii. 11.]
Similar; symbol, sceptre
with double fillet and
wings.
Similar ; symbol, serpent."
With letter on reverse
Similar ; below horses,
letter H
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar; letter NA
(Nott)
Similar ; letter T
(Nott)
Similar ; letter . V*
(Nott)
With mumber on reverse
Similar ;
below horses,
number |
Similar; same number.
Similar; number ||
(Nott)
Similar; number TTT
Similar; number VII
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; number X
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; number XVIII 3
* Babelon (vol. ii., p. 191) gives a list of the known symbols on this issue.
* All the letters of the alphabet occur with this issue, sometimes accompanied by a dot.
* The highest number recorded appears to be XXXIII.
CIRC. B.C. 87; A.U.C. 667 303
No.
2386
2387
2388
2389
2390
2391
2392
2393
2394
2395
2396
59.4 || AR -8
60.1 | AR •75
60-0 || AR •75
57-0 || AR 7
55-6 || AR 75
57.2 | AR, 7
59.5 | AR 7
614 || AR 7
61-8 AR 8
53.2 AR •7
57-5 | AR •75
Obverse Reverse
TWith letter on obverse and symbol on reverse
Similar; below heads of Similar; below horses,
Numa Pompilius and symbol, wreath.
Ancus Marcius, letter B
With letter on obverse and number on reverse
Similar; behind heads of | Similar; below horses,
Numa Pompilius and number || ||
Ancus Marcius, letter T [Pl. xxxvii. 12.]
(Nott)
Similar; letter NW Similar ; number XVI li
Similar; letter N below Similar; same number.
heads.
With fractional sign on obverse and number on reverse
Similar ; behind heads of Similar; below horses,
Numa Pompilius and number V
Ancus Marcius, fraction :
Similar ; same fraction. Similar ; number Vll
Similar; fraction • Similar ; number XXV
(Nott)
Similar ; fractions •l Similar ; number XXX||
(Blacas Coll.)
Type II.
With two symbols on reverse
Head of Apollo r., bound C. CENSOR below Free
with fillet; hair in ring- || horse with loose rein,
lets. galloping r. ; above, sym-
bol, knife; in exergue,
symbol, boar.
[Pl. xxxvii. 13.]
Similar. Similar; moneyer's name,
C. CENSORI; symbols,
sceptre between two
cornucopiae and crescent.
Similar. Similar; symbols, sceptre
between two cornu-
copiae and prow.
304
COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
and Size
AR 75
AR. ''/
AR 7
AR, 7
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR, 7
AR. 65
AR 7
AR, 75
AR. 7
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Obverse
Reverse
Similar; symbols, prow and
rudder.
(Nott)
Similar; symbols, shoe and
tWO arrows.
Similar; symbols, spear
and shield.
Similar; same symbols.
(Nott)
Similar; symbols, winged
spear and comb (?)
(Nott)
Similar; symbols, thyrsus
and running hare."
(Nott)
Similar; same symbols.
With number and two symbols on reverse
Similar; above horse, num-
ber 1, and symbol, a flying
duck; in exergue, sym-
bol, two ducks facing
each other.
Similar; same number and
| symbols.
|With symbol and number on reverse
Similar ; above horse,
symbol, fly; in exergue,
number I
(Nott)
Similar; moneyer's name,
C - CENSOR; symbol,
trident with fillet; num-
ber ||
(Nott)
Similar; moneyer's name,
C - CENSORI; symbol,
laurel-wreath ; number
| | ||
(Nott)
No.
2397
2398
2399
2400
2401
2402
2403
2404
2405
2406
2407
24.08
Weight
65-5
57.6
65-5
54-5
67.2
56-0
54-5
61.2
60-0
61:0
60.1
* For further list of these double symbols, and also of combinations of symbols, numbers,
and letters, see Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 192, 193.
CIRC. B.C. 87; A.U.C. 667
305
No.
2409
2410
24.11
2412
2413
2414
24.15
Weight
58-3
61:0
57.6
54.7
60.1
183.0
Metal
and Size
AR. 75
AE 1-1
Obverse
Similar.
It everse
Similar ; above horse, num-
ber CX*; in exergue, sym-
bol, staff of Aesculapius.
(Nott)
|With letter and number on reverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; above horse, letter
N. ; in exergue, number I
(Nott)
Similar ; letter Y;
number.
Sã, Iſle
Similar ; letter k ; number
Similar ; above horse, num-
ber XI ; in exergue, letter
B
Type II. var.
TWith two symbols on reverse
Head of Apollo r., similar
to no. 2394; behind, lyre.
C. CENSORI below Free
horse, similar to no. 2394;
above, symbol, Victory
with wreath ; in exergue,
symbol, palm-branch.
[Pl. xxxvii. 14.]
(Blacas Coll.)
As
Type I.
Heads of Numa Pompilius, C. CENSO *. *
bearded, and of Ancus | RONAA above Prow r.,
Marcius, not bearded,
jugate r., and diademed ;
behind head of Numa,
NVNWA. DONATILI ; be-
fore face of Ancus Mar-
cius, ANCVS NAASCI 2
beyond which is seen the
stern 3 of another vessel,
with oars, rudder, and
aplustre, and above it a
spiral column, on which
is a figure of Victory
holding wreath and palm-
branch.
1 These numbers run to CXXV at least, and in the next series all the letters of the Latin
alphabet occur, and some Greek.
* The names of Numa Pompilius and Ancus Marcius on this type of the as are some-
times given in the genitive, NVN1AE TOM'ſ I Ll ANCI MARC1, and the moneyer's name
reads C, AARCI CENSO (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 15).
* The prow and stern of the two vessels evidently refer to some naval victory or victories
gained by the moneyer's ancestors, and Mommsen (Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., p. 438) suggests that
the column with the Victory may be a pharos or some similar edifice.
R R
306
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
2416
24.17
2418
2419
2420
Weight
170-0
168-0
147-0
162-0
146.0
(broken)
119-0
Metal
and Size
AE 1.05
AE 1.1
AE 1.05
AE 1:1
AE 1.1
Obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar."
Similar.
Head of Jupiter r., laureate;
behind, S
Reverse
Similar.
[Pl. xxxvii. 15 obv.]
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xxxvii. 16 rev.]
Type II.
C. CE NSO above Two
arches;2 within the left
one is a spiral column
surmounted by a figure
of Victory holding wreath
and palm-branch; through
the right arch passes a
prow ; above which is a
crescent; below arches,
RONAA
Similar.
[Pl. xxxvii. 17.]
Sermis
C. CENSORI 3 above Prow r.
ooes a e.
[Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 16.]
1 On this type also the names of Numa Pompilius and Ancus Marcius occur in the
genitive (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 15).
* The two arches probably represent the aqueduct, the construction of which was
attributed to Ancus Marcius.
* A variety appears to read C CENSORIN (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 16).



CIRC. B.C. 87; A.U.C. 667 307
Metal
- Obverse Reverse
and Suze
o. JWeight
L. C. NMENAIES L. F. GAL
(LUCIUS [AND] CAIUS MEMMIUS LUCII FILII
GALERIA 2) l
Dernarius 3
i With letter on obverse
24.21 62-3 || AR 7 Head of Saturn r., bearded, L. C. NMENA I ES.L. F
and laureate ; behind, GA L (in
harpa and EX. S. C (Ea exergue). Venus, naked,
Senatus consulto); below in biga r., horses walking;
chin, letter . . A she holds reins with both
hands and sceptre with 1.;
above, Cupid with wreath.
(Nott)
* These moneyers, who were brothers, were probably the sons of Lucius Memmius, the
Orator, who supported the party of Marius. Of the elder brother, Lucius, some particulars have
already been given, as he filled the office of moneyer a few years previously (see above, p. 204).
Little appears to be recorded of the early life of Caius Memmius. He is stated to have
married a sister of Cn. Pompey, was his propraetor in Sicily, and his quaestor in Spain during
the Sertorian war, B.C. 76, and was slain in battle with Sertorius, near Saguntum. Mommsen
(Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., p. 427) says that L. Memmius was the brother-in-law of Cn. Pompey,
but this seems not to have been the case. Babelon (vol. ii., p. 216) appears to have confused
this C. Memmius Galeria, with C. Memmius Gemellus, who was tribune of the plebs, B. c. 66;
praetor, B.C. 58; propraetor in the following year in Bithynia, and a candidate for the
consulship. That member of the Memmia gens, and the C. Memmius who struck coins in
B.C. 87, could not possibly have been the same person. Of the son of C. Memmius Gemellus
there are coins struck some years later (circ. B.C. 51).
Owing to the occurrence of the joint-names of the two brothers on these coins, Mommsen
(Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 427) has inferred that they were quaestors together in Spain, and
that they issued the coins in virtue of that office. Cicero (pro Balbo, ii. 5), however, only
states that C. Memmius was quaestor, and makes no mention of L. Memmius as holding a
similar office, and, moreover, the evidence of finds (see Tables of Finds) proves conclusively
that these coins must have been struck some years before the date of the quaestorship, as they
occurred in the Cingoli and Romagnano Sesia hoards, buried about B. c. 86. They were, however,
absent in that of Fiesole, which was buried in the previous year. Blacas (Mommsen, Hist.
Anon. Tom., t. ii., p. 428) adds a note to the same effect on the remarks of Mommsen on this
issue. It is therefore not improbable that as the father, L. Memmius, favoured the Marian
party, his sons were also on the same side, and that in B. c. 87, when Marius was in Rome, they
filled together some public office which empowered them to strike this special coinage, since
the legend EX. S. C shows that the issue was not an ordinary one. That C. Memmius after-
wards joined Cn. Pompey can only be explained by the supposition that at a later date he
changed sides, and attached himself to the party which had been opposed to Marius. This
may have occurred after Marius's death.
* The type of the denarius of this joint-issue was copied from the earlier coinage of L.
Memmius (see above, p. 204), and similar mint-marks were used, viz., letters of the Roman
alphabet; but with this difference, that on the earlier coinage the letters are often
accompanied by a single dot, whilst in the later one the letters usually have several dots,
and occur only on the obverse. They are often reversed. Another difference is that the
edges of the later coins are not serrated. Their fabric, too, is slightly different, and in this
respect they more resemble the issues classed to B.C. 87. It is unfortunate that no bronze
coins are known of this joint-issue, as they would have been of material help in fixing its date.
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 20) mentions a variety in the Bignami collection, now in the
Capitoline Museum, without the harpa behind the head of Saturn.

308
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
2422
2423
2430
2431
2433
2134
2436
2437
24.38
2439
Weight
60-0
59.7
57.0
58-3
59.9
55.5
61.6
5S-4
Metal
cºnd Size
AR. 75
AR, 7
AR, 7
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR 75
AR 75
..IR 7
AR 85
AR 7
AR 75
AR 75
AR 75
AR -75
AR, .75
$ AR -7
AR, 75
AR, 75
Obverse
Similar ; letter . .8
Similar ; letter ::D
Similar ; letter D
Similar ; letter :O
Similar ; letter :-
Similar ; letter D
similar letter |
Similar ; letter . I
Similar ; letter “NA
Similar ; letter :::/
Similar ; letter :::T
Similar ; letter O
Similar ; same letter.
Similar ; letter 2
Similar ; letter T
Similar ; letter T
Similar ; letter ...V
Similar ; letter 'X
Reverse
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xxxvii. 18.]
Similar.
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
[Pl. xxxvii. 19.]
Similar.
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar. gº
(Nott)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(de Salis Coll.)
CIRC. B.C. 86; A.U.C. 668 309
Metal
r Y 22, 2, .
No. Weight and Size
Obverse - IReverse
Circ. B.C. 86; A.U.C. 668
CN. LENTVL *
(CNAEUS CORNELIUS LENTULUS)
Denarius
2440 61.2 | AR 7 | Bust of Mars r., seen from CN LENTVL (in exergue).
behind, wearing crested | Victory in biga r., horses
helmet, and armed with galloping; she holds
spear and parazonium, wreath in r, hand and
the strap of which passes reins in l.”
over his r. shoulder. [Pl. xxxvii. 20.]
(Nott)
2441 || 54.3 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
2442 50.9 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
* For this year we have two ordinary moneyers, Cr. Cornelius Lentulus and L. Rubrius
Dossenus, and two extraordinary ones, M. Fannius and L. Critonius, who issued a joint-coinage
in their capacity as aediles. Of both the ordinary moneyers there are denarii and quinarii,
and bronze coins of the semuncial standard, but the extraordinary moneyers only issued denarii
and no bronze money. No mint-marks occur on any of the coins attributed to this year, but
both Cn. Cornelius Lentulus and L. Rubrius Dossenus give their names in varied forms. It was
at some time in B.C. 86 that the burials of the Cingoli and Romagnano Sesia hoards took place.
They contained silver coins of the two ordinary moneyers, but none of the aediles; for this
reason it is possible that their special issue occurred a little later, but at all events not after
B. c. 82, to which date is assigned the deposit of the Monte Codruzzo hoard (see Tables of Finds).
* Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 435) identifies this moneyer with Cnaeus Cornelius
Tentulus Marcellinus, who was quaestor in Spain circ. B. c. 76–72; served in the war against
the pirates, B.C. 67; was praetor, B.C. 59, and in the following year repaired to Syria, and
administered that province for two years, during which time he was engaged in repressing the
incursions of the Arabs. In B.C. 56 he was consul with L. Marcius Philippus, and during his
consulate supported the recall of Cicero from exile, and attempted to restrain the power of
Pompey. Nothing appears to be known of Lentulus after his consulship. Borghesi (CEwvres
compl., t. ii., p. 395) would identify this moneyer with Cnaeus Lentulus Clodianus, who was
consul B.C. 72, but against this attribution we find on some of his bronze coins the triquetra,
which was the symbol of the Marcelli. The approximate date of the appointment of Lentulus
as moneyer can be ascertained, as already mentioned, from the evidence of finds. He also
struck coins at a later date, circ. B. c. 76–72, as quaestor, but these are given to Spain, and
with them is classed, on account of its fabric, the extremely rare aureus figured by Babelon
(vol. i., p. 418, no. 57).
* This type of Mars and Victory is probably commemorative of the victories of
M. Claudius M. f. M. n. Marcellus over Hannibal in the second Punic war in Italy and Sicily,
which culminated in the capture of Syracuse in B.c. 212. He was the most celebrated of the
Marcelli, and was five times consul.
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 100) mentions a variety of the denarius in the Gotha
cabinet reading CN , LENTV; and he also states (Zeit. f. Num. 1876, p. 364) that these
demarii were countermarked by Vespasian.
310 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight Metal Obverse
and Size Reverse
Quinarius
2443 || 32-0 || AR 6 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate. CN. LENT (in exergue).
Victory standing r., and
placing wreath on trophy.'
(de Salis Coll.)
2444 28-1 | AR 6 || Similar. Similar; moneyer's name,
CN . LENT
[Pl. xxxvii. 21.]
(Nott)
As
2445 195-0 || AE 1:1 | Head of Janus, laureate ; CN . LENTV" above Prow
no mark of value. r. ; no mark of value.
2446 156-0 | AF 1:05 || Similar. Similar.
2447 | 203-0 | AF 1:1 | Similar. Similar ; moneyer's name,
CN . LENT
[Pl. xxxvii. 22 rev.]
Sermis
84-0 || AE 9 | Head of Jupiterr., laureate;
CN . LEN 3 above Prow r. ;
behind, S
no mark of value.
[Cf. Babelon, vol. i., p. 416, no. 53.]
* This type of the victoriatus was first adopted for the quinarius circ. B.C. 101 after the
passing of the Lea Clodia (see above, p. 167). Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 100) says that
he has only met with quinarii reading CN, LEN, but one of the specimens in the British
Museum has certainly CN , LENT. The dot or pellet before Victory is probably connected
with the manufacture of the die, and may have been caused by the point of a compass to mark
the centre. It occurs occasionally on later issues.
* A variety reads CN , LENTVL, and some have on the reverse a triquetra, the symbol
of the Marcelli, referring to the capture of Syracuse by the moneyer’s ancestor. It is
therefore eviden tthat this moneyer belonged to that branch of the Cornelia gens which bore
the surname Marcellinus.
* A variety in the Capitoline Museum has a trident under the prow (Bahrfeldt Num. Zeit.,
1890, p. 100). -

CIRC. B.C. 86 ; A.U.C. 668 311
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
L. RVBR |, DOSSEN
(LUCIUS RUBRIUS DOSSENUS 1)
Denarius
Type I.
2448 592 || AR 7 | Head of Jupiter°r., laureate; L. RVBRI (in exergue).
behind, sceptre and | Triumphal chariot r.,
legend, DOSSEN drawn by four horses,
walking ; on it stands
Victory holding a wreath,
and its side is orna-
mented with a thunder-
bolt.
(Cracherode Coll.)
2449 || 58-1 | AR ''7 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxxviii. 1.]
2450 | 56.2 | AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
2451 | 54-2 || AR '7 | Similar. Similar.
Type II.
2452 62.8 || AR 75 | Head of Juno r., diademed Similar ; the chariot is
and veiled, wearing ear- ornamented on its side
ring of single drop and with an eagle standing on
necklace; behind, sceptre a thunderbolt.
and legend, DOS (Blacas Coll.)
2453 || 51.8 || AR “75 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xxxviii. 2.]
2454 || 62.4 || AR 8 || Similar; double-struck with Similar; double-struck with
reverse type. obverse type.
(Cracherode Coll.)
* This moneyer may be the senator, L. Rubrius Dossenus, who was taken prisoner by
Julius Caesar at Corfinium in B.C. 49, but was afterwards released. The Rubria gens never
attained much importance during the Republic, and this is the only member of whom we have
coins. The date of his holding the office of moneyer may be ascertained from the evidence of
finds, as his coins appear to be the latest pieces present in the Cingoli and Romagnano Sesia
hoards (see Tables of Finds), and besides, his bronze coins are of the semuncial standard.
Denarii of Cn. Cornelius Lentulus were also in the Cingoli and Romagnano Sesia hoards, and
the circumstance that both he and L. Rubrius Dossenus struck the quinarius, and varied
similarly their names on their coins, would point to their being colleagues at the mint.
* The obverse types of the denarii give representations of the three chief divinities of the
Capitol, Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, and the triumphal chariot on the reverse recalls the
solemn entry of their chariots on the occurrence of the public games. Cavedoni (Ann. dell’Inst.
arch., 1849, p. 205) was of opinion that the types may refer to the Lew Acilia-Rubria relating to
the sacrifices offered in the Capitol by foreign ambassadors, but Mommsen (Hist. mom. Tom.,
t. ii., p. 434) doubts if any such reference was intended. -
There is a restoration of each type by Trajan.
312
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
2455
2456
2457
2458
2459
2460
2461
2462
Weight
65.4
63.4
62.4
57.8
30.5
163-0
150-0
Metal
and Suze
AR, 7
AR. 7
AP -75
AR -75
AR. 65
AR, "55
AE 1.1
AE 1.05
Obverse
Reverse
Type III.
Bust of Minerva r., wearing
crested helmet and aegis,
and earring of single
drop ; behind, DOS
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar to no. 2452; the
chariot is surmounted by
Victory in a fast biga, in-
stead of Victory holding
a wreath."
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
[Pl. xxxviii. 3..]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Quinarius 2
Head of Neptune r.,
laureate ; behind, trident
dividing legend, DOS SEN
Similar.
Victory, naked to the hips,
walking r. ; she holds
wreath and palm-branch
in 1. hand, and raises
r. ; before her a circular
altar, around which is
entwined a serpent with
head erect ; behind, Vic-
tory, L. RVBRI
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
[Pl. xxxviii. 4.]
As
Type I. 3
Head of Janus laureate ;
between the heads a
circular altar entwined
with serpent with head
erect.
Similar.
Hº' above Prow r.:
DOSSEN 3, OOVé row r. ;
before, I
[Pl. xxxviii. 5.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
1 This reverse forms a hybrid with the obverse of a denarius having the young helmeted
head of Mars (Bahrfeldt, Zett. f. Num., 1877, p. 37).
* Babelon (vol. ii., p. 405) has given the following explanation of the type of the
quinarius.
The Victory refers to the public games alluded to on the denarii; the altar is that
of Aesculapius, which was placed on the island in the Tiber; and the head of Neptune, taken
in conjunction with the types of the bronze coins, recalls the episode of the expedition which
was sent to Epidaurus in B.C. 293 to seek the god, and in which an ancestor of the moneyer
may have taken a prominent part.
3 Varieties of this type of the as read, DOSSE, DOSSI, and DOSSENI (Bahrfeldt, Num.
Zewt., 1900, p. 76).
&
CIRC. B.C. 86; A.U.C. 668 313
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
Type II.
207-0 | AF 1:1 Jugate heads of Hercules 1., L. RVBRI DOSSE below
wearing lion's skin, and and at side of Prow r. ;
of Mercury r., wearing the back part of which
Winged petasus; before is concealed by a distyle
the head of Hercules, temple, within which is
club ; before that of seen a circular altar
Mercury, caduceus. entwined with serpent."
w & [cf. Babelon, vol. ii., p. 408, no. 6.]
Sermis
AE '95 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate; DOS above Prow r. ; be-
behind, S fore, S
[Riccio, Mon. fam. rom., Tav. xli., no. 6.2]
| This type appears to confirm the identification of that of the quinarius. The prow of
the ship distinctly refers to a naval expedition, and the serpent-entwined altar would connect
it with that to Epidaurus.
* Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 65) said that he had never seen a specimen of this semis,
so was unable to express an opinion about its authenticity. He now thinks it must be a
forgery. It is not impossible that the figure was drawn from an imperfect specimen. Babelon
(vol. ii., p. 409, no. 9) figures a sextans with the head of Mercury and a caduceus on the
obverse, and with the reverse type similar to that of the as of Type II., and with the legend
L. R.VB RI in the exergue. The illustration is copied from Riccio, Monn. fam. rom., tav. lxiii. 4.
Bahrfeldt (loc. cit.) remarks that the coin does not exist; the figure being drawn from a
badly preserved as. He, however, figures a small bronze coin (uncia P) with helmeted head of
Roma on the obverse, and prow and temple on the reverse, similar to Type II. of the as, but
without the moneyer’s name. This coin was found in Rome, and is now in the Capitoline
Museum. The small bronze coins with the legend RVB, which have been attributed to the
Rubria gens, but which are not of Roman types, were probably struck in Southern Italy (see
Imhoof-Blumer, Momm. grec., p. 13).
S S


314 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
Quadrans'
37-0 | AF 8 | Head of young Hercules | L. R.VBRI above Prow r. ;
r., wearing lion's skin; before, 3
behind, 3 ©
[Babelon, vol. ii., p. 409, no. 8.]
M. FAN : L. CRT
(MARCUS FANNIUS; LUCIUS CRITONIUs)*
Denarius
2463 627 | AR 75 | Head of Ceres r., bound NA. FAN. L. CRT (in ex-
with wreath of corn, and ergue). The aediles,
wearing earring of triple | Marcus Fannius and
drop; hair rolled back, Lucius Critonius, togate,
collected into a knot be- seated r. on the subsel-
hind, and falling down her liwm; before them, ear
neck; behind, AED . T L of corn; behind, T . A
(Aediles plebei). (Publico argento).
[Pl. xxxviii. 6.]
(de Salis Coll.)
* The weight here given of the quadrans is that of the specimen in the Bignami
collection, now in the Capitoline Museum. It seems to be the only one noted by Bahrfeldt of
this rare denomination.
Riccio (Catalogo, p. 178, no. 27) mentions a quadrans with DOS, and without the name
of “Roma.”
* The date of the aedileship of Marcus Fannius and Lucius Critonius is not recorded, and
little is known of their history. M. Fannius appears a few years later, in B.C. 80, to have
acted as one of the judices quaesthonis in the trial of Sextus Roscius, who was accused of
having murdered his father, and who was defended by Cicero (pro Seat. Rosc., 4). This office
was generally given to those who had previously held that of aedile. Of L. Critonius we know
even less, but it is not improbable that he was the father of the aedilis cerealis of the same
name, who held office in B.C. 44, when the Cerealia were celebrated shortly after the murder
of Julius Caesar (Appian, Bel. Civ., iii. 28).
The above coins were formerly attributed to the aediles cereales of B.c. 44, but the
evidence of finds shows very conclusively that they must have been issued at a considerably
earlier date. As specimens occurred in the Monte Codruzzo hoard, the burial of which took
place some time in B. c. 82, and as none were met with in those discovered at Cingoli and
Romagnano Sesia, the concealment of which may be fixed some time during the year B. c. 86,
we have thus a period of only about four years during which we can account for this issue.
The types show that they were struck on the occasion of a public largesse, and that the
bullion to provide for this coinage was supplied by the public treasury (Publvco argento).
Failing any direct record, it may be conjectured that this largesse took place some time in
B. c. 86, and probably soon after the death of Marius, when Cinna, who was then at the head of

CIRC. B.C. 86; A.U.C. 668 315
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
2464 || 60.2 | AR, "5 | Similar. Similar.
(Nott)
2465 59.5 | AR 7 || Similar. Similar; legend,
NA. FAN . L. CRT
[Pl. xxxviii. 7.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
2466 || 55.2 | AR “75 | Similar. Similar.
affairs at Rome, being desirous of ingratiating himself with the populace, amongst other acts,
ordered that the restrictions on the largesses of corn, introduced on the outbreak of the Social
war, should be removed. It was on some such occasion that this coinage was issued.
The reverse type closely resembles that of the denarius of L. Calpurnius Piso and
Q. Servilius Caepio, the quaestors, who, in B.C. 100, issued money under similar circumstances
(see above, p. 170). The aediles of B.C. 86 did not strike any bronze coins.
Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 447) describes a variety of the demarius in the Berlin
Museum, on which the legend AED . PL is omitted on the obverse, and the old form V is used
for L on the reverse.
316
PERIOD X.
Circ. b.c. 85–82; Av.c. 669–672
NONE of the eoins which are attributed to this Period were met with in the
Fiesole, Fuscaldo, Cingoli, and Romagnano Sesia hoards, but examples of
nearly every issue were included in that discovered at Monte Codruzzo, near
St. Marino, in the Romagna, the burial of which occurred circ. B.C. 82.
Though the latest coins of the Roman mint which were included in the
Carrara and San Miniato hoards cannot be placed later than B.C. 82, yet others
struck outside Italy, i.e. in Spain, which were present in both, prove that their
burial must have taken place a few years later (see below, p. 361). The coins
referred to are those of the proconsul C. Annius Luscus issued in the names of
the quaestors, L. Fabius Hispaniensis and C. Tarquitius, B.C. 82—80, and of
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius as Imperator, B.C. 79–77 (see Tables of Finds).
During the years B.C. 85–82 Rome witnessed the despotic government of
Cinna and the victory of Sulla at the Colline Gate (B.C. 82), which brought
with it the overthrow of the Marian party in Italy, and the subjugation of the
Italian communities, including the rebellious Samnites. The stirring events
of these years are reflected to a certain degree in the coinage.
DENOMINATIONS AND TYPES.—The denominations are the same as in the
previous Period, with the exception that the issue of the sestertius is again in
abeyance. The variations and changes in the types of the silver coins continue;
the head of Roma for that of the obverse of the denarius, and the mark of value,
having quite disappeared. In some cases, both in the silver and bronze money,
the moneyers' names are omitted, but as the types of most of these coins are
the same as those with the moneyers' names, their classification raises no
difficulties. Some of these coins, however, bear the legend EXA. P. (Ea argento
publico) or EX S. C. (Ea, senatus consulto), showing that they were issued under
special authority. In one instance, the denarius which usually bears the names
of the triumvirs of the mint, Gargilius, Ogulnius, and Vergilius, is without any
legend (see p. 335). It is possible that some of the bronze coins without
moneyers' names already described (see pp. 283-285) were issued at this time.
The quinarius occurs of two issues only, and is of such extreme rarity that no
specimens are to be found in the National Collection. Though quinarii of an
earlier date are met with in considerable numbers in some of the hoards
concealed about this date, yet, for some unaccountable reason, their issue at
this time was very limited. Mint-marks on the denarii in the form of symbols,
numbers, and letters, occur frequently, and the Serration of the edge of this
denomination is resumed, but only intermittently. Mint-letters are also occa-
sionally placed on the bronze coins.
The bronze coins are of the semuncial standard, but their issue is, as
before, somewhat irregular. Their types, both obverse and reverse, show
CIRC. B.C. 85–82; A.U.C. 669–672 317
variations, and Some, as already mentioned, are without moneyers' names but bear
the legend EX S.C., proving that these also were issued under special authority.
In one instance we meet with two moneyers, C. Cassius and L. Julius Salinator,
who strike bronze coins only, but the legend D.S.S. (De Senatus sententia)
denotes that they were exceptional (see p. 321). After B.C. 82 there is a complete
cessation of the bronze coinage at the Roman mint, and it is practically not
resumed for a period of about sixty-five years, by which time the Roman
constitution had passed from a Republic to an Empire, and Octavius had been
for Some years at the head of the State with the title of Augustus. It is most
difficult to assign any reasons or circumstances which could account for this
Suspension of the money of the baser metal, especially as for a long time
previously its coinage had been very irregular, and from this date the intercourse
with Spain, whence the supply of copper was mostly obtained, became more
intimate. It is one of those curious features of a national currency for which
a Satisfactory explanation has not been found.
According to Count de Salis's classification the appointment of the
moneyers in B.C. 85 and 82 appears to have been somewhat irregular, but
in B.C. 84 and 83 there was a triumvirate of the mint. In the first instance
the three moneyers, Gargilius, Ogulnius, and Vergilius, used only one type
for the denarius, and struck only the as in bronze, but in each case changed
the Order of their names (see pp. 333-335). In the second instance, L. Marcius
Censorinus, P. Crepusius, and C. Mamilius Limetanus struck joint as well
as separate coinages, each using for the latter a distinct type (see pp. 336-344).
Denarii only were issued by them. It is possible to account for the apparent
disorganization of the mint in B.C. 82 in the troubled state of Italy during that
year, owing chiefly to the contest between the Sullan and Marian parties, which
ended in the triumph of the former.
The same irregularity continues in the forms of the moneyers' names.
During this Period the praenomen usually accompanies the nomen or cognomen,
and in Several instances all three, praenomen, nomen, and cognomen, are met
with. To these are sometimes added the patronymic initial, and in one case
that of the grandfather (see coins of A. Postumius Albinus, p. 351). An
exception, however, occurs in the joint-issue of the triumvirs Gargilius,
Ogulnius, and Vergilius, when only the initial letters of the nomen of each
one are given. On some of the bronze coins there is considerable variation
in the reading of the moneyers' names (see p. 321 note).
CLASSIFICATION.—For the classification of the coins of this Period, the
evidence is similar to that of the previous one: viz., the provisions of the
Lea, Papiria, more especially in the institution of the bronze money of the
Semuncial standard, and the deductions to be drawn from hoards, of which,
however, the burial of only one can be assigned to these years, that of Monte
Codruzzo. So little is known of the history of most of the moneyers, that few, if
any, data are supplied from this source. It has been shown that one of the effects
of the Lea Plautia Papiria was the suppression of all the local issues and mints
in Italy, which at that time were in operation, and were producing even more
money than proceeded from the mint in the Capitol (see p. 189). The result was
that the burden of the production of the coinage of the State fell on the mint at
318 COINAGE OF ROME
Rome, and its effect was soon apparent, not only in the increase in the number of
moneyers, but also of special issues. In the various provinces of Spain, Gaul,
and the East, where there was but a very scanty supply of money of any kind,
especially of silver, the want of a currency was soon felt, particularly when
required for the payment of the soldiers. To obviate this difficulty, the central
authority at Rome, i.e., the Senate, appears to have delegated its functions to
its generals, whether as consul, proconsul, or imperator, who were empowered
to issue coins of the Roman standard, mostly in silver. This authority the
general in turn could delegate to his quaestor or proquaestor, or to Some other
officer in authority, who had the control of the finances of the army in which he
served. These coinages must not be confused with the numerous issues of the
quaestors and others who struck money of local standards, such as we meet
with at this time, and even earlier, in Sicily, Spain, Macedon, and Asia. On
most of the earlier coinages issued under these conditions, the authority of the
Senate was noted by the legend EX S. C. (Ea: Senatus consulto), but at a later
date, as the general-in-chief was acting within the acknowledged limit of his
functions, the use of this formula became no longer a necessity. The earliest
of these military coinages, mummi castrenses, made their appearance about B.C. 82,
and were struck in the East, in Gaul, and in Spain. In the East there are the
gold and silver coins issued by Sulla in his own name only, or in those of his pro-
quaestor, L. Manlius, and quaestor, A. Manlius (Babelon, vol. i., p. 406, nos. 28, 29;
pp. 410-413, nos. 38-43, 46,47). Another coinage, also in gold and silver, is without
a moneyer's name, and has only the initial O., showing that it was issued by a
quaestor (Babelon, vol. i., pp. 408, 409, nos. 32, 33). These coins were struck
during B.C. 82–80. In Gaul the only coinage of this period is that of the pro-
praetor, C. Valerius Flaccus as Imperator, B.C. 82 (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 513, no. 12),
and in Spain we have the silver coinages of the proconsul, C. Annius Luscus,
bearing also the names of his quaestors, L. Fabius Hispaniensis and C. Tarqui-
tius, B.C. 82–80 (Babelon, vol. i., pp. 139-142, nos. 1-5); of Quintus Caecilius
Metellus Pius as Imperator, B.C. 79–77 (Ib., vol. i., p. 275, nos. 43, 44), and of
Cnaeus Cornelius Lentulus, who probably acted as quaestor to Pompey, B.C. 76–
72 (Ib., Vol. i., p. 417, nos. 54, 55). The number of issues in Spain at this time
was due to the prolonged war with Sertorius, which lasted from B.C. 82–72, the
period over which they extended. From that time these military coinages
were not continued, and the first general to resuscitate them was Julius
Caesar, who, in B.C. 50–49, struck denarii in Gaul, having on the obverse an
elephant and his name, CAESAR, and on the reverse the emblems of the
pontificate (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 10, no. 9). From that date military coins
were general, and are met with, in gold, silver, and bronze, in all the chief
provinces, Spain, Gaul, the East, Sicily, Africa, and Cyrenaica. As these issues
usually bear the names of the imperators, proconsuls, &c., who struck them,
or Ordered them to be struck, their precise dates can be determined. When
they occur in finds they are, on that account, invaluable evidence for ascer-
taining the sequence of the issues of the Roman mint, as most of the moneyers
there are only known from their coins. The first occurrence of these military
issues in the hoards, which have been analysed, was in that of Monte Codruzzo,
the date of the burial of which was circ, B.C. 82. The coins there present were
CIRC. B.C. 85–82; A.U.C. 669–672 319
those of the proconsul, C. Annius Luscus, and of the propraetor, C. Valerius
Flaccus, which are attributed to that date. Those issued in the East by
Sulla and his proquaestor, L. Manlius, had evidently not yet found their way
into Italy. In the account of later hoards it will be seen that correspondingly
later military coins are met with. They are, therefore, criteria which are very
material in ascertaining the chronology of the coinage of this and later times.
The Monte Codruzzo hoard consisted of some 5,000 pieces, of which 4,734
were examined by Borghesi, and described by Cavedoni (Ripostigli, pp. 19 f.).
This find is one of the most complete ever unearthed, as in it were represented
nearly all the issues bearing moneyers' names from the earliest time to the date
of its burial. It appears to have consisted of denarii only, and of the early
issues there were ninety-seven pieces, but Cavedoni does not mention whether
any bore moneyers’ symbols. As it included the coins of many issues not
present in the Fiesole, Fuscaldo, Cingoli, and Romagnano Sesia hoards, its
burial must have happened some years afterwards. Of the later moneyers
represented the following may be mentioned with the number of examples
and probable dates of their coinages:—C. Licinius L. F. Macer (15); Manius
Fonteius (41); L. Julius Bursio (167), and P. Furius Crassipes (31), B.C. 85;
the joint-moneyers, Gargilius, Ogulnius, and Vergilius (4 with their names,
and 194 without), B.C. 84; L. Marcius Censorinus and his colleagues,
P. Crepusius, and C. Mamilius Limetanus (32), B.C. 83; and Q. Antonius
Balbus (13), and C. Norbanus (12), B.C. 82. All these coins were well pre-
served, and some are described as being a fleur de coin. In addition there were
coins of C. Annius Luscus, proconsul in Spain B.C. 82–80, and of C. Valerius
Elaccus, propraetor in Gaul B.C. 82. The date of the burial of this hoard may
therefore be fixed at some time during B.C. 82, and as it did not contain coins
of the later issues of that year, which are supposed to have been struck
after Sulla's arrival in Rome, its concealment probably occurred during the
struggle between the Sullan and Marian party which was decided by the battle
at the Colline Gate (2 Nov., B.C. 82).
320 COIN AGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Suze Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 85; A.U.C. 669 |
C. LICINIVS L. F., NAACER
(CAIUS LICINIUS LUCII FILIUS MACER")
Denarius
2467 62-7 || AR 85 | Youthful bust of Veiovis, C. LICINIVS. L. F. (in ex-
turned from the spec- NAACER
tator; head looking 1., ergue). Minerva armed
and diademed ; cloak with spear and shield
over 1. shoulder; with r. in quadriga, r., horses
hand he hurls thunder- galloping.
bolt.” [Pl. xxxviii. 8.]
(de Salis Coll.)
2468 61.5 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
2469 || 39.4 AE 8 || Similar. Similar.
(plated)
As
2470 228-0 | AF 1:05 | Head of Janus, laureate ; Prow r. ; above, warrior
above, l ; on 1., C - L|Cl standing facing, leaning
NI. L. F on spear, and dividing
legend, EX S.C.; below
warrior, NAACER
[Pl. xxxviii. 9..]
* The coinage attributed to this year seems to have been mostly of an exceptional
character. The legends EX S., C (Ea sematus consulto) on the bronze coins of C. Licinius
Macer and D. S. S (De senatus sententia) on those of C. Cassius and L. Salinator, that of
EXA. T (Ea argento publico) on the silver coins of Manius Fonteius and L. Julius Bursio,
and the issue by the curule aedile, P. Furius Crassipes, all point to special circumstances.
These issues show no traces of a mint-triumvirate, unless it may have been between C. Licinius
Macer, C. Cassius, and L. Salinator; but the last two apparently struck no silver coins, and
only issued a joint one in bronze. As we shall show, Mn. Fonteius and L. Julius Bursio may
have struck their coins in virtue of their office as quaestors. It is possible that events similar
to those which affected the coinage in the previous year (see p. 314) continued into B. c. 85,
and occasioned further special issues of money.
* This moneyer is generally identified with C. Licinius Macer, the historian and orator,
who was quaestor circ. B.C. 78; tribune of the plebs B.C. 73, and subsequently praetor, and
governor of a province. He was impeached by Cicero, B.C. 66, under the Lea de Repetundis,
and, to avoid an adverse verdict, committed suicide. Mommsen (Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., p. 452)
was of opinion that Macer filled the office of moneyer during the dictatorship of Sulla, but
the evidence of finds shows that the issue took place a few years previously.
* The obverse type of Veiovis is evidently copied from the coins of L. Caesius (Babelon,
vol. i., p. 281) which were struck at a slightly earlier date, and which Count de Salis
has attributed to a local mint (see ITALY, circ. B. c. 91). Veiovis, “the little Jupiter,”
appears to have been a Latin divinity of a destructive nature, whose lightnings produced
deafness. His cult was peculiar to Rome and Bovillae, and his temples at the former place
were between the Capitol and the Tarpeian rock, and on the island in the Tiber. He
was represented as a youthful god armed with arrows (thunderbolt P), and accompanied by
a goat (see below, p. 322), on account of which characteristics he has been identified with
Apollo. The association of this divinity in various forms with the Caesia, Fonteia, Julia, and
Licinia families may be intended to refer to their Latin origin.
The reverse type of Minerva on the denarius relates, doubtless, to some special military
success of an ancestor of the moneyer, and the figure on the reverse of the as to a naval victory.
CIRC. B.C. 85 ; A.U.C. 669 321
Metal
* "S o Q
and Swęe Obverse Reverse
No. Weight
Without moneyer’s name
With letter on reverse
2471 |221-0 | AC 1-1 || Similar; without moneyer's Similar; legend above prow,
Il&IIlê. EX. S. C only"; on prow,
letter, C (?)
2472 206-0 || AE 1.1 | Similar. Similar ; letter G
[Pl. xxxviii. 10.]
| C. CASSI: L. SALIN
(CAIUS CASSIUS:
LUCIUS [JULIUS?] SALINATOR) *
As
2473 205-0 || AE 1-05 | Head of Janus laureate ; C. CASSI b PF *
above, crescent. L. SALIN above frow r.,
inscribed D. S. S (De
Senatus sententia); be-
fore, I
[Pl. xxxix. 7.]
2474 | 181-0 || AE 1-05 | Similar. Similar.
2475 170-0 || AE 1.05 || Similar. Similar; legend above Prow,
L. ALIN (sic)
C. C. ASSI
[Pl. xxxix. 8.]
--- --
| D'Ailly (Mon. Tom., p. 536) describes specimens of the as of this type without the
moneyer's name bearing the mint-letters B, C, l, to which Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896,
p. 99, and 1900, p. 43) adds K, and Of the former on a coin in his collection, the latter
on pieces at Copenhagen and Bologna. Some are without a mint-letter. The use of letters as
mint-marks on bronze coins appears to be limited to this issue, and to the joint coinage of
Gargilius, Ogulnius, and Vergilius (see below, p. 335). Babelon (vol. i., p. 412, no. 45) has
classed this as with the coinage of Sulla, but it evidently belongs to the issue of C. Licinius
L. f. Macer. No other bronze coins of this moneyer are known.
* These moneyers are somewhat uncertain. C. Cassius may have been C. Cassius
Longinus Varus, the consul of B. c. 73, who had as his colleague M. Terentius Varro Lucullus.
It was these two consuls who brought forward the Lea Terentia, Cassia, by which corn was to be
purchased and then sold in Rome at a low price. . In the following year Varus commanded as
proconsul in Cisalpine Gaul, and was defeated by Spartacus near Mutina. His name was
included in the proscription of B. c. 43, and he was killed at Minturnae, Lucius Salinator
is unknown except from his coins, unless he was the Julius Salinator, an officer in the army of
Sertorius, who was killed in B. c. 81 (Plutarch, Sertorius, vii.).
It is difficult to account for the circumstances under which these coins were struck. Cassius
and Salinator may have been ordinary moneyers, but the presence of the letters D. S. S (De
senatus sententia) shows that the issue was probably a special one. The as is the only de-
nomination in bronze which has been met with, and no silver coins are known. No difficulty
exists in determining the approximate date of this coinage, as the as is of the semuncial
- a e C , CASSIVS C ; ASSI L., SA LIN L., SALIN L, SALI
standard. Varieties read -i ŞAïn A. i. SALIN & Assivs 3 &Aşşi & &A's;
(Bahrfeldt, Num, Zeit., 1900, p. 37).
T T
322 COIN AGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Suze
Obverse Reverse
/VV. FONEI. C. F
|
(MANIUS FONTEIUS CAII FILIUS )
Denarius
24.76 588 AR 8 Young male head, Wei- Infant winged Genius,
| Ovis, r., laureate, hair seated on goat r. ; above,
in ringlets; below, the caps of the Dios-
thunderbolt ; behind, curi; below, thyrsus,
AW. FONEI. C. F.; under with fillet ; all within
chin, monogram, Ā laurel-wreath.
(= Roma).” [Pl. xxxviii. 11.]
* This member of the Fonteia gens has been identified with the moneyer whose coins are
attributed by Count de Salis to B.C. 91 (see above, p. 192). He was quaestor circ. B. c. 85 ;
legate, B.C. 83, of Sulla, with the title of proquaestor in Further Spain, and afterwards in
Macedonia ; and praetor in Narbonese Gaul between B. c. 76–73. Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom.,
t. ii., p. 369) and Babelon (vol. i., p. 502) having assigned the earlier coins with the name of
Mn. Fonteius to circ. B. c. 104, were of opinion that the two issues were struck by different
members of the family; the former, however, would connect the above coins with the quaestor
of circ. B. c. 85. Count de Salis appears to have held the same opinion as Mommsen in
identifying the moneyer of B.C. 85 with the quaestor, but he also seems to have associated him
with the moneyer of B.C. 91, although the types of the coins of the two issues do not show
any connection. Babelon (vol. i., p. 504) ascribes the coinage of Mn. Fonteius C. f. to
circ. B. c. 88, and supposes that it was struck a year or two before he filled the office of
quaestor. Though no reference is made on the coins to the quaestorship of Mn. Fonteius, yet
the legend EX. A. T (Eu, argento publico) and the absence of the moneyer's name on some of
them certainly suggest a special issue. The similarity in these respects of the coins of
L. Julius Bursio would lead us to suppose that he was the colleague of Fonteius in the
quaestorship. Mommsen (op. cit., t. ii., p. 446) held the same view. The attribution of the
coins of Fonteius and Bursio to B c. 85 is confirmed by the evidence of finds. Coins
commemorating the military expeditions of Mn. Fonteius in Gaul during his governor-
ship were struck some years later, circ. B.C. 60, by P. Fonteius Capito (see Babelon,
vol. i., p. 509).
* The identification of this head with that of Veiovis (Babelon, vol. i., p. 505) is con-
firmed by the reverse type; for in the temple of that divinity at Rome there stood near his
statue a goat bearing a winged genius on its back, a representation of which recalls the
infancy of Jupiter, who was suckled by the goat Amaltheia on Mount Ida. Aulus Gellius
(v. 12) relates that at the festival of the god on the nones of March the usual victim was a
goat, which was sacrificed ritu hºwmamo. The caps of the Dioscuri refer to the worship of
those divinities at Tusculum, the original birth-place of the Fonteia gens. The head of
Veiovis varies somewhat in form. On some denarii the hair is arranged in thick formal
ringlets, but on others it is somewhat loose and straggling. These differences may be due to
the circumstance that the coins were struck in more than one officina, at which separate sets of
engravers were employed to execute the dies. A similar variation in the form of the head of
Apollo has been noticed on earlier coins of C. Vibius Pansa (see above, p. 290).
The monogram R has been variously explained. This is not its earliest occurrence,
as it is found on the coins of L. Caesius with the bust of Veiovis already referred to (see
p. 320), which are classed to Italy (circ. B.C. 91). Mommsen (Hwst. Anon. rom., t. ii., p. 370)
and Eckhel (Doct. num. vet., vol. v., pp. 157, 219) both interpret it as consisting of the letters
A P, and the former considered them to be the initials of Apollo, but the latter to be possibly the
initials of Arjentum Publicwm. We are unable to accept either of these interpretations from
the fact that at this period the letter A rarely occurs as A, and P is always given as ſº or ſº,
and consequently we prefer to see in this monogram the name of ROMA. There is a
distinct R, the upper part of which would form O, and the peculiar shape of A furnishes the
combination of MA (Num. Chrom., 1895, p. 162). Similar monogrammatic forms of the
name of ROMA are met with about this time as RA (see above, p. 257), and AA on coins
of L. Marcius l’hilippus (Babelon, vol ii., p. 187).
CIRC. B.C. 85; A.U.C. 669 323
No.
2477
2478
2479
2480
2481
2482
2483
Weight
64-7
62-0
60-0
57.3
63.0
67.0
61.2
- Metal
wnd. Size
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR 7
AR 75
AR, 75
AR 6
Obverse Reverse
Similar; hair in loose Similar.
locks.
Similar to no. 2476; the Similar.
head . of Veiovis with [Pl. xxxviii. 12.]
hair in ringlets; behind, (Cracherode Coll.)
MV. FONEI; below chin,
C - F ; no monogram.
Similar; hair in loose locks, Similar.
as on no. 2477. [Pl. xxxviii. 13.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar. Similar.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
Similar; hair in ringlets, as Similar; the caps of the
on no. 2476. Dioscuri are placed, one
before, the other behind
the goat, and not above.
Similar ; hair in loose locks, Similar.
as on no. 2477.
Without moneyer's name
Similar; hair in ringlets, as Similar.
on no. 2476; moneyer's [Pl. xxxviii. 14.]
name omitted, and behind
head, EX. A. T 1 (Ea ar-
gento publico).
Quinarius
Similar to the preceding Similar to the preceding
coin. coin.
[Riccio, Mon. fam. rom., tav. xx., no. 5.4]
* This formula shows that this coin, and also the following quinarius, were struck from
the reserve bullion in the public treasury, not improbably under the provisions of the
Lea, Papiria.
occur also on some of the denarii of L. Julius Bursio.
* Riccio (op. cit., p. 93) says that the quinarius which he figures was in the possession of D.
Filippo Teti in Santa Maria Maggiore. Bahrfeldt does not appear to have met with a specimen.
It has been noticed that this legend and the omission of the moneyer's name
•+-

324 COIN AGE OF ROME
No. Weight cº, Obverse Reverse
- As 1
2484 |207-0 || AE 1:1 | Head of Janus, laureate; Prow 1.; above, W. FON,
above, I surmounted by the caps
of the Dioscuri.
[Pl. xxxviii. 15.]
L. VLI. BVRSIO
(LUCIUS JULIUS BURSIO 3)
Denarius
With symbol on obverse
2485| 61-6 || AR 8 Bust of Genius r., slightly L. IVLI. BVRSIO (in ex-
draped ; head laureate ergue). Victory holding
and with wing; hair in wreath in r. hand, and
ringlets; * behind, trident reins in l., in quadriga r.,
and symbol, anchor. horses galloping.
[Pl. xxxviii. 16.]
* Babelon (vol. i., p. 508, no. 14) describes and figures the as of this type with
ROMA below the prow. On this point Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 122) quotes from a
letter which he had received from Sig. Bignami, who says that the as of this issue in his
* -- *-- ~ * *-***** which he had presented to the Museum at Turin, forming part of a
small find of about twenty asses, which consisted mainly of contemporary pieces of the mint
triumvirate, Gargilius, Ogulnius, and Vergilius, are both without the name of ROMA, and
that coins with this legend are false. In fact, Sig. Bignami adds that he had seen such a
piece in the possession of Messrs. Rollin and Feuardent at Paris, which was false. The coins of
the triumvirate, Gargilius, Ogulnius, and Vergilius, are attributed to the following year, B.C. 84.
Of this issue, Babelon (loc. cit.) also describes the semis from Riccio (Catalogo, p. 92,
no. 51), with MV. FONEl above the prow, and RoNAA below, and the uncia from Cohen (Mon.
rép. rom., p. 140, no. 9), reading W. FON, and also with ROMA below the prow. The
uncia appears to be without the caps of the Dioscuri on the reverse.
As these bronze coins are of the Semuncial standard they could not have been struck by
Manius Fonteius in B.C. 91 (see above, p. 192).
* This moneyer appears to be only known to us from his coins. The similarity of fabric of
his coins, the occurrence of the formula EXA. T. (Ea argento publico) only, without his name,
on some of the denarii, and also the issue of the quinarius, render it fairly certain that
L. Julius Bursio was the colleague of Manius Fonteius in the quaestorship. Moreover, no
less than 167 of his coins in good condition were met with in the Monte Codruzzo hoard,
together with 41 well preserved of Manius Fonteius. The variety and extent of the mint.
marks show that this issue of Bursio was a very large One.
* No satisfactory explanation has been suggested of this pantheistic head in connection
with the Julia gems. It unites the attributes of Apollo, Mercury, and Neptune. The associa-
tion of the last two divinities was not unusual in early Roman mythology, and at the first
lectisternium held at Rome in B.C. 399, Neptune was specially coupled with Mercury (Darem-
berg et Saglio, Dict, des Antiq. grec. et rom., s.v. Lectistermium). In consequence of the interest
taken by the Julia gens in the cult of Veiovis, Babelon (vol. ii., p. 6) would see in the head a
representation of that divinity, and he refers to an archaic inscription found in 1845 on the
Appian Way, near the sacrarium of the Julia gens: $ºğ. ºf (Ern. Desjardins,
CIRC. B.C. 85 ; A.U.C. 669 325
No. Weight a.º. Obverse Reverse
2486 || 57-3 || AR 7 || Similar; symbol, bird fly- Similar.
ing. (Nott)
2487 589 || AR 7 |Similar; symbol, bird stand. Similar.
ing (eagle). (Nott)
2488 58:1 | AR 8 Similar; symbol, bow and Similar.
arrow crossed. (Nott)
2489 60-0 || AR 75 Similar; symbol, bow and Similar.
arrow side by side.
2490 57.6 | AR 7 || Similar; symbol, bowl with Similar.
grapes. (Nott)
2491 60-3 || AR 8 Similar; symbol, cap with Similar.
pedum.
2492 55.5 | AR 75 Similar; symbol, curule | Similar.
chair. (Nott)
2493 55.8 || AR 8 || Similar; symbol, fly. Similar.
2494 55-3 || AR 7 || Similar; symbol, grass- || Similar.
hopper.
2495 || 60-7 || AR 8 Similar; symbol, running Similar.
hare.
2496 || 61-3 || AR 75 Similar; symbol, head of Similar.
Silenus. (Blacas Coll.)
2497 59.6 || AR “75 | Similar; symbol, knife. Similar.
2498 || 587 | AR “75 Similar; symbol, palm- Similar.
branch. (Blacas Coll.)
2499 || 59-7 || AR “75 Similar; symbol, scales. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Topographie du Latium, pp. 120, 249). This identification is, however, open to question from
more than one point of view, chiefly on account of the absence of the thunderbolt, the main
attribute of Veiovis. The similar treatment of the head on the coins of Bursio to that on the
coins of Fonteius may be due to contemporary design rather than to similarity of type.
The type of the reverse is of so general a character that it cannot be specially applied to any
particular member of the moneyer's family. Bursio uses a variety of mint-marks consisting of
symbols, numbers, and letters. Babelon (vol. ii., p. 7) gives illustrations of the symbols which
occur on the obverse behind the bust of the Genius. Sometimes the letters are accompanied
by one or two pellets, and, on a large series, two letters are placed in juxtaposition on the
reverse. There exists a hybrid formed of the obverse of the denarius of L. Julius Bursio,
and the reverse of that of M. Durmius, who was a triumvir of the mint under Augustus at a
much later date, circ. B. c. 14 (Bahrfeldt, Zeit. f. Num., 1877, p. 37).
There are no bronze coins known of Bursio.
326 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
2500 59.8 || AR 8 || Similar; symbol, stag. Similar.
2501 || 59.3 | AR 75 Similar; symbol, sword | Similar.
º (gladius).
2502 || 55.8 || AR 75 Similar; symbol, syrinx. Similar.
2503 || 60:8 || AR 7 || Similar; symbol, voting Similar.
tablet.
2504 || 59-7 || AR “75 Similar; symbol, vase with Similar.
two handles and cover. (Nott)
2505 || 56.1 | AR 75 Similar; symbol, vine-leaf. Similar.
2506 || 56.5 | AR 8 || Similar; symbol, wheel. Similar.
2507 || 62.5 | AR 7 || Similar; symbol, wing. Similar.
With symbol on obverse and number on reverse
SERIES I.
2508 || 602 || AR 8 || Bust of Genius r., &c.; L. IVLI. BVRSIO (in ex-
similar to no. 2485; ergue). Victory in quad-
behind, symbol, human riga r., &c., similar to
foot. no. 2485; below, num-
ber I
[Pl. xxxviii. 17.]
(Nott)
2509 || 55.8 || AR 8 || Similar; symbol, palm- || Similar; number II
branch.
2510 || 57-0 || AR 8 || Similar; symbol, head of Similar; number V
prow.
2511 54-0 || AR 85 Similar; symbol, human Similar; number VI
€3.I.
* At this point the numbers appear to have been placed above the quadriga, instead of
below it.
CIRC. B.C. 85 ; A.U.C. 669
327
No.
Obverse
Reverse
SERIES II.
Similar; symbol, head of
prow.
Similar; symbol, fish.
Similar; same symbol.
Similar; symbol, sword
(gladius).
Similar; symbol, rat.
Similar; symbol,
head.
poppy-
Similar; symbol, club.
Similar; symbol,
branch (?).
palm-
Similar; symbol, vine-leaf.
| Similar; symbol, bow.
Similar; symbol, lyre-key.
Similar; symbol, anchor.
Similar; symbol, stilus.
Similar; symbol, bird with
extended wings.
Similar; symbol, staff with
double hook.
Similar; symbol, scales.
Similar; symbol, helmet
Similar ; above quadriga,
number VI
Similar; number XV
Similar ; same number.
[Pl. xxxix. 1.]
Similar; number XVI
(Nott)
number XVII
Similar;
Similar; number XX
Similar; number XXTI
number XXVIII
(Nott)
number XXVIII]
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar; number XXXXT
number XXXXI
Similar ;
number XXXXII
(Nott)
Similar;
number LTI
(Nott)
Similar ;
Similar;
number LVI (?)
(Nott) -
number LVTTI
(Nott)
Similar ;
*
Similar; number LVIIll
number 1XI
(Nott)
Similar ;
251.2
2513
2514
ams
2516
2517
2518
2519
Weight
62.6
61.7
59.7
51-6
55.7
61-6
60-3
66-0
60-7
61:0
54-3
55-9
60-8
63-4
60-8
53-2
61-8
Metal
and Size
AR 8
AR 85
AR 85
AR 8
AR 85
AR 8
AR 8
AR. 8
AR. ''Wä
AR 8
AR -8
AR 8
AR -8
AR -8
AR -8
AR, 75
AR -8
with crest.
1 This coin shows that the same number occurs with different symbols on the obverse;
also symbols are repeated with different numbers.
The latter run to CL at least.
328
COINAGE OF ROME
Weight
60-8
63.0
57.5
54.8
56-7
57.8
57.7
No.
2529
25.30
2531
2532
2533
2534
2535
2536
2537
2.538
2539
2540
2541
2542
2544
2545
2546
2547
2548
53-3
59.3
61-0
60-9
60-2
59.3
58-3
59-9
64-6
55-9
60.4
60-8
Metal
and Size
AR, 8
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR. - •75
AR, 8
AR 85
AR. 8
AR, 9
AR. 8
AR, 75
AR. 75
AR. '85
AR 85
AR 85
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR. 75
AR. 8
AR, 8
AR 75
Obverse
Similar; symbol, bow.
Similar; symbol, cup with
two handles (?).
Similar; symbol, lotus
flower.
Similar; symbol, two-
handled vase with cover.
Similar; same symbol.
Similar; symbol, helmet
with crest.
Similar; symbol, staff.
Similar; symbol, boat.
Similar; symbol, staff.
Similar; symbol, trident
entwined with serpent.
Similar; same symbol.
Similar; symbol, goat's
head.
Similar; symbol, human
€8. I’.
Similar; symbol, winged
thunderbolt.
Similar ; symbol, laureate
head.
Similar; fire-
stove (?).
symbol,
Similar ; symbol, harpa.
Similar; symbol, city walls
with gate.
Similar; symbol, bow and
quiver.
Similar; symbol, Cupid. '
Similar;
Reverse
Similar; number IXIT
Similar ; number LXIll
Similar; number LXTTT
(Nott)
Similar; number 1XVT
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; number LXVTTTI
(Nott)
Similar ; number LXXI
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; number LXXVI
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar; number LXXVITT
number LXXXV
Similar ;
number LXXXX
(Nott)
Similar ;
same number.
(Nott)
number LXXXXV
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar ; number Cl
Similar ; number CV
number CXVI
Similar ;
number CXXIIII
Similar ;
number CXXXI
(Nott)
number CXXXVI
Similar ;
Similar;
number CXXXXTI
Similar ;
number CXXXXVI
CIRC. B.C. 85; A.U.C. 669
329
No.
2549
2550
2551
2552
2556
2557
2558
2559
2560
2561
2562
2563
Weight
65.0
59-0
52-5
58-5
60-8
55.6
57.6
59.7
60.1
62.8
43-0
59.6
61:0
61-6
61.6
Metal
and Size
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR 85
AR -75
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR 8
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR 8
AR 8
AR. 8
AR. 8
Obverse
Reverse
With symbol on obverse and letter on reverse'
Bust of Genius r., &c.,
similar to no. 2485;
behind, symbol, club.
Similar; symbol, anchor.
Similar; symbol, toothed
harpa.
Similar ; symbol, head of
prow.
Similar; symbol, open hand.
Similar; symbol, strigil.
Similar; symbol, two wings.
L. IVLI. BVRSIO (in ex-
ergue). Victory in quad-
riga r., &c., similar to no.
2485; above, letter B.’
[Pl. xxxix. 2.]
Similar ; letter C.
Similar ; letter : H
Similar ; letter I :
(Nott)
Similar ; letter : L
Similar ; letter T.
Similar ; letter : O.
With symbol on obverse and two letters on reverse?
SERIES I.
Bust of Genius r., &c., L. IVLI. BVRSIO (in ex-
similar to no. 2485; ergue). Victory in quad-
behind, symbol, strung
bow with arrow, fixed.
Similar ; symbol, strigil.
Similar; symbol, bucra-
nium.
Similar; symbol, stilus (?).
Similar ; symbol, sceptre.
Similar; symbol, shield and
Spear.
Similar; symbol, crescent.
Similar; symbol, fish.
riga r., &c., similar to
no. 2485; below horses,
letters BV
Similar; letters co
(Nott)
Similar; letters DV
Similar; same letters.
[Pl. xxxix. 3..]
Similar ; letters Fl
Similar ; letters GE
Similar ; letters NA
Similar ; letters TO
* The letters on this series are generally accompanied by one or two dots. A dot some-
times occurs on the obverse below the bust.
? Of this variety there are two series: one with letters below the quadriga; the other
This double letter seems to run from BA, B E, B1, BO, BV, CA, CE, &c.,
with letters above.
and similarly through the alphabet to ZV, the second letter being always a vowel (Babelon,
vol ii., p. 8).
U U.
330
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
2564
2565
2566
2567
2568
2569
2570
2571
2572
2573
2574
2575
2576
2577
2578
2579
2580
Weight
64.5
57.4
59.6
61-6
61:0
57.5
60-0
60-0
55.7
57-0
56-7
61.5
58-0
61.2
61.7
55.8
60-0
2581
58.0
Metal
and Size
AR.
AR.
AR.
AR
:
•85
'85
•85
•85
•85
-85
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
head.
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
€8]".
Similar ;
Similar ;
head.
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
€8,I'.
Obverse
symbol, pincers.
symbol, dolphin.
symbol, fish.
symbol, spear.
symbol, cista.
Reverse
Similar ; letters TV
Similar ; letters O.A
(Nott)
Similar ; letters OLE
(Nott)
Similar ; letters O.O
(Nott)
Similar ; letters RE
SERIES II.
symbol, crocodile.
symbol, club.
symbol, poppy-
symbol, caduceus.
symbol, pedum.
symbol, syrinx.
symbol, human
symbol, branch.
symbol, horse's
symbol, sceptre.
symbol, scales.
symbol, mallet. .
symbol, human
Similar; letters above quad-
riga, BV
(Nott)
Similar; letters CA
(Nott)
Similar ; letters CO
(Nott)
Similar ; letters DE
Similar; same letters.
[Pl. xxxix. 4.]
Similar ; letters DV
Similar ; letters GO
(Nott)
Similar ; letters HE
Similar ; letters IA
(Nott)
Similar ; letters IO
Similar; letters kA
Similar ; letters kV
Similar ; letters LA
CIRC. B.C. 85 ; A.U.C. 669
331
No.
2582
2583
2584
2585
2586
2587
2588
2589
2590
2591
2592
2593
2594
2595
2596
2597
2598
2599
Weight
57.8
59.8
61:0
60-4
61.2
56-8
59-0
59.5
58-1
57.3
55.5
59.7
52-5
61-8
60-7
57.3
60-8
61-3
Metal
and Size
AR. 8
AR 75
AR. 75
AR. 8
AR 85
AR. 8
AR. '85
AR 8
AR. 75
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR. '85
AR. 8
AR. '85
AR 85
AR, 8
AR. 8
AR •75
Obverse
Similar; symbol, head-
dress of Isis.
Similar ; symbol, bucra-
nium.
Similar ; symbol, cista.
Similar; symbol, pedum.
Similar; symbol, tortoise.
Similar; symbol, bipennis.
Similar ; symbol, scorpion.
Similar ; symbol, vase with
two handles and cover.
Similar; symbol, caduceus.
Similar; symbol, staff with
double hook.
Similar; symbol, stilus (?).
Similar ; symbol, rudder.
Similar; symbol, shield and
Spear.
Similar; symbol, shield.
Similar; symbol, carpenter's
brace.
Reverse
Similar ; letters LV
Similar ; letters NWA
(Nott)
Similar ; letters NE
(Nott)
Similar; same letters.
(Nott)
Similar ; letters TV
Similar ; letters O.A
Similar ; letters O.E
Similar ; letters Oll
Similar ; letters RO
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar ; same letters.
Similar ; letters RV
Similar ; letters Sl
Similar ; letters TE
Similar ; letters Tl
Similar ; letters TO
With number on obverse and two letters on reverse
Bust of Genius *
similar to no. 2485;
behind, number XVII
T.,
Similar ; number LXXII
Similar ; same number.
L. IVLI. BVRSIO (in ex-
ergue). Victory in quad-
riga r., &c., similar to
no. 2485; below horses,
letters CE
Similar ; letters CO
[Pl. xxxix. 5.]
(Nott)
Similar ; letters GO
(Nott)
332 COINAGE OF ROME
º M
No. Weight º's. Obverse Reverse
Without moneyer's name
With symbol on obverse
2600|| 596 || AR 7 Head of Genius r., &c., EX. A. T. (Ea argento pub-
similar to no. 2485; lico)" (in exergue). Vic-
behind, symbol, bow. tory in quadriga r., &c.,
similar to no. 2485.
2601 || 627 | AR 75 Similar; symbol, pruning Similar.
knife (?) [Pl. xxxix. 6.]
(Blacas Coll.)
2602 || 60-0 || AR 75 Similar; symbol, scorpion. Similar.
2603 || 606 || AR 75 Similar; symbol, sword Similar.
(gladius).
Quinarius
182 | AR 55 Bust of Genius r., slightly Cupid winged, naked,
draped ; head laureate standing r., and attempt-
and with wing ; hair in ing to break thunderbolt
ringlets. with his l. knee.”
[Babelon, vol. ii., p. 8, no. 7.]
Tº . FOVRIVS CRASSITES.”
(PUBLIUS FOURIUS CRASSIPES)
Denarius
2604 || 64-3 || AR 8 Turreted head of the City r., |A curule chair with em-
hair falling in two locks broidered seat, and in-
down the neck; wearing scribed, T. FOVRIVS; in
earring and necklace; be- exergue, CRASSITES
hind, AED . CVR (Aedilis [Pl. xxxix. 9..]
Curulis), and a deformed
foot turned upwards.
2605 | 617 | AR 8 |Similar; foot turned down-i Similar.
wards.
| For other coins with this legend struck by Manius Fonteius, the colleague of L. Julius
Bursio, see above, p. 323.
* This reverse type appears to refer to the origin of the Julia gens, which claimed its
descent from Iulus, the son of Venus and Anchises. Bahrfeldt states that the only specimen
of this coin which he has met with is in the D’Ailly collection. From its weight he thinks it
is a sestertius, not a quinarius.
* P. Fourius Crassipes is only known from his coins. It is, however, not improbable that
he was the father of Fourius Crassipes, who, in B.C. 56, married Tullia, the daughter of
Cicero, and was at a later date proguaestor in Sicily, as there are bronze coins, as and
quadrans, bearing the name of CRASSIPES, which are attributed to Panormus (see
B.M. Cat., Gr. Coins, Sicily, p. 127). The above coins were struck by P. Fourius Crassipes

CIRC. B.C. 84 ; A.U.C. 670 333
Metal
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 84 ; A.U.C. 670
GAR : OCV : VER
(GARGILIUS: OGULNIUS: VERGILIUS) '
Denarius
With letter on reverse
2606 || 59-7 || AR 75 | Head of young Jupiter r., Jupiter in quadriga r.,
wearing oak-wreath ; hair horses galloping; he
arranged in Small ring- holds thunderbolt in r.
lets; below, thunderbolt.* hand, and reins in 1. ;
below horses, GAR ; in
exergue, OC V . VE R ;
above quadriga, letter H
[Pl. xxxix. 10.]
(Nott)
2607 || 60-6 || AR 75 Similar; countermark on Similar; CAR (for GAR),
cheek, circle. and letter T -
[Pl. xxxix. 11.]
in virtue of his office of curule aedile, and they are therefore a special issue, probably to meet
some extraordinary expenditure connected with a largesse of corn.
The curule chair is one of the symbols of office of the curule aedile as distinguished from
the subselliwm, which was the official seat of the plebeian aedile. The head of the City (Roma)
on the obverse refers, no doubt, to the urban duties of the curule aedile, which included the
superintendence of the public baths, fountains, aqueducts, &c., and the deformed foot is a type
parlamt of the name of Crassipes. These coins were found in considerable number (thirty-one)
in the Monte Codruzzo hoard. A variety reads CRASSVPES. This moneyer does not seem
to have struck any bronze money. ... •
* In this issue we have absolute evidence of a monetary triumvirate, since each
name represents a separate individual. Mommsen (Hist. mom. Tom., t. ii., p. 451) would
recognise in the inscription, not the gentile names (gentilicia) but the surnames (cognomina);
for at this time, he says, the nomen only does not occur on coins. He would therefore erase
from the list of moneyers any member of the Gargilia, Ogulnia, or Vergilia gens, but he
adds:–“ Mais il faut avouer que les légendes ainsi rétablies n'en sont peut-être plus
difficiles à compléter.” If, on the other hand, the names are gentile names, there is no
difficulty in explaining them, though at the time when the coins were struck, there are no
other records of any member either of the Gargilia, Ogulnia, or Vergilia gens.
In the inscriptions the letters G and C are sometimes interchanged, so that GAR
becomes CAR ; but, on the the coins in the National Collection, OCVL, and not OGVL, only
occurs. A is also given as A or A. Varieties of the denarius and of the as were produced
by permutation of the respective places of the names, so that each moneyer could claim a
separate issue as his own particular coinage. The only mint-mark used is a letter of the
alphabet, which is met with on most of the bronze coins and on all those of silver. The mint-
marks in the form of letters on the bronze coins are exceptional, and the only other instance
which we have noticed is on those of C. Licinius Macer (see above, p. 321).
There is a series of denarii of this issue without the moneyers’ names (see nos. 2622-4,
p. 335). They resemble in this respect the coins of the previous year of Mn. Fonteius and
L. Julius Bursio (see above, pp. 323, 332); but they do not bear the legend EX, A, T,
* The head on the obverse being very similar in treatment and style to that on the coins
of Mn. Fonteius, Babelon (vol. i., p. 532) has identified it with Apollo Veiovis, but Mommsen
(Hist, mom. rom., t. ii., p. 452) describes it as the head of the young Jupiter, which, taken in
conjunction with the type of the reverse, seems the more probable identification. Any further
explanation of this type seems impossible, but Dr. H. Willers (Num. Anzeig., 1899, p. 402) would
find a clue in the passage of Livy (l. x., 23), who says that in B.C. 296 the curule aediles,
Cn. and Q. Ogulnius, prosecuted several persons for violating the usury laws, and with the
money accruing from fines executed many public works and statues, amongst which was
Jupiter in a quadriga, which was placed in the temple of the god on the Capitol.
334
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
2608
2609
2610
2611
2612
2613
2614
2615
Metal
and Size
AR 75
AR, 75
AR •75
AR 7
AR •7
AR •75
AR. 8
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR 7
AR. '8
AR. 75
AR. 75
Obverse
Similar; no countermark.
Similar.
Similar; countermark on
cheek, six-rayed star.
Similar ; no countermark.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
| Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse
Similar; below horses,
GAR ; in exergue, VFR .
OCV ; above quadriga,
letter A
[Pl. xxxix. 12.]
Similar ; letter I
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; letter R ; and GAR
for GAR
Similar ; below horses,
OCV ; in exergue, GAR .
\ER ; above quadriga,
letter L
[Pl. xxxix. 13.]
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; same letter.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
Similar ; letter O.
(Nott)
Similar ; letter V
Similar ; below horses,
\ER ; in exergue, GAR .
OCV ; 1 above quadriga,
letter B
Similar ; letter C ; and GAR
for GAR
(Blacas Coll.)
- Similar; letter E; and read-
ing GAR
Similar ; letter N
Similar ; letter O
Similar ; letter R
[Pl. xxxix. 14.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar ; letter S
(Nott)
2616
26.17
2618
2619
2620
2621
Weight
59.3
59-6
56-8
59.4
59-0
62.6
55.0
56-8
50:1
58-1
61:0
61:0
51.7
58-7
* Varieties read OCV . VER, GAR, and VER , OC.V., GAR. These denarii are found with
the countermark of Vespasian (Bahrfeldt, Zeit. f. Nwmv., 1876, p. 364).
CIRC. B.C. 84; A.U.C. 670 335
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
Without moneyers' names'
2622 | 64.8 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar ; no moneyers'
names, and no mint-
letter.
[Pl. xxxix. 15.]
2623 || 58.9 || AR 75 | Similar. Similar.
2624 56.6 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
As
With lette," on reverse
2625 203-0 || AE 1.05 | Head of Janus laureate ; GA& . OCV . VE R above
above, I Prow 1.
[Pl. xxxix. 16.]
2626 207-0 || AE 1.05 || Similar. Similar ; moneyers’ names,
* GA, . VER . OCV.
(Blacas Coll.)
2627 | 159-0 || AE 1-05 || Similar. Similar; moneyers' names,
OCV . GA. . VER ; before
prow, letter |
2628 210-0 || AE 1-05 || Similar. Similar; above prow, letter
2629 || 232-0 || AE 1.1 | Similar. Similar ; moneyers’ names,
OCV . VER. GA.; below
prow, letter H
2630 || 177.0 | AE 1-0 | Similar. Similar; above prow, letter
H -
2631 | 197-0 || AE 1.05 || Similar. Similar; below prow, letter
- O
2632 | 200-0 || AE 1-1 | Similar. Similar; before prow, letter
[Pl. xxxix. 17.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
2633 191-0 | AF 1-05 || Similar. Similar; moneyers' names,
VFR - OCV. GAR, ; no letter
before prow.”
[Pl. xxxix. 18 rev.]
r–
| From the evidence of finds it would appear that these coins without legends were struck
in much greater number than those with the moneyers’ names; for in the Monte Codruzzo
hoard there were 194 specimens of the former as against 4 of the latter (all well preserved),
and in the Santa Anna find the numbers were 29 to 1. It is not impossible that with these
anepigrapºrous coins some of the bronze pieces of the semuricial standard without moneyers’
names were issued (see above, p. 283). Their fabric is not unlike that of the bronze coins of
Gargilius and his associates.
* Another variety of the as reads \E R. GAR , OCV. The as is the only denomination
in bronze known of these moneyers. On some specimens the mint-letter does not occur.
336 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 83; A.U.C. 671
| L. CENSORIN : T. CRETVSI: C. LINMETAN'
(LUCIUS [MARCIUS] CENSORINUS: PUBLIUS
CREPUSIUS: CAIUS [MAMILIUS] LIMETANUS)
Denarius
With number on reverse
2634 || 60:8 || AR 7 | Bust of Venus” r., diademed Venus, naked, in biga r.,
and veiled, and wearing horses galloping; she
earring and necklace; holds reins with both
behind, L. CENSORIN hands and goad in r.;
below horses, T.CRETVS;
in exergue, C.LINMETAN;
above biga, number || 8
(Blacas Coll.)
2635 | 52-0 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar ; same number.
[Pl. xl. 1.]
2636 | 61-3 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar ; below horses,
C. LINAEA ; in exergue,
T.CRETVSI; above biga,
number VI ||
(Blacas Coll.)
2637 | 60.8 || AR 65 || Similar. Similar ; number XVII
1 This is another instance of an undoubted triumvirate of the mint, the members of which
issued a separate as well as a joint-coinage. Little appears to be known of all three moneyers
beyond what we learn from their coins, so that in fixing the approximate date of their tenure of
office we have to depend mainly on the evidence of finds.
Lucius Marcius Censorinus may have been a younger brother of C. Marcius Censorinus,
who filled the office of moneyer circ. B.C. 87 (see above, p. 301), and he is generally considered
to be the father of L. Marcius L. f. Censorinus, one of the most ardent supporters of Mark
Antony, who was praetor B.C. 43, and consul B.C. 39. As the name of L. Censorinus always
occurs on the obverse, when given in conjunction with those of his colleagues, it may be
presumed that he was considered the chief member of the triumvirate.
Of Publius Crepusius nothing appears to be known beyond what information can be
gathered from his coins. The Crepusia gens figures but little in Roman history, and this is
the only member who held the office of moneyer.
Caius Mamilius Limetanus is also only known to us as a moneyer. He may, however, have
been the son of the tribune of the plebs of the same name, who, in B.C. 110, carried a law to
inquire into the cases of those who had assisted Jugurtha in his opposition to the senate.
The coins (denarii) of all these moneyers are very similar in style and fabric, being in
somewhat higher relief than those of the immediately preceding years, and being struck on
smaller flams. From the variety of their mint-marks it would appear that the separate issues
of these moneyers, especially that of P. Crepusius, were much more extensive than their joint-
issue. This triumvirate did not strike any bronze coins, either collectively or separately, bearing
their names.
* As in their separate issues each moneyer used a type which referred to his own family
history, it is probable that this one of Venus does not relate to any member individually, but
that it only records generally the festival of Venus, which was held on the 1st April in
each year.
* The issue of this particular variety of the denarius was a small one, as the highest
mint-number recorded is || ||.
CIRC. B.C. 83; A.U.C. 671
337
No.
2638
2639
2640
2641
2642
2643
2644
2645
2646
2647
2648
2649
2650
2651
2652
2653
2654
Weight
57.6
58.0
55-5
58-0
53.8
55-0
58-7
57.2
60-0
57.9
55-5
60-0
59-0
59.3
wo
61-0
59.0
53-8
62.6
Metal
and Size
AR, 7
AR •65
AR. 7
AR 7
AR, 7
AR 7
AR. 65
AR 7
AR. 65
AR. 65
AR •7
AR 7
AR. 7
AR. 65
AR, 7
AR. ''/
AR 7
AR 65
AR. 65
Obverse
Similar; moneyer's name,
L. CENSORI 1
Similar; L. CENSORIN
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
|
Reverse
Similar; number XXTI
Similar ; number XXXII
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; number XXXVIII
Similar; number XXXXll
Similar ; number XXXX|| ||
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar; number LX
Similar; number LXXXVT
[Pl. xl. 2.]
Similar; number Cl
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar ; number CV
Similar; number CVI
Similar ; number C.VII
Similar; number CXIII
number CXXVll
Similar ;
Similar; number CXXVIII
number CXXX| ||
Similar ;
number CXXX|| ||
Similar;
number
CXXXX|| ||
Similar ;
Similar ; number CXXXXVI
number
CXXXXVI || 2
Similar;
1 Another variety reads L. CENSOR.
* Babelon (vol. i., p. 442) notes that these numbers run at least to CLI.
There is a hybrid
with the obverse type of this issue and the reverse type of a denarius of Q. Pomponius Musa
(Bahrfeldt, Zeit. f. Num., 1877, p. 37).
X X
338 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight Metal Obverse Reverse
and Size
L. CENSOR
(LUCIUS [MARCIUS] CENSORINUS 1)
Denarius
2657 63-0 | AR 7 | Head of Apollo r., laureate; The Satyr,” Marsyas, walk-
hair long. ing l., and carrying wine-
* skin on his shoulder; his
r. arm is raised, the hand
being extended; he is
naked except for buskins
on his feet; behind him,
column surmounted by
draped figure (Minerva?);
on 1., L. CENSOR
[Pl. xl. 3..]
(Nott)
2658 62.9 || AR 65 Similar. Similar.
2659 || 59.2 | AR •7 | Similar. Similar.
With number on reverse
2660 61-3 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar; on r. of column,
number VI 3
(Not)
* It has been mentioned above that this moneyer was one of a triumvirate of the mint,
his colleagues being Publius Crepusius and Caius Mamilius Limetanus (see p. 336), and some
particulars of his history have been given.
* The type of the coins of Censorinus evidently refers to the musical contest between Apollo
and Marsyas, which was attended with such disastrous consequences to the latter. It is difficult
to account for the selection of this type by the moneyer except, as Cavedoni (Saggio, p. 54)
remarks, that some relation may have existed between the name of Marsyas and that of
Marcia, to which gens the moneyer belonged, but this suggestion is perhaps too ingenious.
Eckhel (Doct. num, vet., t. iv., p. 493) has identified this figure of Marsyas as similar to the
statue which stood in the Forum at Rome near the rostra, the tribune, and the Puteal Libonis.
Statues of Marsyas, with one hand raised, were frequently placed in the fora of ancient cities,
which had been accorded the jus italicum, in token, according to Servius (in Aeneid, iv. 58) of
the freedom of the state, since he was a minister of Bacchus, the god of liberty. Martial
(ii. 64, 7) thus refers to him in this capacity —
. . . . Fora litibws onvnia fervent :
Ipse potes fieri, Marsya, causidicus.
It seems not improbable, however, that the statue, standing in the place where justice was
administered, was intended to relate to the contest between Marsyas and Apollo, and to
demonstrate the severe punishment of arrogant presumption. The figure on the column
behind Marsyas is uncertain. It is draped, and appears to hold a spear and a shield, and as
such, may be of Minerva or Athene, whose flute Marsyas stole; but others (Cavedoni,
Ripostigli, p. 105) would recognize in it that of a comedian, which was erected on the
Vulcanal, and is mentioned by Festus (s. v. Statua).
Judging from the mint-marks the separate coinage of Censorinus was not a large
one. Babelon (vol. ii., p. 195) says that the letters used as mint-marks are placed upright
or sideways. The few specimens in the British Museum have, apparently, the letters
sideways only.
* This appears to be the highest number recorded (Babelon, loc. cit.).
CiRC. B.C. 83; A.U.C. 671 339
No. Weight *f i. Olverse Reverse
With symbol on obverse and letter on reverse
2661 57.8 || AR 7 || Similar; before head of Similar; on right of
Apollo, symbol, trident. column, letter ×
2662 | 62-3 || AR 7 || Similar; behind head, sym- || Similar; letter -
bol, vine-leaf.
2663 602 || AR 65 | Similar; before head, sym- Similar; letter O
bol, spear-head." [Pl. xl. 4.]
(Nott)
To . CRETVSI
(PUBLIUS CREPUSIUS”)
Denarius
With symbol on obverse and number on reverse
2664 57.0 | AR 7 | Head of Apollo r., laureate; P : CRETVSI (in exergue).
behind, sceptre; below | Horseman galloping r.,
chin, symbol, ear of corn. hurling spear; behind,
number XXVIII
2665, 580 | AR 75|Similar; same smybol. Similar; number LXXVITT
[Pl. xl. 5.]
2666 62.1 | AR 7 || Similar; symbol, grass- Similar; number LXXX
hopper. (Blacas Coll.)
2667 57-0 || AR 7 || Similar; same symbol. Similar ; number
LXXXXVIII
2668 54.8 || AR 7 || Similar; symbol, ear of Similar; number CV
COTIl. -
1 Babelon (vol. ii., p. 195) mentions several other symbols.
° Our very limited information about the Crepusia gens (see notice of the moneyer above,
p. 336) renders any explanation of the types of the coins of P. Crepusius a matter of conjecture.
|He is the only member of his family who appears to have held the office of moneyer. The
Head of Apollo would suggest some special cult of that divinity by the family, and the warrior on
the reverse probably refers to some act of bravery on the part of an ancestor of the moneyer.
This coinage was a very large one, as three different series of mint-marks were used,
consisting of symbols, letters, and numbers; the last only being found on the reverse. When
a symbol occurs on the obverse, the number on the reverse reaches at least to CV,
when a letter is placed on the obverse, the number on the reverse reaches to XXXVII at
least, but when we have both a symbol and a letter on the obverse the number extends to
BVI. As each numeral in each series represents a fresh die, the number of dies was very
large, and the activity at the mint must have been extraordinary, especially when it is taken
into consideration that all these dies, as well as those of the two other moneyers and their
joint-issue, were made in one year.
340 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal,
© bverse Reverse
and Size Obv
No. Weight
TWith letter on obverse and number on reverse'
2669 || 62.1 | AR 75 | Similar; below chim of Similar; behind horseman
Apollo, letter E number lll
2670 60:8 || AR 7 || Similar; letter F Similar; number VIIll
[Pl. xl. 6.]
2671 635 | AR 7 || Similar ; letter B Similar; number XV
2672 54'4 || AR 7 || Similar; letter | Similar; number XXVI
With symbol and letter on obverse and number on reverse”
2673 || 60-0 || AR 7 || Similar; below chin of Similar ; behind horseman,
Apollo, symbol, thunder- number Ill
bolt; behind head, letter
A
2674 || 57-0 || AR 75 |Similar; symbol, flabellum; Similar; number VI
letter A
2675 62.1 | AR “75 Similar; same symbol; Similar; number XXV
letter N
2676 605 || AR 7 || Similar; symbol, thunder- Similar; number XXXV
- bolt; letter B
2677 || 56.8 || AR 7 || Similar; same symbol; Similar; number L
letter H
2678 61.5 | AR 7 || Similar; same symbol; Similar; number LXV
letter O
2679 56.2 | AR 7 Similar; symbol, flabel- || Similar; number LXVII
lum (?); letter k (Cracherode Coll.)
2680 | 60-0 | AR 7 || Similar; symbol, grass- || Similar; number LXXIIII
- hopper ; letter L [Pl. xl. 7.]
2681 | 64.9 || AR 7 || Similar; symbol, thunder- || Similar; number LXXVI
bolt; letter S
1 There does not seem to be any consecutive relation between the letters on the obverse
and the numbers on the reverse of this series. Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 103) mentions
that in the catalogue of the collection of Sen. Manuel Vidal Quadras y Ramon, at Barcelona, a
denarius is described with XXXXXI on the reverse and the letter A on the obverse, and also
one with CCCCLXXXVII on the reverse and no symbol or letter on the obverse.
* In this series there appears also not to be any consecutive relation between the numbers
on the reverse and the letters on the obverse. The same symbols appear occasionally to have
been used with certain sets of numbers. The letter on the obverse is usually placed in a
horizontal position. - -
CIRC. B.C. 83; A.U.C. 671
341
No.
2682
2683
2684
2685
2686
2687
2688
2689
2690
2691
2692
2693
2694
2695
2696
2697
2698
2699
Weight
62-3
63-0
62.1
58.2
60-2
58.2
60-0
63.0
60-7
63.5
60-0
48.7
59.8
59.3
57-0
62-8
64'2
62.5
Metal
and Size
AR. 7
AR. '7
AR. 65
AR, 7
AR. 75
AR 75
AR, 7
AR 7
AR. '75
AR •7
AR 7
AR 75
AR 7
AR 7
AR. 7
A
AR 7
AR 7
Obverse
Similar; symbol,
pion (?); letter O
SCOT-
Similar; symbol, vine-leaf;
letter NW
Similar; same symbol;
letter k
Similar; same symbol;
letter X
Similar; symbol, sceptre;
letter C
Similar; same symbol;
letter D
Similar; symbol, flower ;
letter O -
Similar; symbol, bird
(crow); letter B
Similar; symbol, sceptre;
letter D
Similar; symbol, poppy-
head; letter T •
Similar; symbol, bird
(crow); letter H
Similar ; symbol, poppy-
head; letter S
Similar; symbol, bird
(crow); letter X
Similar; symbol, lizard;
letter E
Similar ; same symbol;
letter T
Similar; symbol, rake;
letter A
Similar; symbol, lizard;
letter X
Similar; symbol, human
ear; letter C
Reverse
Similar; number CV
Similar; number CVTI
Similar ; number CXVII
Similar; number CXXXII
number CLV
Similar;
Similar; number C.LVII
Similar ; number Cl)&T
Similar; number C-LXXVIII
Similar; number CIXXXTI
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; number -
C_LXXXVII
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; number
º CIXXXXV
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar; number CCX
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; number CCXVIII |
Similar ; number CCXXXII
Similar; same number
- CCXXXX
Similar ; number CCLXVII
Similar; number CCLXXIII
Similar; number CCLXXXII
342
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
2700
2701
2702
2703
2704
2705
2706
2707
2708
2709
2710
2711
2712
2713
2714
2715
Weight
60.5
60.4
58-1
61:0
58-4
54:1
60-0
56.3
54.7
61-8
63-3
56-8
62-4
57.3
59-6
57.6
Metal
and Swze
AR •7
AR 7
AR, 7
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 7
AR, 7
AR 7
AR. 7
AR. 7
AR. 65
AR. ''/
AR, 7
AR, 7
AR, 7
AR, 7
Obverse
Similar; rake;
letter I
symbol,
Similar; symbol, key;
letter O
Similar ;
letter T
symbol, branch;
Similar; symbol, thunder-
bolt; letter E
Similar ; symbol, branch;
letter D
Similar ; same symbol;
letter, uncertain.
Similar ; symbol, star;
letter T
Similar; same symbol;
letter S
Similar ; symbol, key;
letter R.
Similar; symbol, altar;
letter G
Similar; symbol, wing;
letter C
Similar; same symbol and
letter.
Similar; symbol, tortoise;
letter T
symbol;
Similar ;
letter R
$8,1016.
Similar; symbol,
branch ; letter D
palm-
Similar ; symbol;
letter N
Same
Reverse.
Similar; number CCC
Similar; number CCCVTTT
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; number CCCXVIT
Similar; number CCCXXV
Similar; number CCCXXVII
Similar; number
CCCXXXXV
Similar; number CCCLXIII
[Pl. xl. 8.]
Similar; number CCCLXX
Similar; number
CCC-LXXXX||
Similar; number
CCCCXXVI ||
Similar; number CCCCTV
similar ; number CCCCLVII
Similar; number CCCC.LVIII
Similar; number CCCCLXX
Similar ; number
CCCCLXXXXVIII
Similar ; number BVI
CIRC. B.C. 83 ; A.U.C. 671 343
Metal
* * - S I? º
and Size Obverse ۼje?"S6
No. Weight
C. NAANAIL . LINAEAN
(CAIUS MAMILIUS LIMETANUS)
Denarius
TWith letter on obverse
2716 57-5 | AR 8 || Bust of Mercury r., wear- || C. MANMIL LINMEAN be-
ing winged petasus and hind and before Ulysses
chlamys; behind, cadu- walking r., and leaning
ceus and letter A on his staff; he wears
mariner's dress and
pileus, and extends his
r. hand towards his dog,
Argos, who advances to
him ; edge serrated.
(Nott)
2717 | 58.8 || AR 8 || Similar; letter C Similar.
2718 54-2 || AR 75 | Similar; letter C. Similar.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
2719 57.4 || AR 75 Similar; letter E.; counter- Similar.
mark, circle. (Nott)
2720 | 62-6 || AR 75 Similar; letter F; no | Similar.
countermark. [Pl. xl. 9..]
(Payne Knight Coll.)
2721 60-6 || AR 8 || Similar; same letter. | Similar.
2722 58.6 | AR 8 || Similar; letter I Similar.
* The few particulars that we possess of this moneyer have been given above (see p. 336).
The Mamilia gens claimed descent from Mamilia, the daughter of Telegonus, who was the
reputed son of Ulysses and Circe. Mercury or Hermes was the ancestor of Ulysses, and the
bust of that divinity is therefore used for the obverse type of the coins. The reverse type shows
Ulysses, after an absence of many years, returning in a mean and humble dress to the island
of Ithaca, where he was at once recognized by his old dog, Argos, who died of joy at seeing its
former master. The figure of Ulysses leaning on a staff is found on earlier bronze coins of
another member of the Mamilia family, L. Mamilius, who held the office of moneyer at some
time between the years B. c. 172–151 (see above, p. 97).
A somewhat remarkable feature of the denarii of C. Mamilius Limetanus is the serrated
edge. Neither of his colleagues adopted this peculiarity of striking, but it seems to have been
much in use during the next and following years. The mint-marks used by this moneyer are
limited to single letters of the alphabet placed only on the obverse. His issue was not so
extensive as that of his colleague, P. Crepusius.
Bahrfeldt (Zeit. f. Num., 1877, pp. 27, 39) mentions hybrids consisting of the reverse of
the denarius of C. Mamilius Limetanus, and of the obverses of those of Ti. Claudius Nero (see
below, p. 381) and of C. Norbanus (see below, p. 347). The denarius of Mamilius was restored
by Trajan.
344 COINAGE OF ROME
\
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
2723 56-7 | AR 8 || Similar; same letter. Similar.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
2724 61-6 || AR 75 Similar ; letter L Similar. -
(Cracherode Coll.)
2725 | 61-0 | AR 8 || Similar ; letter NW Similar.
- (Cracherode Coll.)
2726|| 614 | AR 8 |Similar; letter N Similar.
2727 | 60:7 | AR “75 Similar; same letter. Similar; countermark, cres-
cent.
2728 61-7 || AR 8 || Similar ; letter S Similar; no countermark.
2729 || 604 || AR 8 || Similar ; letter T Similar.
Circ. B.C. 82; A.U.C. 672"
O . ATO . BAB
(QUINTUS ANTONIUS BALBUS)
Denarius
|With letter on obverse
SERIES I.
2730 59-7 || AR “75 | Head of Jupiter r., laureate ; O.. ATO. BA–B /; • Or
behind, P; C (Senatus T-R (in exergue).
consulto); beneath, letter | Victory in quadriga r.,
A horses galloping; she
holds wreath in r. hand,
and palm - branch and
reins in l.; edge Serrated.
(de Salis Coll.)
* During this year there was a special as well as an ordinary coinage. The special issues
consisted in silver of denarii struck by Q. Antonius Balbus, as praetor, and C. Marius Capito,
and those without a moneyer's name, but with the legend EX S., C (see p. 357); and in bronze
of the as which bears the name of Sulla, and of pieces of lesser denominations with a double
cornucopiae on the reverse either alone, or as an adjunct to the main type (see pp. 358, 359).
The ordinary issues comprise denarii only struck by C. Norbanus and A. Postumius Albinus.
There does not seem to have been an ordinary triumvirate of the mint. These somewhat irregular
issues were, no doubt, due to the condition of affairs at Rome during B.C. 82, in which year the city
witnessed the expulsion of the Marian party and the triumph of Sulla. In classifying the coins of
this year by style we should be inclined to group together the denarii of Q. Antonius Balbus,
A. Postumius Albinus, and C. Marius Capito, all of which have the types in low relief and the
edges serrated, whilst the coins of C. Norbanus are similar in style to those without a moneyer's
name, and bearing the legend EX S. C only. These have the edge of the denarius not serrated.
This classification, however, does not quite accord with the evidence of finds; for in the Monte
Codruzzo hoard, only coins of Q. Antonius Balbus and C. Norbanus occurred, whilst in those
CIRC. B.C. 82 ; A.U.C. 672 345
No. Weight a; sº Obverse Reverse
2731 50-0 || AR 75 | Similar; letter D Similar.
2732 56.7 | AR 8 Similar; letter NA Similar.
[Pl. xl. 10.]
(Blacas Coll.)
2733 || 51-5 | AR 7 || Similar ; letter N Similar.
2734 46.7 | AR 75 Similar; letter O Similar.
2735 58.8 || AR 75 Similar; letter T Similar.
2736 || 61.8 || AR 7 || Similar; letter T Similar.
(Nott)
SERIES II.
2737 || 46.4 || AR “75 | Similar ; before head of Similar.
Jupiter, letter B.
2738 || 510 || AR 7 || Similar ; letter E Similar.
2739 53-3 | AR “75 I Similar ; letter I. Similar.
unearthed at Carrara, and San Miniato (see p. 361) we meet with examples of the coinages of all.
four moneyers attributed to this year, and, in that of Carrara, in addition, with the denarii with
EX S., C only. It would therefore appear that Q. Antonius Balbus and C. Norbanus issued their
money early in B.C. 82, and that the coinages of A. Postumius Albinus and C. Marius Capito may
have followed a few months later. It is from this circumstance, and also on account of the
difference in fabric, that we do not think that an ordinary triumvirate of the mint was appointed
during this year, but it would rather seem that the early coinages were issued by the Marian party,
and the later ones by that which favoured Sulla. It should be noticed that the majority of the
coins of C. Marius Capito bear the legend EX S. C., which shows that his issue was at least in part
a special one. None of the moneyers struck bronze coins, and the only pieces in that metal which
can be attributed to B. c. 82 are such as either bear the name of Sulla, or, at least, show that they
may have been struck under his influence. After this year the issue of bronze coins at the
Roman mint ceases, and was not again generally adopted till circ. B. c. 15 (see above, p. 317).
Q. Antonius Balbus was a member of the Marian party, and in B.C. 82 was appointed
praetor in Sardinia, from whence he was driven by L. Philippus, the legate of Sulla, and slain
(Livy, Epit. 86). From their style and fabric it is evident that the coins bearing his name
were struck by Balbus before he quitted Rome for the seat of his government, and in his
capacity as praetor. They are certainly not of local fabric, and we are therefore unable to
accept Babelon's view that they were struck in Sardinia (vol. i., p. 158). Cavedoni (Saggio,
p. 32) was not only the first to fix the date of the striking of these coins, but he accounted for
their issue in the circumstance that in B. c. 82 the Senate, dominated by the Marian party,
took the treasures from the temples, and used them for the payment of the army (Val. Max.,
vii. 6, 4: Senatus consulto awrea atque argentea templorum ornamenta, me militibus stipendia
deessent conflata sumt). This also accounts for the legend S. C on the obverse. It is therefore
most probable that Balbus was permitted to strike these coins in a great measure to provide for
the expenses of his army in Sardinia.
The type of the denarius is of so general a character that its application to any particular
member of the Antonia gens would be a matter of conjecture only.
The mint-marks which occur in this issue consist of letters only, and they show three series.
When placed on the obverse they are found either beneath the head of Jupiter, or before, i.e. under
his chin; in the latter case the letter is often accompanied by a pellet or stop; when the letter
occurs on the reverse it is always placed below the quadriga, and is not accompanied by a stop.
Q. Antonius Balbus does not appear to have struck any bronze coins.
There are several hybrids of thris coinage (Bahrfeldt, Zeit. f. Num., 1877, pp. 38, 39; Num).
Zeit., 1896, p. 27 ; Babelon, vol. i., p. 148). The reverse type is found with the obverse
(1) head of Roma; (2) head of Augustus; (3) with the obverse of the denarius of L. Scipio
Asiagenus (see above, p. 206); (4) and with that of C. Hosidius Geta (Babelon, vol. i.,
p. 547, no. 1), whilst the obverse occurs with the reverse of the denarius of L. Antestius
(see p. 142) and of C. Naevius Balbus (see p. 366).
Y Y
346
COIN AGE OF ROME
No.
2740
274.1
2742
2743
2744
2745
2746
2747
2748
2749
2750
2751
2752
2753
2754
2755
2756
2757
2758
2759
Weight
61.9
52.2
60-8
54.5
52-4
55-0
50-8
59-6
54.6
60-2
59.4
60-7
61-7
58-4
61-6
50-0
Metal
and Size
AR •75
AR, 75
AR, 8
º
.75
*
•75
AR.
AR. 75
AR.
•75.
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Obverse
letter k
letter NA
letter ‘NA
letter T.
letter Ol'
letter R
letter S
letter T.
letter V
letter X:
With letter
no letter.
Reverse
| Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
Similar.
(Nott)
O%, 7.62?)0%"Se
Similar ;
letter A
[Pl. xl. 11.]
(Nott)
below quadriga
Similar; same letter.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
Similar; letter B
(Nott)
Similar; letter C
(Nott)
Similar ; letter D
(Nott)
Similar ; letter E
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar ; letter F
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar; letter H
Similar; letter |
- Similar ; letter k
CIRC. B.C. 82 ; A.U.C. 672 347
No. Weight º#. Obverse Reverse
2760 | 58:1 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar ; letter NA
(Nott)
2761 | 59.5 | AR 75 | Similar. Similar ; letter N
- (Nott)
2762 | 60:1 | AR “75 | Similar. Similar; letter O
(Blacas Coll.)
2763 || 61.4 || AR 75 | Similar. Similar ; letter T
2764 || 61-6 || AR “75 | Similar. Similar ; letter Ol
(Nott)
2765 60:7 | AR 75 | Similar. Similar ; letter R
(Nott)
2766 58.8 || AR 75 | Similar. Similar ; letter S
(Nott)
2767 || 60-6 || AR “7 | Similar. Similar ; letter T.
(Nott)
2768 || 62.5 | AR 75 Similar. Similar ; letter V
. (Nott)
2769 60-4 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar ; letter X
(Nott)
C - NORBANVS
(CAIUS NORBANUS) '
Denarius
Type I.
With number on obverse
2770 | 67.0 | AR 8 || C. NORBANVS below Head | Fasces between ear of corn
of Venus r., diademed on 1., and caduceus on r.
and wearing earring and
necklace; behind, num-
ber VI
1 Norbanus as a gentile name is irregular in form, the usual termination in such cases
being iws and not us, and in consequence some modern writers suppose it to have been a
cognomen of the Junia gens. Borghesi (CEwvres compl., t. i., p. 514) and Cavedoni (Ripostigli,
p. 141) considered it to be a cognomen of the Vibia gens, but Mommsen (Hist. mon. rom., t. ii.,
p. 453, note 2) and Hübner (Ephemeris Epigraphica, vol. ii., p. 43; Bulletin Epigraphique de la
Gawle, 1883, pp. 111-113) have shown that Norbanus is a gentile name derived from the town
of Norba in Latium. Hübner mentions other gentile names formed in the same manner, as
Albanus, Baebianus, Bovianus, Faeswlanus, Neapolitanus, &c. Borghesi and Cavedoni based
their opinion on a silver coin, formerly in the possession of Padre Antonio Benedetti, having on
the obverse the head of Apollo and NORBANVS, and on the reverse Hercules seated, at his
feet a lion, and the legend VI BIVS. This coin was probably one of the imitations of the first
century B.C. struck in Spain, of which there are numerous examples in the British Museum.
C. Norbanus is only known to us from his coins. He may have been a son of C. Norbanus
who was praetor in Sicily B.C. 90–89, and consul B.C. 83, and father of C. Norbanus Flaccus,
348 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
and Size
2771 592 | AR 75 Similar; number XXXI Similar.
No. Weight Obverse Revcºrse
2772 60-4 || AR 8 || Similar; number XXX|| || || Similar.
2773 || 60-6 || AR 8 || Similar; number XXXVI Similar.
[Pl. xl. 12.]
(Nott)
2774 62-0 || AR “75 Similar ; number XXXVII Similar.
(Nott)
2775 58.0 | AR 75 Similar ; number XXXX|| || | Similar.
2776 59.3 AR -75 | Similar ; number XXXXVI Similar.
(Nott)
2777 59.3 | AR 75 | Similar; number LX Similar.
2778 57.2 | AR 7 || Similar ; number LXIII Similar.
2779 60-4 || AR “75 Similar ; number LXVI Similar.
2780 60-3 || AR 75 Similar; number LXVIII | | Similar.
(Nott)
2781 60:8 || AR “75 Similar ; same number. Similar.
2782 61-3 || AR “75 Similar ; number LXXIII Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
2783 57.4
AR
‘75 Similar ; number LXXV Similar.
2784 61.8
AR,
‘75 Similar ; number LXXX Similar.
2785 57.2 | AR “75 | Similar; number LXXXI Similar.
(Nott)
who with L. Cestius as his colleague struck aurei in B.C. 44 in his capacity as praefect
(Babelon, vol. ii., p. 261). His date of office as moneyer is ascertainable from the evidence of
finds (see above, pp. 344, 345).
The reverse type of his denarii is usually considered to be an allusion to the life of his
father, and the part which he played in Sicily during the Social war, when he raised troops,
organized a fleet, and provisioned the town of Rhegium, by which means it was able to resist
the attacks of the insurgents. The emblems which form the type appear to warrant some such
interpretation (Mommsen, Hist. nom. roºm., t. ii., p. 453, note 2).
The cult of Venus was specially honoured in Sicily, hence the obverse type, which resembles
in style very closely the head on the obverse of the denarii without a moneyer's name, but with
the legend EX S.C also classed to this year (see below, p. 357). The mint-marks of this issue
consist only of numbers placed on the obverse. On Type I. they extend to CCXX at least, but
on Type II. they appear to be more limited.
The denarius of Type I. was restored by Trajan. A hybrid exists of the obverse of the
denarius of C. Norbanus and the reverse of that of C. Mamilius Limetanus (see p. 343); and others,
with the reverse of the denarius of C. Norbanus (Type I.), and the obverses of those of L. Julius
Caesar (see p. 230) and of Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus (see p. 151); see Babelon, vol. ii., p. 259.
CIRC. B.C. 82 ; A.U.C. 672
349
No.
2786
2787
2788
2789
2790
2791
sº
2793
2794
2795
2796
2797
2798
2799
2800
2801
2802
2803
2804
Weight
60.5
57-0
59.7
61:4
60-4
61.4
56-7
58-4
62.8
60-4
61:0
61.2
57.1
59-1
60-0
57.7
57.8
52.6
62.1
Metal
and Size
AR •7
AR 7
•75
.75
•75
•75
•75
Similar; number CVI
Obverse
Similar ; number LXXXVI
Similar; number. LXXXVII;
countermarks, two cres-
cents.
Similar ; number
LXXXX|| || ;
no countermarks.
Similar; number LXXXXV
Similar ; number CVII
Similar ; number C.VII ||
Similar; number CX |
Similar ; number CXIIII
Similar; Same number.
Similar ; number CXX
number CXX|
Similar ;
number CXXV
Similar ;
number CXXVI
Similar ;
number CXXVII
Similar ;
Similar ; number CXXVIII
Similar ;
number CXXXIIII
number CXXXX
Similar ;
number CXXXX||
Similar;
Reverse
Similar. .
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Nott)
| Similar.
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xl. 13.]
Similar.
Similar.
350
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
2805
2806
2807
2808
2809
2810
2811
2812
2813
2814
2815
2816
2817
2818
2819
2820
2821
2822
2823
2824
2825
2826
Weight
61.2
58-5
58-5
59.5
58.2
59.5
62-0
60.5
61.5
65.4
59.5
59-1
62-3
57-5
58-5
59.0
57.3
60-2
56-6
61-6
53-3
60-0
Metal
and Size
AR 7
AR
•75
AR
-75
•75
•75
•75
•75
•75
•75
.75
•75
•75
•75
AR.
AR
•75
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Obverse
number
CXXXX| ||
number CXXXXV
number
CXXXXVI
number C.Lll I
number C.LV
number C.LVII
number C. LVI || |
same number.
number C-LX
number C-LXII
number C-LXV
number C-LXVIII
number C-LXVIIII
number C-LXX
number C. LXXII
number C-LXXV
number C-LXXVII
number
C_LXXXXVII
Similar ; number CCIll
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
number CCVII
number CCXIIII
number CCXX
IReverse
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
Similar.
Incuse of obv. type.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar to no. 2823.
Similar.
CIRC. B.C. 82 ; A.U.C. 672
351
No.
2827
2828
2829
2830
2831
2832
2833
2834
2835
2836
Weight
60-0
58-3
61:0
59.5
60-8
58-7
58-7
60.6
59.0
60-8
Metal
and Size
AR. 75
AR. 8
AR, 7
AR •'ſ
AR 75
AR, 75
AR, 75
AR 75
AR 8
AR. 8
Obverse
Reve?'8e
Type II.
With number on obverse
C. NORBANVS below Head
of Venus r., similar to no.
2770; behind, number
V|| ||
Similar ; number X
Similar; number X| ||
Similar; number XI ill
Similar; number XVI
Similar; number XVIII
Similar; number XX
number XX||
Similar ;
number XXV
Similar ;
Prow-stem, fasces, caduceus
and ear of corn.
[Pl. xl. 14.]
Similar. •º
(Nott)
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Nott)
A . TOST . A . F. S. N. ALBIN
(AULUS POSTUMIUS AULI FILIUS SPURII
NEPOS ALBINUS) '
Denarius
Type I.
Bust of Diana r., draped
and wearing earring and
necklace; hair drawn back
and collected into a knot
behind; at her shoulders,
quiver and bow, the end
of which is in the form
of a stag's head; above,
bucranium.
On a rock or hill a togate
figure stands l. near a
lighted altar, and sprinkles
with a branch an ox des-
tined for the sacrifice ;
around, A. T. OST. A. F.
S. N. A_BIN ; edge ser-
nated.
[Pl. xl. 15.]
* There seems little doubt that this moneyer was a son of Aulus Postumius Albinus, who
had filled the same office some years previously, but whose coins were struck outside Rome (see
352 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
2837 || 58.2 | AR “75 I Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
2838 57.0 | AR “75 Similar. Similar.
}- - (de Salis Coll.)
Type II.
2839| 61:1 | AR 8 Female head, Hispania, r., Togate figure standing 1.
veiled, in attitude of dis- between fasces with axe
tress with dishevelled and standard surmounted
hair; behind, HISTAN by eagle; he extends his
r. hand towards the latter;
in the field and exergue,
A. ToST A.F.S.N.A-BIN;
edge Serrated.
(Cracherode Coll.)
2840 | 60.5 | AR “75 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xl. 16.]
2841 57-6 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
2842 | 57-3 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
2843 52.7 | AR 75 | Similar; of barbarous work. Similar; of barbarous work.
the legend being blundered
and partly retrograde.
ITALY, B.C. 89, and Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 378-380, nos. 2-6), and a grandson of Spurius Postumius
Albinus, who was consul B.C. 110. He has also been identified with A. Postumius Albinus
(Babelon, vol. ii., p. 380), who was placed by Julius Caesar Over Sicily in B.C. 49, but this
identification is uncertain, seeing that a long period would have elapsed between the two
appointments. This is the second occurrence of the praenomen of the grandfather of the
moneyer on coins. As no coins of A. Postumius Albinus and C. Marius C. F. Capito occurred
in the Monte Codruzzo hoard, but were present in those of Carrara and San Miniato, it has
been suggested that they struck money under the orders of Sulla (see p. 345).
The denarii of A. Postumius Albinus are of two types. That with the bust of Diana on the
obverse and a sacrificial scene on the reverse (Type I.) may, as in the case of his father's coins,
relate to the sacrifice which was specially offered by A. Postumius Albus to Diana in her temple
on the Aventine on the eve of the battle of Lake Regillus. Borghesi (Fast. ii., p. 43) would
recognize in this scene a reference to the early dedication of the temple of Diana, and to the
special sacrifice in her honour of the ox (taurobolium), at which the augurs foretold the
domination of Rome over the neighbouring cities of Latium, a prophecy which was fulfilled
by the subsequent victory of A. Postumius Albus. The bucranium above the head of Diana
represents also the skull and horns of the ox, which were placed in front of her temple.
Type II. has not been satisfactorily explained. In the dishevelled head of Hispania, we
may, however, recognize a reference to the praetorship of L. Postumius Albinus over Spain,
and to his successful expeditions against the Vaccaei and Lusitani (B.C. 180-179), for which he
received a triumph. The scene on the reverse may relate to the levying of troops for his
Spanish campaign, or to his mission to Masinissa and the Calthaginians in B.C. 171, to raise
forces for the war against Perseus (Livy, xlii. 35).
This moneyer did not use any mint-marks, nor did he issue any bronze coins.
CIRC. B.C. 82; A.U.C. 672 353
* t
No. Weight ...; si. Obverse W. Reverse
C. NAAR | . C. F. CAT IT
(CAIUS MARIUS CAII FILIUS CAPITO)
Denarius
SERIES I.
With same number on obverse and reverse
2844 635 | AR 75 || C : MAR I. C. F. CAT IT. Husbandman l., ploughing
around Bust of Ceres r.,” with yoke of oxen; in r.
draped, wearing earring; hand he holds staff;
head bound with corn- above, number VI ; edge
wreath; hair falling down serrated.
her neck; after legend,
number VI
2845 59.9 || AR 8 || Similar ; number VI || Similar; number VII ||
(Nott)
2846 59.5 | AR 8 || Similar ; same number. Similar ; same number.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
2847 59.3 || AR 8 Similar ; number XII Similar ; number X||
2848 || 56.2 | AR “75 Similar ; number X| || Similar ; number XIII
2849 55.1 | AR “75 | Similar ; number XVII Similar ; number XVII
* This moneyer is uncertain. Babelon (vol. ii., p. 201) has identified him as the adopted
son of the great Marius. Born in 109, the young Marius was with his father in Africa, and
on the latter's death was also distinguished by his severity towards his enemies. He was
elected consul B. c. 82, at the early age of twenty-seven, and being defeated in that year by
Sulla, near Sacriportus, took refuge in Praeneste, from which place he escaped, but shortly
afterwards perished. Babelon has placed the date of the issue of the above coins at B.c. 84,
and adds that Marius filled the office of moneyer during his father's lifetime, and under his
authority, forgetting, however, the fact that the elder Marius died early in B. c. 86. On
account of the absence of any of these coins in the Monte Codruzzo hoard, and their presence
in very fine condition in those of Carrara and San Miniato, Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii.,
p. 460) considered that they were struck after B.C. 80 or 79; but Count de Salis, who placed
the burial of the Monte Codruzzo hoard to a slightly earlier date, attributes the coins to B. c. 82.
In either case the moneyer Marius would have held office under Sulla. His identification,
therefore, with the adopted son of the great Marius does not seem possible; at the same time
the occurrence of two members of the Maria gens, with the same praenomen and patronymic,
holding office, one as consul, the other as moneyer, in the same year would be an unusual
coincidence, especially under the then existing circumstances. Mommsen (loc. cwt.) thinks that
C. Marius Capito, A. Postumius Albinus, and L. Rutilius Flaccus formed a triumvirate of the
mint, but the coinage of the last moneyer is assigned to a slightly later date (see below, p. 395).
* The type of the head of Ceres and the husbandman refers to the foundation of a colony,
and Babelon (vol. ii., p. 202) suggests that it may be the colony of Eporedia, which was
founded by Marius in Cisalpine Gaul circ. B. c. 100; but if the moneyer be no longer identified
as the adopted son of Marius this explanation seems scarcely admissible.
The numbers and symbols on the obverse and reverse, used as mint-marks in this issue,
form three successive series. In Series I. the numbers run from l—XX| | | | ; in Series II. from
XXV-XXXII, and in Series III. from XXXIII – C.L.I. The exceptions mentioned by Bahr-
feldt (Num. Zeit., 1900, p. 65) may be hybrids. In each case the number is the same on the
obverse and reverse; but in Series II. a symbol is added on the reverse, and in Series III.
the symbol is on the obverse. There is a slight variation in the type of the coins of the last
series, the moneyer's name being partly on the obverse and partly on the reverse. The letters
S. C., which occur on Series II. and III., show that this coinage was of a special nature.
There are no bronze coins of this issue.
Z Z
354
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
2850
2851
2852
2853
2854
2855
2856
2857
2858
2859
Weight
60-0
59.0
59-1
61.9
57-4
61.3
59-0
50-5
59.0
59.8
Metal
and Size
AR, 8
AR 8
AR. 8
AR. ''/5
AR 75
AR. '75
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR. 75
AR •75
Obverse
Similar; number XVIIII
Similar; number XXIII
Similar; number XX|| ||
Ret'erse
Similar ; number XVIIII
[Pl. xl. 17.]
Similar ; number XXIII
Similar ; number XX|| ||
(Nott)
SERIES II.
With number on obverse and same number and symbol
O71, 7°00)07"Se
Similar ; number after
legend, XXVIII
Similar ; number XXVII || ;
countermarks on face,
two crescents.
Husbandman 1., ploughing
with yoke of oxen, &c.,
similar to no. 2844; above,
number XXVIII; in ex-
ergue, S.C. (Senatus con-
sulto) and symbol, grass-
hopper; edge serrated.
[Pl. xl. 18.]
Similar ; number XXVIIll ;
symbol, mouse.
SERIES III.
With number and symbol on obverse and same number
on reverse *
CAT IT behind Bust of
Ceres r., draped, head
bound with corn-wreath,
&c., similar to no. 2844;
after legend, number
XXXVI; under her chin,
symbol, fly.
Similar ; number XXXXI ;
symbol, crab.
Similar; number XXXXIII l;
symbol, ear of corn.
Similar ; number XXXXV;
symbol, dolphin.
Similar; number XXXXVIII;
symbol, trident.
C - NAAR I . C. F
S. C
ergue). Husbandman l.,
ploughing with yoke of
oxen, &c., similar to
no. 2844; above, number
XXXVI; edge serrated.
[Pl. xl. 19.]
Similar ; number XXXXI
(Nott)
(in ex-
Similar ; number XXXXIIII
Similar; number XXXXV
Similar; number XXXXVIII
(Cracherode Coll.)
* This variety of type was restored by Trajan.
CIRC. B.C. 82 ; A.U.C. 672
355
No.
2860
2861
2862
2863
2864
2865
2866
2867
2868
2869
2870
2871
2872
2873
2874
2875
2876
2877
Weight
61.2
60-8
54-9
59.5
54-0
59.3
55.5
59.8
59-7
59.0
53.5
57.6
60-0
60-0
(pierced)
60-0
58-5
56-0
55-9
Metal
and Snze
AR 75
AR -8
AR. 8
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR •7
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR 75
AR, '7
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 8
AR, 75
AR. 75
AR 75
AR. 75
AR. 75
Obverse
Similar; number Ll; sym-
bol, thyrsus.
Similar; number Lll; sym-
bol, vine-leaf.
Lll || ;
Similar; number
symbol, prow.
Similar; number LV; sym-
bol, star.
LXII;
Similar; number
symbol, helmet.
Similar ; number LXVIIll;
symbol, bipennis.
Similar ; number LXXII;
symbol, bucranium.
Similar; number-LXXVII II;
symbol, Sceptre.
Similar ; number LXXX;
symbol, head of goose.
Similar ; number
LXXXVIIll;
symbol, flower.
Similar ; number LXXXX| ;
symbol, effaced.
Similar; number
LXXXXVII;
symbol, strigil.
Similar; number C; symbol,
animal's head.
Similar ; number Cl; sym-
bol, distaff (?).
Similar; number CII ; sym-
bol, lyre.
Similar; number Cll II;
symbol, torque.
Similar ; number CVl II;
symbol, lyre.
Similar ; number CXI;
symbol, Sandal.
Reverse
Similar; number Ll
Similar; number Lll
Similar ; number Lll ||
number LV
Similar ;
Similar ; number LXII
Similar ; number LXVIIII
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; number LXX||
(Nott)
Similar ; number LXXVI || |
number LXXX
(Nott)
Similar ;
number
_LXXXVII ||
Similar ;
number LXXXXI
Similar ;
number
_LXXXXVII
(Nott)
Similar;
Similar ; number C
number Cl
(Nott)
Similar ;
Similar ; number Cll
number Cll ||
Similar ;
number CVl ||
(Nott)
Similar ;
number CXI
Similar ;
356
COIN AGE OF ROME
No.
2878
2879
2880
2881
2882
2883
2884
2.885
2886
2887
2888
2889
2890
Weight
61.3
58-1
60-2
59.0
60-2
60-0
59.8
63.0
62-3
62-0
60.5
61.4
56-5
(pierced)
Metal
and Size
AR 57
.75
•75
.75
•75
-75
.75
Obverse
Similar; number CXII;
symbol, sword (gladius).
CXV;
Similar ; number
symbol, fibula.
Similar ; number CXVIII l;
symbol, fly.
Similar ; number CXX;
symbol, vase with two
handles.
Similar ; number CXXX|;
symbol, running stag.
Similar ; number CXXX|| ;
symbol, shield.
Similar ; number CXXXV;
symbol, running hound.
Similar ; number CXXXVI;
symbol, sword with
Square handle.
Similar; number CXXXVIII;
symbol, shoe.
Similar ; number
CXXXVII II;
symbol, bird (ibis).
Similar ; number
CXXXXVI;
symbol, Phrygian cap.
Similar ; number
CXXXXVIII;
symbol, vase with two
handles.
Similar ; number C.L.; sym-
bol, effaced.
Reverse
Similar ; number CXII
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar ; number CXV
number CXVII ||
Similar ;
Similar; number CXX
number CXXXI
Similar ;
Similar ; number CXXXll
number CXXXV
Similar ;
number CXXXVI
(Nott)
Similar ;
Similar ; number CXXXVIII
number
CXXXVI ||
(Nott)
Similar ;
number CXXXXVI
(Nott)
Similar ;
number
CXXXXVI ||
Similar;
number C.L.
(Nott)
Similar ;
CIRC. B.C. 82 ; A.U.C. 672 357
Metal
* * S
and Size Obverse Reverse
No. Weight
Without momeyer's name *
SILVER
Denarius
With letter on obverse *
2891 || 60-0 | AR 75 | Head of Venus r., diademed, Cornucopiae filled with
and wearing necklace; be- fruit, and bound with
hind, letter C; before head, fillet ; at sides EX S. C
countermarks, crescent | (Ea: , Senatus consulto);
and E all within laurel-wreath.
[Pl. xl. 20.]
2892|| 62-0 || AR 7 || Similar ; letter D ; no Similar.
countermarks. (Nott)
2893 62.2 | AR “75 Similar ; letter F Similar.
(Nott)
2894 || 52.8 || AR 7 || Similar; letter I Similar.
* These silver and the following bronze coins without moneyer’s name were probably
struck at the time of Sulla's arrival in Rome, B. c. 82, after the defeat of the Marian party.
The attribution of the denarii to this date is confirmed by the evidence of finds, as no
specimens occurred in the Monte Codruzzo hoard, but a few were met with in that unearthed
at Carrara. The issue was probably not a large one, as it is rarely met with in later
hoards. In style and fabric, and in the obverse type, these coins so closely resemble those
of C. Norbanus, struck earlier in the year, that it might be supposed that the dies for the
two issues were executed by the same engravers. The legend EX S. C shows that the issue
was a special one, and that it was authorized by the Senate, and the type of the reverse, a
cornucopiae, suggests that it was intended to defray the expense of some special largesse of
corn, as the inhabitants of Rome, after the recent struggle between Sulla and the Marian
party, must have been in need of some such assistance. The head of Venus was, no doubt,
selected for the obverse type, out of compliment to Sulla, who considered himself the favourite
of Aphrodite or Venus, for in writing to the Greeks, and in answer to their applications, he
took the additional name of Epaphroditus, and the inscription on the trophies at the time of
his triumph was Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Epaphroditus (Plutarch, Sulla, 34). Babelon (vol. i.,
p. 411) is of opinion that these denarii were struck in B.C. 80, on the occasion of the triumph
of Sulla. Similar types, but with a double cornucopiae on the reverse, were also used about
this time for gold and silver coins struck by a quaestor of Sulla, which Count de Salis has
attributed to the East (see Babelon, vol. i., pp. 408,409, nos. 32, 33).
Babelon (vol. i., p. 412, no. 45) has classed with these denarii the as with the reverse type of
a warrior standing on the prow, but this piece belongs to the earlier coinage of C. Licinius L. f.
Macer, whose name in this instance had been omitted (see above, p. 321).
* All the letters of the alphabet occur on this issue.
358 COIN AGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
BRONZE 1
Quadrans
34-0 || AE 7 | Head of young Hercules r., | Prow r.; below, RoNAA;
wearing lion's skin; above, double cornu-
behind, 3 copiae with fruit.
Sextans (P)
350 | AF 7 | Head of Mercury r., wear- | Double cornucopiae with
ing winged petasus. fruit, and bound with
fillet; on r., RONAA
[Babelon, vol. i., p. 409, no. 36.]
Uncia
57-0. Æ 7 | Head of Roma r., wearing | Double cornucopiae with
crested helmet and neck- fruit; on 1., RONMA
lace; behind, *
* These bronze coins are attributed to Sulla on account of their resemblance in the reverse
type or symbol to the preceding denarii, and to the gold and silver coins mentioned on p. 357,
which are assigned to the East. Babelon (vol. i., pp. 408-410) has classed together all the
gold, silver, and bronze coins with reverse type a double cornucopiae, and suggests that they
were copied from the coins of Valentia in Bruttium, and that Sulla established for a short
time a mint in that city under the control of a quaestor. Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 98)
doubts the connection of the bronze with the gold and silver coins with the double cornucopiae,
as he would attribute the first to an earlier date. He also thinks that the sextans (?) figured
above may be a semuncia, as it is without the marks of value. D'Ailly (Mom. rom., pp. 353, 354,
pl. lxxvii., nos. 7–9), on account of their weights, assigns the quadrans to the semuncial series, and
the uncia to the sextantal, and would identify the sextans as the semuncia. As, however, these
bronze coins are rare, and sometimes of uncertain values, and of differing fabric, he adds that
any attempt to classify them chronologically would be very conjectural. The double cornucopiae
only for the type of reverse would be an unusual occurrence in the case of a sextantal issue.
D’Ailly also figures a variety of the sextans (?) with the reverse type similar to the uncia, but the
petasus of Mercury is not winged; and also an uncertain piece with male head on the obverse
and a double cornucopiae on the reverse, but without any legend (op. cwt., pl. lxxvii., nos. 10, 11).



CIRC. B.C. 82; A.U.C. 672 359
No. Weight .#'s. Obverse Reverse
L. SV
(LUCIUS CORNELIUS SULLA) 1
As.
2895 240-0 || AE 1.4 | Head of Janus, laureate ; Prow r. ; above, L. SV ;
above, I below [INATE]
[Pl. xl. 21.]
* The bronze coins with this legend, of which the only denomination known is the as, were
probably issued by Sulla immediately on his arrival in Rome. Such a proceeding would
appear to be very irregular, but about this time gold and silver coins were being struck in the
East in his name, and in that of his proquaestor, L. Manlius (see coins of the EAST, B.C. 82).
The coins themselves do not supply us with any evidence that they were issued with the
sanction of the Senate. Babelon (vol. i., p. 408) supposed that, like the gold and silver coins
with the reverse type a double cornucopiae, these were also issued at Valentia, but as the local
mints had been long closed it seems preferable to ascribe them to the mint of the Capitol.
Their somewhat rude fabric and careless striking is at this time, in the case of bronze money,
no criterion of local issue. The as is of the semuncial standard, so that its issue belongs to a
date between B.C. 88—82.
Besides the fact that this as is the only coin bearing the name of Sulla which can be
assigned to the mint at Rome, it has a further interest, inasmuch as it is among the latest, if
not actually the last issue in that metal for a considerable period. In B.C. 82, as already
mentioned (see above, p. 317), there was a sudden cessation of bronze money at Rome,
and it was practically not resumed till nearly the end of the century, by which time the
political condition of the country had completely changed, and the government had passed
from a republic to a monarchy.
360 COINAGE OF ROME
PERIOD XI.
Circ. B.C. 81–73; , A.U.C. 673–681
THE coinages assigned to these years are those which were not present in
the Monte Codruzzo hoard, but which occurred in those unearthed at Carrara
(Tuscany), San Miniato (Tuscany), Hev-Szamos (Transylvania), Roncofreddo
(Romagna), Frascarolo (Prov. di Modena), Rignano (Tuscany), Licodia (Catania,
Sicily), Palestrina (Prov. di Roma), and Ossero (Istria). The burials of these
nine hoards occurred at intervals between B.C. 79–73.
The chief events in Roman history during the years B.C. 81–73 were: the
dictatorship of Sulla, B.C. 81–78; the insurrection of Lepidus in Northern
Italy, B.C. 78–77; and the Sertorian war in Spain, B.C. 80–72. It is probably
due, as we shall see, to the second event, that some of the earlier hoards
were concealed. The war of Sertorius gave rise to special issues in Spain,
which are important in determining the classification of the coins struck at
the Roman mint (see above, p. 318).
DENOMINATIONS AND TYPEs.—The only denomination struck during this
Period is the denarius; the issue of the quinarius and the sestertius being in
abeyance from this time for many years, and that of the bronze coinage being
completely suspended (see above, p. 317). This last circumstance is also of
importance in classifying the coinage after B.C. 82.
The types of the denarius vary with each moneyer, most of whom use
only one, but some employ two, and others three. Mint-marks in the form of
symbols, letters, and numbers (Roman and Greek) are frequent, and in the
extensive issue of L. Papius (see p. 370) the symbol on the obverse and
that on the reverse bear some relation to each other in their character. The
serration of the edge of the denarius which was resumed in the later years of
the previous Period is continued; but it soon became infrequent. In the
case of two issues, those of L. Procilius (see p. 386) and C. Egnatius (see
p. 399), both Serrated and non-serrated denarii were struck.
During this Period there is no instance of a mint-triumvirate such as
occurred in B.C. 84 and 83, but there are a number of special issues, which were
necessary to meet the expenses of the largesses of corn to the Roman people,
and also those of the war in Spain. These special issues appear to have been
almost of yearly occurrence, and Count de Salis has attributed, as a rule, only
one ordinary moneyer to each year.
There are no changes to be noticed in the forms of the moneyers' names,
except that the momen alone never occurs. The initial of the moneyer's
grandfather is given in three instances.
CLASSIFICATION.—For the chronology of the coins of this Period, we must
first take into account the cessation of the bronze money at Rome; then the
dates of those issues which occurred outside Italy at this time, in Spain, Gaul,
CIRC. B.C. 81–73; A.U.C. 673–681 361
and the East (see Tables of Finds); and lastly, the evidence of hoards, of
which, as mentioned above, there are no less than nine. The burial of these
hoards happened at various times during B.C. 81–73. The following summary
of their contents will show their chronological order.
The Carrara hoard, discovered in 1860, consisted of about 3,000 denarii and
505 quinarii. The coins were contained in an earthenware vase which was
unearthed during excavations for the foundations of a house on a roadway
leading to the town of Massa. The find was described by the Marchese Angelo
Remedi (Relazione degli scavi fatti in Luni, Sarzana, 1860). In subsequent
notices since the publication of the account given by the Marchese Remedi, it
has been shown that several coins, stated to have been in the hoard, did not
originally form part of it. Cavedoni (Bull. dell' Inst. arch., 1860, p. 203)
indicates amongst those pieces the denarius of L. Valerius Acisculus, with
Valeria seated on a heifer (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 519, no. 16), and that of Julius
Caesar, with the type of an elephant and the pontifical attributes (ib., vol. ii.,
p. 10, no. 9). To these we would add the denarius of L. Rutilius Flaccus, with
head of Roma and Victory in a biga, struck circ. B.C. 77 (see p. 395, note 1). The
latest pieces of the Roman mint are those of Q. Antonius Balbus, C. Norbanus,
Q. Postumius Albinus, and C. Marius C. f. Capito, and those without a
moneyer's name, but bearing the legend EX S. C., attributed to Sulla (B.C. 82).
Coins of the first two moneyers only occurred in the Monte Codruzzo hoard.
Of the same and more recent dates, however, are the coins of C. Annius Luscus,
the proconsul, issued by his quaestors, L. Fabius Hispaniensis and C. Tar-
quitius (B.C. 82–80), and of Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius (B.C. 79–77), struck
in Spain; of C. Valerius Flaccus as Imperator (B.C. 82), struck in Gaul; and
those of the quaestor of Sulla with a female head and a double cornucopiae and
O. (B.C. 81–80), struck in the East. From the coins not emanating from the
IRoman mint it is evident that the Carrara hoard could not have been buried
before B.C. 79 or 78, and it seems only possible to account for the absence of any
specimens of such large issues as those of C. Naevius Balbus (B.C. 81), L. Papius
(B.C. 80), and M. Volteius (B.C. 78), in the circumstance that this hoard may have
been brought from Spain, and buried in Tuscany during the revolt of Lepidus
(B.C. 78–77). This would also explain the presence of coins struck in Spain,
some of which are of a later date than those of the Roman mint. The
Carrara hoard is remarkable for the large and unusual number of quinarii which
it contained. With the exception of a few pieces of this denomination of the
early issue, they were of a date subsequent to the passing of the Lea Clodia,
circ. B.C. 104 (see above, p. 158), and included the issues of C. Egnatuleius,
T. Cloulius, M. Porcius Cato (ITALY, B.C. 89), P. Vettius Sabinus, C. Fundanius,
L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, Q. Titius, Cn. Cornelius Lentulus, and L. Rubrius
DOssenus.
The Sam Miniato hoard was of precisely the same character as that of
Carrara, and was discovered under similar circumstances. It contained some
3,480 coins, of which 1,095 denarii, 70 quinarii, and 15 victoriati were
described by Sig. G. F. Gamurrini (Period. di Num, e Sfrag., 1873, pp. 240 f.),
and afterwards by Mommsen (Zeit. f. Num., 1875, pp. 45 f.). If we except
the denarii of C. Poblicius and L. Procilius with some others, which, in
3 A
362 COINAGE OF ROME
Mommsen's opinion, were not originally in the hoard, the latest pieces of the
Roman mint were the same as in the Carrara hoard, with the exception of
the Sullan denarius with EX S. C. Of the coins struck outside Italy there
were examples of the denarii of C. Annius Luscus (L. Fabius Hispaniensis), and
of Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius, struck in Spain; and of C. Valerius Flaccus,
struck in Gaul, but none of the East. The quinarii, too, were of precisely the
same moneyers as those in the Carrara hoard. Owing to their great similarity,
it seems almost a certainty that not only was the San Miniato hoard buried at
the same time, and under the same circumstances, as that of Carrara, but that
it may also have been brought from Spain.
The Hev-Szamos hoard, described by Dr. Friedrich Kenner (Archiv. f. Kunde
Österreichischer Geschichts-Quellen, t. xxiv., pp. 377 f.), and by the Duc de Blacas
(Mommsen, Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., pp. 471 f.), was discovered in 1844, and con-
sisted of 120 denarii, of which 9 were without moneyers' names, the remaining
111 coins representing no less than 70 separate issues, or an average of under
two coins to each moneyer. There were also present in the hoard 318 drachms
of Dyrrhachium and 27 other pieces undecipherable. If we except the denarius of
(Q, Fufius) Kalenus and (Mucius) Cordus (B.C. 72), which was probably added to
the find after its discovery (see p. 415, note), the latest pieces were those of
L. Cassius and M. Wolteius (B.C. 78) of the Roman mint, and those of Q. Caecilius
Metellus Pius struck in Spain (B.C. 79–77). It contained coins of the following
issues, also not represented in the Carrara and San Miniato hoards:—C. Poblicius
and C. Naevius Balbus (B.C. 81), L. Papius and Ti. Claudius Ti. f. Ap. n. (B.C. 80),
and L. Procilius (B.C. 79); and of L. Manlius, the proguaestor of Sulla, struck in
the East. The burial of this hoard may therefore have taken place circ. B.C. 78.
The Romcofreddo hoard, which was found near Savignano in the Romagna
in 1756, consisted of about 6,000 denarii and 17 quinarii. It was examined
and catalogued by Pietro Borghesi (Cavedoni, Ripostigli, p. 28), and though it
contained but a small number of early denarii without moneyers' names, yet
there was an almost complete series of those with their names. The latest
coins of the Roman mint, which had not occurred in any of the previously
mentioned hoards, were those of P. Satrienus and L. Rutilius Flaccus (B.C. 77);
of L. Lucretius Trio and L. Rustius (B.C. 76); and of C. Egnatius Maxsumus and
L. Farsuleius Mensor (B.C. 75). The issues outside Italy were represented by
the coins, struck in Spain, of C. Annius Luscus with the quaestors' names,
L. Fabius Hispaniensis and C. Tarquitius (B.C. 82–80); of Q. Caecilius
Metellus Pius with his name, and those with INATER only (B.C. 79–77), and
of Cn. Cornelius Lentulus as quaestor (B.C. 76–72); in Gaul of C. Valerius
Flaccus (B.C. 82), and in the East of L. Manlius, the proquaestor (B.C. 82).
The pieces struck in Spain of Cn. Cornelius Lentulus had not occurred in any
previous hoard, and their date of issue corresponds with the latest coins
represented of the Roman mint. The burial of this hoard may therefore have
occurred at the end of B.C. 75, or at the beginning of the next year. Cavedoni
(Ripostigli, p. 27) thought that it may have been concealed during the Revolt of
the Slaves under Spartacus, B.C. 73–71.
The Frascarolo hoard, discovered in 1828, near Castelvetro (12 Italian
miles from Modena), consisted of some 1,100 pieces, which were examined by
CIRC. B.C. 81–73; A.U.C. 673–681 363
Cavedoni (Saggio, p. 9; Ripostigli, p. 30), but as the coins were submitted
to him in batches and not all at one time, the evidence which they afford is not
absolutely trustworthy, and such pieces as those of C. Piso Frugi (B.C. 64) and
L. Furius Brocchus (B.C. 55) could not have been in the hoard originally. The
latest coins of the Roman mint were the same as in the Roncofreddo hoard, with
the exception of those of L. Rustius and L. Farsuleius Mensor. Of the coins
of Spain, those of Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius with his name, and as Imperator,
and those of Cn. Cornelius Lentulus were present, as in the Roncofreddo
hoard. The burial of the Frascarolo hoard therefore practically coincides with
that discovered at Roncofreddo, i.e., circ. B.C. 75 or 74.
The Rignano hoard was discovered in 1876 during some excavations near
the town of that name, situated about ten miles from Florence. At the bottom of
a rough staircase hewn out of the tufa was found a skeleton, and near it two
lamps and an earthenware pot, containing the coins, which numbered only 96
in all. Of these, two were quinarii, the rest denarii. There was only one
early denarius, with the symbol a crescent; all the other coins dating from
about the middle of the second century B.C. They were arranged and described
according to their condition by Prof. A. Mau, in the Bull. dell' Inst. corr, arch.,
1876, pp. 136-139, who noted among the best preserved pieces those of
C. Postumius, L. Rutilius Flaccus, and L. Farsuleius Mensor. There were also
present coins of C. Annius Luscus (L. Fabius Hispaniensis), and Q. Caecilius
Metellus Pius, struck in Spain. The date of burial also coincides with that
of the Roncofreddo hoard. This small hoard of Rignano, though not in itself
of any special importance, illustrates the ordinary currency of the time.
The Licodia hoard, found in 1900, was another small one, as it consisted of
only 120 denarii, representing, however, about 65 various issues. A detailed
list of the coins was supplied by Prof. E. Gabrici to the Scavi, 1900, pp. 657-8.
There was only one denarius of early type, Victory in a biga, the rest with
moneyers' names dating from the middle of the second century B.C., as in the
case of the Rignano find. The latest pieces of the Roman mint, which were
nearly all “fine '' (quasi fresco), were those of P. Satrienus, C. Postumius,
L. Rutilius Flaccus (B.C. 77), L. Lucretius Trio (B.C. 76), L. Farsuleius Mensor
(B.C. 75), and L. Cossutius Sabula (B.C. 74). This last coin had not occurred in
any of the previously mentioned hoards. The coins issued in Spain were of
C. Annius Luscus (L. Fabius Hispaniensis) and of Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius.
The presence of the denarius of L. Cossutius Sabula shows that the burial
of this hoard may have been a little after those of Frascarolo and Rignano,
but not later than B.C. 74.
The Palestrina hoard, which consisted of 367 denarii, 1 victoriatus and 31
quinarii, is of importance for classification, as the whole of it, a very rare
circumstance, came into the hands of Prof. W. Helbig and Prof. A. Mau, and
was described and annotated by them in the Bull. dell’Inst. corr, arch., 1874,
pp. 276 f. The denarii without and with symbols numbered seven, the rest all
bore moneyers' names, some being of early date. Throughout, the coins were
very evenly distributed, and it is only in the case of three issues that there
were a considerable number. Of C. Vibius Pansa (B.C. 87) there were 17
pieces; of L. Titurius Sabinus (B.C. 87), 18 pieces; and of the triumvirate,
364 COINAGE OF ROME &
L. Marcius Censorinus, P. Crepusius, and C. Mamilius Limetanus (B.C. 83),
21 pieces. The number of coins of the majority of the other issues ranged
from one to five pieces each. The latest coins of the Roman mint were those
of P. Satrienus, C. Postumius, and L. Rutilius Flaccus (B.C. 77); of L. Lucretius
Trio (B.C. 76); of C. Egnatius Maxsumus, L. Farsuleius Mensor, and L. Plaetorius
(B.C. 75); and of L. Cossutius Sabula and P. Cornelius Lentulus (B.C. 74).
Most of these are described as being in very fine condition. The coin of
P. Cornelius Lentulus had not occurred in any hoard previously mentioned.
Of the coins issued outside Italy the latest were those of Q. Caecilius Metellus
Pius, struck in Spain (B.C. 79–77). The burial of this hoard must have
occurred some time in B.C. 74, and was contemporary with that of Licodia.
The Ossero hoard, which was unearthed in March, 1899, and which was
contained in a copper vessel, consisted of 475 silver coins, all denarii, with the
exception of four quinarii, struck after the passing of the Lea: Clodia. The find
was divided between the museums of Ossero, Parenzo, Trieste, and Vienna;
but before its dispersal the contents were described by Signor F. Salata (Il
ripostiglio di demari della repubblica romama scoperto ad Ossero, Parenzo, 1899),
and arranged according to Babelon's classification (Mon. rép. rom.). In 1901,
Bahrfeldt republished the hoard in the Rev. Belge, 1901, pp. 5f., arranging it
chronologically, according to the Mommsen-Blacas classification. From these
particulars it will be seen (Tables of Finds) that there were nine early denarii,
six bearing symbols only, and that the latest pieces struck at the Roman mint
were of L. Lucretius Trio (B.C. 76); of C. Egnatius Maxsumus and L. Farsuleius
Mensor (B.C. 75); of L. Cossutius Sabula (B.C. 74); and of Q. Crepereius Rocus
(B.C. 73). The coins of the provincial mints were but scantily represented, as
they were only of the proconsul C. Annius Luscus (L. Fabius Hispaniensis)
(B.C. 82–80), and of Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius (B.C. 79–71), struck in Spain,
and of Sulla and his proquaestor, L. Manlius (B.C. 82), struck in the East.
As the denarius of Q. Crepereius Rocus, struck at Rome, was not present in
any of the previously mentioned hoards, the burial of that of Ossero may be
placed at circ. B.C. 73.
The discovery of these nine hoards, the burial of which could not have
extended over a period of more than seven to eight years, is very remarkable,
especially as we are able to account for the concealment of only a few, and
even in such cases there is great uncertainty. As the constant change of the
type of the denarius at this time renders style and fabric not a very certain
criterion, these finds of coins afford invaluable evidence for establishing the
sequence of the issues during these years. If we consider this evidence in
connection with the issues of the Roman mint, the coinage seems to fall into
order almost year by year, and when we bring these coins into relation with
those struck outside Italy at this time, especially those of Spain, what may have
been, perhaps, somewhat uncertain, becomes practically a certainty.
CIRC. B.C. 81; A.U.C. 673 365
Metal
r tº
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Teverse
Circ. B.C. 81; A.U.C. 673 *
C. TOBLICI . O. . F
(CAIUS POBLICIUS QUINTI FILIUS) *
Denarius
With same letter on obverse and reverse
2896 || 56.4 || AR 75 Bust of Roma r., draped, C. ToBLICl. O. F (on right).
wearing helmet, orna- Hercules naked, standing
mented with gryphon's | 1., and strangling the
head, and at each side Nemean lion ; at his
with feather; * hair long ; feet, club ; on 1., bow and
behind, RONAA; above, arrows in case ; above
letter A which, letter A ; edge
serrated.
2897 || 58-0 | AR 8 || Similar ; letter B Similar ; letter B
(Nott)
2898 || 59-0 | AR 75 Similar ; letter C Similar ; letter C
(de Salis Coll.)
2899 || 58.5 | AR 75 Similar ; letter D Similar ; letter D
* (Nott)
2900 || 53-0 | AR 75 | Similar ; letter E Similar ; letter E
* The moneyers assigned to this year are only two in number, C. Poblicius and C. Naevius
Balbus, the latter striking a special coinage, as it bears the legend S. C (Senatus consulto). As
so little, if anything, is known of their history, the place to be given to these coinages, within
the limit of B. c. 81–75, can only be determined by the evidence of finds and by style and
fabric. In respect of the latter they resemble very closely the previous coinages of
A. Postumius Albinus and C. Marius Capito, and that of L. Papius, attributed to B.C. 80.
All these series have the denarius with the serrated edge. The absence of any of the coins
assigned to this year in the Carrara and San Miniato finds has been accounted for (see p. 361).
* This moneyer is uncertain. Mommsen (Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 466) suggests that he
was a son of Q. Publicius who was praetor in B.C. 66, but on account of the date to which his
coins are here assigned he was more probably a brother. There was another Publicius of
that time, who is mentioned by Cicero as an accomplice of Catiline (in Cat., ii. 2).
* The head of Roma wearing the helmet adorned with a feather at each side, instead of a
wing, was probably adopted from coins of C. Poblicius Malleolus, which are attributed to
Italy B. c. 90, but this form of helmet was not uncommon, and we meet with it on coins of
Ti. Weturius (ITALY, B.C. 93), Q. Lutatius Cerco (ITALY, B.C. 90), Q. Minucius Thermus (ITALY,
B.c. 90), L. Axsius Naso (B.C. 73), and on those of other moneyers (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 334).
The reverse type of Hercules strangling the Nemean lion reminds us of the early coins of
Neapolis, Tarentum, and Heraclea, but as it does not seem possible to associate the design in
any way with the personal history of the moneyer's family, it may refer to the recent victory
of Sulla over the Marian party. Current events were not usually recorded on coins as early as
this time, but as we meet with exceptions in the case of L. Manlius, the proquaestor, and
A. Manlius, the quaestor, who commemorated on their gold and silver money the recent
successes of Sulla (see Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 177-179), this may be another instance.
The only mint-marks used by C. Poblicius consist of the same letters on the obverse and
reverse. They extend throughout the alphabet.
366
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
2901
2902
2903
2904
2.905
2906
2907
2908
2909
2.910
2911
2912
2.913
2914
2915
2916
Weight
58-6
63-1
59-3
64-1
60-0
57-4
60-3
54:3
58-5
62-3
61-8
59-0
62-4
62-3
53-9
59.4
Metal
and Size
AR. 75
AR. 8
AR, 75
AR
•75
•75
AR.
.
AR.
•75
.75
.75
-75
•75
•75
.75
•75
Obverse Reverse
Similar ; letter F Similar ; letter F
[Pl. xli. 1.]
Similar ; letter G Similar ; letter G
Similar ; letter H Similar ; letter H
Similar ; letter l Similar ; letter l
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar ; letter k Similar ; letter k
Similar ; letter L Similar ; letter L
Similar ; letter N Similar ; letter N
(Woodhouse Coll.)
Similar ; same letter. Similar ; same letter.
Similar ; letter O Similar ; letter O
(Nott)
Similar ; letter O. Similar ; letter O.
Similar ; same letter. Similar ; same letter.
Similar ; letter R Similar ; letter R
Similar ; letter S Similar ; letter S
(Nott)
Similar ; letter T Similar ; letter T
(Nott)
Similar ; letter X Similar ; letter X
(Nott)
C, NAE, BALB
(CAIUS NAEVIUS BALBUS)1
Denarius
With letter on obverse
Head of Juno r., wearing C. NAE-BA-B (in exergue),
diadem, earring, and Victory, naked to the
necklace, hair long; * waist, in triga r. ; horses
behind, S. C (Senatus galloping; she holds
consulto); below chin, reins with both hands;
letter E edge Serrated.
1 This moneyer is only known from his coins, which in fabric and style resemble very
closely those of C. Poblicius, classed to the same year.
The issue was a special one. It
was not represented in the Carrara and San Miniato finds (see p. 361).
* The head on the obverse may be intended for Juno Moneta, in whose temple at Rome
the mint was situated. The reverse type of Victory in a triga is unusual, and occurs only in
CIRC. B.C. 81; A.U.C. 673 367
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
2917 59.4 || AR 75 Similar ; letter G Similar.
[Pl. xli. 2.]
2918 60-0 | AR 75 Similar ; letter H Similar.
2919 || 602 || AR “75 Similar ; letter k Similar.
2920 56-6 || AR “75 Similar ; letter L Similar.
2921 | 60-6 || AR 7 || Similar ; letter O Similar.
2922 || 62-0 || AR 7 || Similar ; letter R Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
2923 || 59.4 || AR 8 || Similar ; letter S Similar.
With letter on reverse
2924 || 59.8 || AR 7 || Similar ; no letter. Similar ; above triga, letter
L
2925 58-2 || AR, 75 | Similar. Similar ; letter O
[Pl. xli. 3..]
With number on reverse
2926 58.0 | AR “75 | Similar. Similar ; above triga, num-
ber V
(Nott)
2927 | 60-5 | AR 8 Similar. Similar ; number VII
2928 58-0 || AR, 75 | Similar. Similar ; number VI ||
[Pl. xli. 4.]
2929 60-4 || AR “75 Similar. Similar ; number VII ||
(Nott)
one other instance on republican denarii, viz., on those of the quaestors, Appius Claudius and
Titus Mallius (see above, p. 199). Borghesi (CEuvres compl., t. ii., p. 222) recalls the evidence
of Dionysius of Halicarnassus (lib. vii., ch. 73), who relates that the Romans borrowed from
the Greeks the use in war of the three-horse chariot. There appears to be no record of any
event which would connect this type with the history of the family of the moneyer.
The large number of mint-marks shows that this issue was an extensive one. They are of
three series:—(1) with a letter on the obverse; (2) with a letter on the reverse; and (3)
with a number on the reverse. In the first and second series the letters extend throughout
the alphabet, and in the third the numbers run at least to CCXXX (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 248).
There is a hybrid formed of the reverse of the denarius of C. Naevius Balbus and the
obverse of that of Ti. Claudius Nero (see below, p. 381).
36S
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
2930
2931
2932
2.933
2934
2935
2936
2937
2938
2939
2940
2941
2.942
2943
2944
2945
2.946
2947
2948
Weight
66.5
58.0
59-0
46.0
60-8
57.0
60-3
60-8
63.0
60-7
59.3
61-0
49-0
60-8
59.5
55-4
60.5
61-0
61.3
Metal
and Size
A& 7
AR •75
AR. 75
AR, 75
(plated)
AR. 75
AR •75
AR. 8
AR -75
AR -75
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR •75
AR. 75
(plated)
AR, 75
AR. 75
AR. 7
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Obverse
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar;
Reverse
number X
number Xll
(Nott)
number XV
(Nott)
number XVI
number XX
(Nott)
number XX||
number XXXI
number XXX| ||
(Nott)
number XXXV
number XXXVIII
number XXXXV
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar ;
number L
number LV
(Nott)
number LXV
number LXVI
number LXXIII
number LXXVI ||
number -LXXVII ||
(Nott)
number LXXX
CIRC. B.C. 81; A.U.C. 673 369
No.
2949
2950
2951
2952
2953
2954
2955
2956
2957
2958
2959
2960
2961
2962
2963
2964
2965
2966
2967
Weight
62-3
60-6
57-4
60.5
57-4
60-7
57.6
54 8
62-7
60.5
55-4
59.2
64'4
58-0
60-0
59.3
61-1
58.2
Metal
and Size
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR •75
AR. 75
AR 75
AR 75
AR, 75
AR. -75
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse
Similar ; number
_LXXXX| ||
Similar ; number
_LXXXX|| ||
(Nott)
Similar; number LXXXXV
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar; number Cll I
Similar ; number CVIII
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; number CXII
Similar; number CXVIIII
Similar; number CXX
(Woodhouse Coll.)
Similar; number CXXV
Similar ; number CXXVI
Similar ; number CXXVIIII
Similar ; number CXXX
(Nott)
Similar ; number CXXXVII
Similar; number CXXXX
Similar ; number C.L
Similar ; number C.Llli
(Nott)
Similar ; number C-LXI
(Nott)
Similar ; number C-LXXV
Similar ; number C-LXXX
3 B
370 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight º'. Obverse Reverse
2968 || 56-3 || AR, 75 | Similar. Similar ; number C.LXXXII
2969 60-5 | AR -75 Similar. Similar; number ClxXXVII
2970 55-0 | AR “75 Similar. Similar; number C.LXXXX
(Blacas Coll.)
2971 59.8 || AR, 75 Similar. Similar; number CCI
2972 | 62-7 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar ; number CCI |
2973 || 61-0 | AR “75 Similar. Similar; number CCVIII
2974 61.2 | AR “75 Similar. Similar; number CCVII ||
2975 60-7 || AR 7 || Similar. * Similar ; number CCX|| |
2976 | 62-0 || AR 75 Similar. Similar; number CCXV
Circ. B.C. 80; A.U.C. 674
L . TAT |
(LUCIUS PAPIUS) 2
Denarius
With symbol on obverse and reverse
2977 608 || AR 75 | Head of Juno Sospita r., L. T. Aſ I (in exergue).
wearing goat's skin tied Gryphon galloping r.; be-
| under the chin ; * behind, neath, symbol, amphora
| symbol, amphora (no. 1); (no. 1), placed horizon-
bead and reel border. tally; bead and reel
| border; edge serrated.
[Pl. xli. 5.]
| (Nott)
* The moneyers whose coins are attributed to this year are Lucius Papius and Tiberius
:Claudius Ti. f. Ap. n. Those of the latter are of a special issue as they bear the letters S. C
(Senatus consulto). As none of these coins occurred in the Monte Codruzzo, Carrara, and San
*Miniato hoards, but were present in all the other seven hoards attributed to this period, and as
they very closely resemble in fabric those assigned to the previous year, the date given to
these issues is probably approximate.
* This moneyer is only known to us from his coins. He may have been the father of
L. Papius Celsus, who filled the same office under Julius Caesar circ. B.C. 46. His coinage was
a very extensive one, as we may judge from the numerous symbols used as mint-marks.
* The worship of Juno Sospita (or Caprotina) was introduced at Rome from Lanuvium,
the birth-place of the Papia gens. She was the protecting genius of the female sex, and
accompanied every woman through life from the moment of her birth till her death. Cicero
(De Nat. Deor., i., 29) describes her as wearing a goat’s skin, and sandals bent backwards, i.e.
bent upwards at the toes (calceoli repandi), and holding a spear and a shield, as shown on coins
of L. Procilius (see below, p. 383). A statue answering to this description is in the Vatican
(Helbig, Führer, i., 307). Her usual attribute is a serpent, which inhabited a grotto near her
temple, and which was fed annually by a young girl, who, if a virgin, remained unharmed, but
CIRC. B.C. 80; A.U.C. 674

372
COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
2978 || 585 | AR 8 Similar; similar symbol | Similar; symbol, hydria
(no. 2). (no. 2).
2979 60-0 || AR 7 || Similar; similar symbol Similar; symbol, tripod-
(no. 3). stand (no. 3).
(Nott)
2980 | 61-7 || AR “75 Similar; symbol, anvil Similar; symbol, tongs
(no. 4). (no. 4).
(de Salis Coll.)
2981 598 || AR 75 Similar; symbol, aplustre Similar; symbol, prow (no.
(no. 5). 5).
2982 57.7 | AR 8 || Similar ; symbol, barnacle | Similar ; symbol, drenching
(no. 6). horn (no. 6).
(Nott)
2983 || 54.8 || AR 75 Similar ; symbol, basket, Similar ; symbol, basket,
high, with grapes (no. 7). flat, with fruit (no. 7).
(Nott)
2984 601 | AR 75 Similar ; symbol, basket, Similar; symbol, wicker-
flat, with handle (no. 8). basket with handle,
fiscella (no. 8).
(Nott)
2985 61-3 || AR 8 || Similar ; symbol, boot with Similar; symbol, shoe on
strap (no. 9). last, forma calcet (no. 9).
2986 61-0 || AR 7 || Similar ; symbol, bucket Similar ; symbol, vase with
(no. 10). handles (no. 10).
2987 61-5 | AR 75 Similar ; symbol, bucket Similar ; symbol, jug with
(no. 11). handle (no. 11).
2988 || 63-0 | AR 75 Similar ; symbol, bucket Similar; symbol, wine-
with handle (no. 12). skin (no. 12).
(Nott)
2989 589 || AR 75 Similar ; symbol, bucket or Similar; symbol, triple
cauldron with handle, flesh-hook (no. 13).
Suspended to pot-hook (Nott)
(no. 13).
if not, was destroyed by the serpent (see Babelon, vol. ii., p. 402, no. 1). In her militant
character Juno Sospita was analogous to Juno Martialis, who, on Greek statues, is sometimes
represented wearing a diadem, from which issue gryphons. This may be a possible explanation
of the reverse type of the coins of Papius (Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 279, 280).
The mint-marks on the coins of Papius present a new form. They consist of a symbol on
the obverse, and another on the reverse, bearing some relation to each other. Thus, we have
a combination of an anvil and a pair of tongs, a crab and a fish, a yoke and a chariot,
&c. They are of great variety, and of great interest to the antiquary. Illustrations of the
various symbols which occur on coins in the National Collection are given on p. 371, and
numbers referring to them accompany the descriptions of the coins. A more complete series of
these symbols is illustrated by Babelon (vol. ii., pp. 281,282). A similar set of mint-marks were
used a few years later by L. Roscius Fabatus (see under date B. c. 70, and Babelon, vol. ii., p. 403).
CIRC. B.C. 80; A.U.C. 674
373
No.
2990
2991
2992
2993
2994
2995
2996
2997
2998
2999
3000
3001
3002
Weight
60-0
61.3
59.2
54-0
59-1
52-0
58.0
60-7
52.8
62-5
53-0
58.8
58.2
Metal
and Size
AR. -7
AR 75
AR. 8
AR 7
AR. 75
AR 75
AR 7
AR. 8
AR •75
AR. 8
AR •75
AR 75
AR •8
| Similar ;
Obverse
Similar ; symbol, bucra-
nium (no. 14).
Similar; symbol, butterfly
(no. 15).
symbol, candel-
abrum (no. 16).
Similar ; same symbol (no.
17).
Similar ; symbol, Phrygian
cap (no. 18).
Similar ; symbol, cap of
skin with strings, galerus
(no. 19).
Similar; symbol, chisel
(no. 30).
Similar ; symbol, clapper
of three pieces of wood,
(no. 20).
Similar ; symbol, base of
column (no. 21).
Similar ; symbol, comb for
carding, with strap (no.
22).
Similar; symbol, double-
comb (?) (no. 23).
Similar; symbol, cooking
vessel with square handle
(no. 24).
Similar ; symbol, cornu-
copiae (no. 25).
Reverse
Similar : symbol, double
axe, bipennis (no. 14).
Similar; symbol, fly (no.
15).
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar; symbol, fire-dog
(no. 16).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, end-rest
of couch, fulcrum (no.
17).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, narrow
sword with open handle
(no. 18).
(Nott)
Similar; symbols, two
spears (no. 19).
(Blacas Coll.)
symbol, mallet
Similar ;
(no. 30).
Similar; symbol, fan or
fly-flap (no. 20).
[Pl. xli. 6.]
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, capital of
Corinthian column (no.
21).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, knife,
spatula (no. 22).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, two rings
united by two bars (no.
23).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, ladle with
long handle (no. 24).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, bunch of
grapes (no. 25).
374
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
3003
3004
3005
3006
3007
3008
3009
3010
3011
3012
3013
3014
3015
3016
3017
Weight
55-4
59.3
61.6
61:4
59-9
59.4
60-4
56-6
60-3
59.5
60-4
60-0
57-5
58.0
59.2
Metal
and Size
AR. 8
AR, 7
AR, 75
AR. '75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR 75
AR. 8
AR, 75
AR. 75
AR, "Z
AR 8
AR. 75
AR •75
Obverse
Similar; symbol, crab (no.
26).
Similar; symbol, crater
with two handles (no.
27).
Similar; symbol, cray-fish
(no. 28).
Similar; symbol, crocodile
(no. 29).
Similar;
(no. 31).
symbol, crowbar
Similar; symbol, cruse for
oil (no. 32).
Similar; symbol, cup with-
out handle (no. 33).
Similar; symbol, curule
chair (no. 34).
Similar ; symbol, die for
coin (?) (no. 35).
Similar; symbol, disk (no.
36).
Similar ; distaff
symbol,
(no. 37).
Similar ; symbol, dog run-
ning (no. 38).
Similar; symbol, dolphin
(no. 39).
Similar; symbol, drill (no.
41).
Similar; symbol, drill (no.
42).
Reverse
Similar; symbol, fish (no.
26).
Similar; symbol, amphora,
(no. 27).
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar; symbol, sepia (no.
28).
Similar; symbol, pig (no.
29).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, pick, dol-
abra (no. 31).
[PI. xli. 7.]
Similar; symbol, lamp (no.
32).
Similar; symbol, drinking
cup, rhyton (no. 33).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, seat or
bench (no. 34).
Similar; symbol, die for
coin (?) (no. 35).
Similar; symbol, ring with
cord (no. 36).
(Nott)
Similar; symbols, two reels
(no. 37).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, capricorn
(no. 38).
Similar; symbol,
fish (no. 39).
(de Salis Coll.)
tunny
Similar; symbol, com-
passes (?) (no. 41).
Nott)
(
Similar; symbol, plane (no.
42).
[Pl. xli. 8.]
* In the illustration the obverse and reverse symbols have been transposed.
CIRC. B.C. 80; A.U.C. 674
375
No.
3018
3019
3020
3021
3022
3023
3024
3025
3026
3027
3028
3029
3030
3031
Weight
59.5
58-9
54:1
63.7
56.4
58.0
57.5
61.9
53.1
61:0
59.2
Metal
and Size
AR •75
AR •8
AR 75
AR. 8
AR •75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR 75
AR •8
AR 75
AR 75
AR 75
AR 75
Obverse
Similar ; symbol, egg (no.
43).
Similar; symbol, feather
(no. 44).
Similar; symbol, flail (no.
45).
Similar; symbol, plasterer's
float (no. 40).
Similar; symbol, two flutes
(no. 46).
Similar; symbol, human
foot (no. 47).
Similar; symbol, gimlet or
auger (no. 48).
Similar; symbol, goal,
meta (no. 49).
Similar; symbol, female
goat's head (no. 50).
Similar; symbol, goblet (no.
51).
Similar; similar symbol
(no. 52).
Similar ; symbol, greave
(no. 53).
Similar; symbol, hammer
with round head (no. 54).
Similar; symbol, hand with
caestus (no. 55).
Reverse
Similar; symbol, eagle (no.
43). s
Similar; symbol, feather of
peacock (no. 44).
Similar; symbol, wicker-
basket with long strap
(no. 45).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, trowel
(no. 40).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, syrinx
(no. 46).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, hand with
lancet (no. 47).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, hammer
(no. 48).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, weight
with strap (no. 49).
Similar ; symbol, male
goat's head (no. 50).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, wine-
skin (no. 51).
(Nott)
Similar ; similar symbol
(no. 52).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, metal-
worker's hammer (no.
53).
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar ; symbol, sacrificial
knife, culter (no. 54).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, lighted
torch (no. 55).
(Nott)
376
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
3032
3033
3034
3035
3036
3037
3038
3039
3040
3041
3042
3043
3044
Weight
53-9
62-7
60-4
57.8
62-0
60-7
57-0
59.5
60-2
54-0
59-6
62.5
59.8
3045
60-0
Metal
and Size
AR •75
•75
•75
•75
•75
•75
.75
.75
.75
•75
•75
Obverse
Similar; symbol, hand with
stilus or graver (no. 56).
Similar; symbol, hare
running (no. 57).
Similar; symbol, harp (no.
58).
Similar; symbol, harpa (no.
59).
Similar ; symbol, helmet
with crest (no. 60).
Similar ; symbol, helmet
with long spike (no. 61).
Similar ; symbol, hook for
raising timber (no. 62).
Similar ; symbol, flesh-
hook (no. 63).
Similar ; symbol, forepart
of horse (no. 64).
Similar ; symbol, jug with
handle, ampulla (no. 65).
Similar; symbol, jug, with
handle, for water, guttur-
nium (no. 66).
Similar; symbol, knife with
curved blade (no. 67).
Similar ; symbol, lantern
with hook (no. 68).
Similar ; symbol, lituus (no.
69).
Reven'se
Similar; symbol, sundial
(no. 56).
Similar; symbol, dog run-
ning (no. 57).
(Woodhouse Coll.)
Similar; symbol, lyre (no.
58).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, dragon's
head (no. 59).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, two
shields (?), ancilia (no.
60).
Similar; symbol, cup with
handle (no. 61).
Similar; symbol, pulley
with rope (no. 62).
[Pl. xli. 9..]
Similar; symbol, ladle with
long handle (no. 63).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, forepart
of bull (no. 64).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, palm-
branch (no. 66).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, cradle
(no. 66).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, block of
wood (no. 67).
Similar ; symbol, pincers or
snuffers (no. 68).
[Pl. xli. 10.]
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, mask with
wreath (no. 69).
(Nott)
CIRC. B.C. 80; A.U.C. 674
377
No.
3046
3047
3048
3049
3050
3051
3052
3053
3054
3055
3056
3057
3058
Weight
56-0
63-3
56-6
64-4
61-0
58-3
56-7
61.2
60-0
63-2
59-0
59-0
61-5
Metal
and Size
AR. 75
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR, 75
AR, 8
AR. 8
AR, 75
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR, 75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 75
Obverse
Similar; symbol, lock (no.
70).
Similar : symbol, lotus-
flower (no. 71).
Similar ; symbol, lyre (no.
72).
Similar ; symbol, mace (no.
73).
Similar; symbol, mirror
(no. 74).
Similar ; symbol, modius
(no. 75).
Similar; symbol, owl (no.
76).
Similar ; symbol, pan,
circular, with handle
(no. 77).
Similar ; symbol, penta-
gram (no. 78).
Similar ; symbol, piercer or
borer (no. 79).
Similar ; symbol, pot-hook
(no. 80).
Similar ;
(no. 81).
symbol, pump
Similar; symbol, signet ring
(no. 82).
Reverse
Similar ; symbol, key (no.
70).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, poppy-
head (no. 71).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, bow and
quiver (no. 72).
Similar ; symbol, club with
strap (no. 73).
(Nott)
mirror
Similar; symbol,
inscribed, i. (no. 74).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, modius
(no. 75).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, crow with
open wings (no. 76).
Similar ; symbol, pan,
flat, with handle (no.
77). \
[Pl. xli. 11.]
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, carpenter's
Square, norma (no. 78).
(Nott)
Similar ; chisel
(no. 79).
symbol,
Similar ; symbol, uncertain
(no. 80).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, pail with
handle, to which small
cup is attached (no.
81).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, scroll in
case (no. 82).
(Nott)
3 C
378
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
3059
3060
3061
3062
3063
3064
3065
3066
3067
3068
3069
3070
3071
3072
Wevght
47.7
58-6
58-1
60-6
53.8
65-1
56-8
66-6
61-0
61:0
59.8
60-6
58-1
59.2
Metal
and Swze
AR, '85
AR. 8
AR •75
AR. '75
AR 7
AR •7
AR -75
AR. ''Y5
AR 75
AR -75
AR 7
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR •75
Obverse
Similar; symbol, rudder
(no. 83).
Similar ; symbol, sandal
(no. 84).
Similar ; symbol, scalpum,
or tanner's knife (no. 85).
Similar; symbol,
(no. 86).
Sceptre
Similar ;
(no. 87).
symbol, Sceptre
Similar ; symbol, shell,
conch (no. 88).
Similar; symbol, baker's
shovel, peel (no. 89).
Similar ; symbol, sickle
(no. 90).
Similar ; symbol, sistrum
(no. 91).
Similar ; symbol, spear (no.
92).
Similar ; symbol, spear-
head (no. 93).
Similar ; symbol, spindle
(no. 94).
Similar; symbol, spur (no.
95).
Similar; symbol, staff with
strap (no. 96).
Reverse
Similar ; symbol, anchor
(no. 83).
Similar; symbol, Sandal
(no. 84
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, scraper
(no. 85).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, curved
sword in sheath (no. 86).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, cap or
head-dress (no. 87).
(Woodhouse Coll.)
Similar; symbol, shell,
scallop (no. 88).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, oven (no.
89).
[Pl. xli. 12.]
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; symbol, basket
with handles (no. 90).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, patera
with fruit (no. 91).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, saddle-
cloth (no. 92).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, human
foot, deformed (no. 93).
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar; symbol, distaff
(no. 94).
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar; symbol, horse's
muzzle (no. 95).
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar ; symbol, ninepin
(no. 96).
(Nott)
CIRC. B.C. 80; A.U.C. 674
379
No.
3073
3074
3075
3076
3077
3078
3079
3080
3081
3082
3083
3084
Metal
and Size
AR. 75
AR 75
AR. 75
AR 75
AR. ''/5
AR 75
AR •8
AR •75
AR •7
AR •8
AR. 75
AR 75
Obverse
Similar; symbol, staff with
double hook at one end
(no. 97).
Similar; symbol, standard
(no. 98).
Similar; symbol, strainer
or funnel (no. 99).
Similar; symbol, sword in
sheath with strap (no.
100).
Similar; symbol, voting
tablet (tabella), inscribed
º (no. 101).
Similar; symbol, thyrsus
(no. 102).
Similar; symbol, ticket of
bone, leaf-shaped (no.
103).
Similar; symbol, trident
(no. 104).
Similar; symbol, tripod or
butcher's block on legs
(no. 105).
Similar; symbol, tripod
(no. 106).
Similar; symbol, turnip
(no. 107).
Similar; symbol, vase with
long neck and strap (no.
108).
Reverse
Similar; symbol, knuckle-
bone, astragalus (no. 97).
(Nott)
Similar ;
(no. 98).
(Nott)
symbol, serpent
Similar; symbol, amphora
(no. 99).
[Pl. xli. 13.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar; symbol, trumpet,
Sarmatian (no. 100).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, cista with
handle across, scrinium
(no. 101).
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; symbol, ivy-
branch (no. 102).
Similar; symbol, ticket of
bone, egg-shaped (no.
103).
Similar; symbol, dolphin
(no. 104).
Similar; symbol, butcher's
knife (no. 105).
Similar; symbol, vase with
cover (no. 106).
(Nott)
Similar ; carrot
(no. 107).
symbol,
Similar ; symbol, cauldron
with two handles across
(no. 108).
(Nott)
1 This tablet is supposed by Mommsen (Hust, mon. rom., t. ii., p. 465) to refer to the Lea,
Papia de Vestalium lectione, which regulated the election of the vestal virgins, and limited the
Weight
60.1
59-6
63-0
56.9
60-0
60-7
60-8
62.8
51.3
56.0
61-5
56.3
powers of the Pontifex Maximus.
after the issue of these coins, viz., in B.C. 65.
The Lea Papia de Peregrinis was not passed till some years
380
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
3085
3086
3087
3088
3089
3090
3091
3092
3093
3094
3095
Weight
62-4
61:0
56.2
60.5
60-3
59.5
60-8
61:4
62-3
61.3
56.2
Metal
and Size
AR. 8
AR, 8
AR. 8
AR. 75
AR 75
AR 75
AR, 7
AR •7
AR •8
AR. 8
AR 75
Obverse
Similar; symbol, vase with
handle and spout (no.
109).
Similar; symbol, vase with
two handles and string
for suspension (no. 110).
Similar; symbol, vase,
similar to the preceding
(no. 111).
Similar ; symbol, volumen
or scroll (no. 112).
Similar; symbol, water-
cock, or valve for water-
pipe (no. 113).
Similar; symbol, well-head,
puteal (no. 114).
Similar; symbol, wheel with
four spokes (no. 115).
Similar ; symbol, wolf's
head (no. 116).
Similar; symbol, wreath
(no. 117).
Similar; similar symbol
(no. 118).
Similar; symbol, yoke (no.
Reverse
Similar; symbol, lamp-
feeder (no. 109).
Similar ; symbol, vase, am-
pulla, with string for
suspension (no. 110).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, strigil
(no. 111).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, stilus (no.
112).
Similar ; symbol, water-
pipe with double conduit
at one end, and arm at
the other (no. 113).
[Pl. xli. 14.]
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, fountain
(no. 114).
Similar; symbol, wheel with
eight spokes (no. 115).
Similar ; symbol, lion's
head (no. 116).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, lituus
(no. 117).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, torque
(no. 118).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, chariot
(no. 119).
(Nott)
CIRC. B.C. 80; A.U.C. 674
381
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse IReverse
T] . CLAD . TI . F. A. . N
(TIBERIUS CLAUDIUS TIBERII FILIUS
APPII NEPOS) '
Denarius
With number on reverse
3096 || 48.8 || AR 75 | Bust of Diana r.,” diademed TI . CLAD. T.I . F (in ex-
(plated) and draped, her hair A . N
drawn back and collected ergue). Victory in biga
into a knot behind; at r., horses galloping; she
her shoulders, quiver and holds palm-branch and
bow, the end of which is reins in l. hand, and
in the form of a stag’s wreath in r. ; under biga,
head; under chin, S. C number l; edge Serrated.
(Senatus consulto). (Nott)
* This moneyer is probably the Tiberius Claudius Nero, who served under Pompey the
Great in the war against the pirates in B.C. 67, and who was the grandfather of the emperor
Tiberius. Nothing certain appears to be known of his father, who bore the same name as
himself, or of his grandfather, Appius Claudius, as the latter could not well have been the
praetor who had Hispania Ulterior as his province in B.C. 195.
There has been some difference of opinion as to the date when Tiberius Claudius filled the
post of moneyer. Mommsen (Röm. Münz., p. 613) puts it between B. c. 81—69; the Duc de
Blacas (Mommsen, Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 439, note) between B.C. 86–83; and Cavedoni
(Borghesi, CEuvres compl., t. i., p. 186) between B. c. 79–73. The Duc de Blacas assigns the
issue to the earlier date, because one specimen was said to have occurred in the Cingoll hoard,
but Garrucci, in his account of that hoard (Bull. dell’Inst. arch., 1865, p. 171) draws attention
to the circumstance that some two or three coins, which were reported as forming part of it,
were added by the peasant who discovered it, and he specially mentions the single coin of
Tiberius Claudius as one of the suspected pieces, as it differed in patina from other coins in
the hoard, and, besides, it was not so well preserved as it would have been, if it had been buried
with the rest of the coins. If the coins of Tiberius Claudius had been struck as early as B.C.
86–83, some would probably have occurred in the Monte Codruzzo, Carrara, and San Miniato
hoards, but this was not the case. The date assigned to this issue by Count de Salis seems,
therefore, to be the most probable one. The presence of the letters S., C (Senatus consulto)
shows that this coinage was of a special nature.
* The obverse type of the bust of Diana was evidently copied from the coins of A. Postumius
Albinus, struck about two years previously (see p. 351), but the dies were evidently
executed by a somewhat less skilful hand. In this instance it refers to the Sabine origin of
the Claudia gens. The worship of Diana was introduced into Rome by the Sabines and by the
Latins on their becoming plebeians, and she was honoured by them before the state took any
notice of her. Varro (de Lºng. Lat., v. 74) expressly affirms that the worship and name of
Diana had come from the Sabines, and, moreover, the Aventine, on which her temple stood,
was first occupied by that conquered nation, when it was transplanted to Rome.
The reverse type of Victory may relate to the successes of C. Claudius Nero, an ancestor
of the moneyer over Hannibal and Hasdrubal in Italy, for which he received a triumph
(Hor., Carm., iv., 4).
Two series of mint-marks occur on this coinage; one consisting of a single number which
runs from l—CLXV at least; the other of the letter A and a running number to about
CLXXXII (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1900, p. 38). Borghesi (CEuvres compl., t. i., p. 185) interprets
this letter A as meaning Alter. The mint-marks are met with only on the reverse.
There are hybrids formed of the obverse of the denarius of Ti. Claudius, and the
reverses of those of C. Naevius Balbus (see above, p. 366); of L. Lucretius Trio (see
below, p. 396, Type II.), and of C. Mamilius Limetanus (see above, p. 343); and another with
the reverse of the denarius of Ti. Claudius, and the obverse of an early one with the head
of Roma and the mark of value, X (Bahrfeldt, Zeit. f. Num., 1877, p. 37, and Num. Zeit., 1896,
pp. 88, 8.J).
382
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
3097
3098
3099
3100
3101
3102
3103
3104
3105
3106
3107
3.108
3109
3110
3111
3112
31.13
Weight
61.8
58-7
52.7
59.4
59.3
64'4
60-8
60.4
61.8
57.1
59.1
61-6
58-1
63-3
61-1
59.7
63-7
Metal
and Size
AR •75
AR •75
AR •75
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Obverse
Reverse
Similar ; number || ||
Similar; number XXV
(Nott)
Similar; number XXVIII
(Nott)
Similar; number XXXIII
(Nott)
Similar; number XXXV
Similar; number XXXX||
Similar; number Lll
[Pl. xli. 15.]
Similar; number LXXI
(Nott)
Similar; number LXXXII
(Nott)
Similar; number LXXX|| ||
(Nott)
Similar ; number LXXXVII
(Nott)
Similar; number -LXXXXIII
(Nott)
Similar; number CXIII
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; number CXVII
Similar; number CXXXV
(Nott)
Similar ; number C_LIII
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; number C-LX| ||
(Nott)
CIRC. B.C. 80 ; A.U.C. 674
383
No.
3114
31.15
31.16
31.17
31.18
3119
3120
3121
3122
3123
3124
3125
3126
Weight
61.8
58-6
62-3
62.2
59-9
58-9
58.8
630 |
64-1
53.8
54.7
56-2
57.5
Metal
and Size
•75
•75
•75
•75
•75
75
.75
Obverse
Reverse
With letter A and number on reverse
Similar.
Similar; countermark on
face, un
Similar ; no countermark.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; countermark on
face, crescent.
Similar; no countermark.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; with letter and
number, A - I
Similar; letter and number,
A • III
Similar; letter and number,
A : V
(Nott)
Similar; letter and number,
A • VII
(Nott)
Similar; letter and number,
A • XV
(Nott)
Similar; letter and number,
A • XVII
Similar; letter and number,
A • XVI ||
(Nott)
Similar; letter and number,
A XX
[Pl. xli. 16.]
Similar ; letter and number,
A • XX||
(Nott)
Similar ; letter and number,
A • XX| ||
(Nott)
Similar ; letter and number,
A • XXX :
Similar ; letter and number,
A • XXX|
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; letter and number,
A • XXXVII
384
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
3127
3128
3129
3130
3131
3132
3133
3134
3135
3136
3137
3138
3139
3140
3141
Weight
57.7
57.5
56-0
53-0
60-6
58.4
53-5
57.2
57.7
60-3
65.6
54'3
60-7
64-3
60-0
Metal
and Size
AR, 75
•75
.75
•75
.75
•75
•75
•75
•75
•75
•75
Obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; countermark on
face, cross.
Similar ; no countermark.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse
Similar ; letter and number,
A : XXXXVI
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; letter and number,
A XXXXVII
Similar; letter and number,
A Lll
Similar ; letter and number,
A LVI
Similar ; letter and number,
A LXI
(Nott)
Similar; letter and number,
A LX||
(Nott)
Similar; letter and number,
A LXVI ||
(Nott)
Similar; letter and number,
A LXXVI
Similar ; letter and number,
A LXXXVI
Similar; letter and number,
A LXXXVII ||
(Nott)
Similar; letter and number,
A Cl
Similar; letter and number,
A • CXX
(Nott)
Similar; letter and number,
A • CXX| ||
Similar; letter and number,
A • CXXV
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar ; letter and number,
A • CXXVI ||
CIRC. B.C. 79; A.U.C. 675 385
Metal
7- 727.
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 79; A.U.C. 6751
L. V.O. L. F. STR Aº,
(LUCIUS VOLTEIUS LUCIT FILTUS STRABO)3
Denarius
With letter on obverse
3142 589 || AR 8 |Head of Jupiter r, laureate; L. Vo. L. F. SRA (in ex-
behind, letter A ergue). Europa seated
facing on bull, galloping
l., and holding her veil,
which floats over her
head; behind bull,
winged thunderbolt; be-
low, vine-leaf; edge
Serrated.
(de Salis Coll.)
3143 59.6 || AR 75 Similar ; letter D Similar.
[Pl. xli. 17.]
(Nott)
3144 || 54.6 | AR 8 || Similar; letter F ; counter- Similar.
mark on r., crescent.
3145 || 58.8 || AR “75 Similar ; letter H ; no | Similar.
countermark.
3146 60-0 || AR 75 | Similar ; letter L Similar.
* It would appear, according to Count de Salis's view, that the same conditions prevailed at
the mint during this year as in the two previous ones, and that the officials consisted of
one ordinary moneyer, L. Volteius Strabo, and one special moneyer, L. Procilius. The reasons
for assigning the coins of these moneyers to the same year are given below.
* This moneyer is uncertain, but he may have been the L. Wolteius, a friend of L. Caecilius
Metellus, who was propraetor of Sicily B.C. 70, and who is mentioned by Cicero (in Verr., iii. 66).
The interpretation of the monogram V.O is doubtful, as it might apply to the Volcatia, Volumnia,
or Volusia gens as well as to the Volteia (Mommsen, Hist. mon. om., t. ii., p. 522), but the
last seems to be the more probable solution as M. Volteius, the moneyer of the following year,
uses the same obverse type on some of his coins. Nor does the cognomen Strabo help us out
of the difficulty, as it was borne by several families (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 568).
The absence of the coins of this moneyer from all the hoards assigned to this Period makes
it difficult to fix their date. Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 522) gives them to B.C. 74–50,
and Babelon (vol. ii., p. 567) places them about B.C. 60. The strong resemblance of the
obverse type to that of the coins of L. Procilius, which are also assigned here to B.C. 79, and
the serrated edge favour a somewhat earlier date. Their absence from all the finds of this Period
may possibly be due to the Smallness of the issue, though it must be admitted that the mint-
letters probably extended throughout the Latin alphabet. . . • e
No satisfactory explanation of the type of this denarius in connection with the moneyer
has been suggested. It may, however, be noticed that on the coins of M. Volteius (see p. 388)
we meet with the type of the head of Jupiter and his temple on the Capitol.
There is a hybrid consisting of the reverse of the denarius of L. Wolteius Strabo and the
obverse of that of Q. Antonius Balbus (see above, p. 344, and Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1897,
p. 103).
l 3 D
386 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
L . TYROCILI . F
(LUCIUS PROCILIUS FILIUS)
Denarius
Type I.
8147| 622 || AR 75|Hºpiºie; L. TR90, LI do field)
behind, S. C (Senatus con- F e
Sulto). Juno Sospita standing r.,
hurling spear with r.
hand, and holding shield
in 1. ; she wears goat-
skin on her head, close-
fitting dress, and sandals
with the toes turned
back (calceoli repandi);
before her, Serpent, erect.
[Pl. xli. 18.]
(de Salis Coll.)
3148 || 58.6 | AR, 75 Similar. Similar.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
3149 || 57.5 | AR “7 Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
* This moneyer is generally identified with a certain Procilius, who was tribune of the
plebs in B. c. 56, and two years later was accused by Clodius of violent acts committed during
his tribuneship, and was condemned. He is supposed to have been the same person as the
historian who was a contemporary of Cicero, and whose praenomen is not recorded. He is the
only member of his gens of whom coins are known. . It may be noticed that in the legend the
praenomen of the father is omitted, being, probably, the same as that of the son. Coins of this
issue occurred in the Hev-Szamos and later hoards assigned to this Period, with the exception
of that of Rignano. It was a special one as shown by the letters S., C (Senatus consulto).
Little is known of the Procilia gens, but it may be inferred from the types of the coins
that it came originally from Lanuvium. The origin of the worship of Juno Sospita, or
Lanuvina, has been already mentioned (see above, p. 370), and the representation of that
divinity on the reverse of Type I. tallies precisely with the description by Cicero of her
statues—Illam nostraan Sospitam, quam tu nunquam me in somnis quidem vides, nisi cunº,
pelle caprima, cum hasta, cum Scutulo, cum calceolis repandis (De Nat. Deor., i. 29). In
this instance, and also in Type II., she is represented in her militant character, and as
the protectress against the dangers of war. In both cases she is accompanied by her special
attribute, the serpent. e tº
The similarity of the obverse of Type I. to that of the denarius of L. Wolteius Strabo has
been noticed above. A remarkable peculiarity of the coins of L. Procilius is that those of
Type I. have the edge plain, whilst those of Type II. are serrated. This shows that the
serration of the edge had no fixity, and was not a distinctive mark of a special coinage (see
also coins of C. Egnatius, p 400, note). &
Bahrfeldt (Zeit. f. Nunn., 1877, p. 36) mentions a hybrid consisting of the reverse of the
denarius (Type II.) of L. Procilius and of the obverse of that of L. Julius (see above, p. 230).
CIRC. B.C. 78; A.U.C. 676 387
No. Weight ºffs. - Obverse Reverse
Type II.
3150 630 || AR 75 | Head of Juno Sospita r., | L: DROCILI. F (in ex-
wearing goat's skin, tied ergue). Juno Sospita,
under the chin ; behind, armed with spear and
S. C (Senatus consulto). shield, in biga r., horses
galloping; she wears
goat-skin on her head,
and close-fitting dress;
under horses, serpent,
erect; edge serrated.
[Pl. xli. 19.]
(de Salis Coll.)
3151 | 62.9 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Circ. B.C. 78; A.U.C. 676."
L. CASSI. O. . F
(LUCIUS CASSIUS QUINTI FILIUS)?
Denarius
3152 62-0 || AR 75 | Head of Liber r., crowned Head of Libera 1., crowned
with ivy; hair falling in with vine and grapes;
long lock on r. shoulder; hair long ; behind,
thyrsus over 1. L. CASSI - O - F
[Pl. xli. 20.]
3153 58.5 | AR “75 | Similar. Similar.
* The coinages attributed to B.C. 78 are of L. Cassius Q. f. and M. Volteius M. f. The
latter appears to have struck a special, as well as an ordinary coinage. The rarity of the
coins of L. Cassius would lead us to suppose that his issue was not very extensive. If we
except the single specimen of the denarius of (Q. Fufius) Kalenus and (Mucius) Cordus (see
above, p. 362), those of L. Cassius and M. Wolteius were the latest in date that occurred in the
Hev-Szamos hoard. There was only one specimen of the former, and two of the latter, in the
find. Specimens of both issues were included in the Roncofreddo and Frascarolo hoards, but
only those of M. Wolteius in other finds of this Period.
* This moneyer is generally identified with L. Cassius Longinus, who was praetor B.C. 66;
a candidate for the consulship B.C. 63, and three years later, being accused of taking part in
the conspiracy of Catiline, was condemned to death. Sallust (Catilima, xvii.) and other writers
give him the cognomen Longinus, but he is usually spoken of as L. Cassius only. There was
another L. Cassius, who was a military tribune B. c. 69, but he would appear to have been too
young to strike these coins (Mommsen, Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 463).
The similarity of the obverse type of the coins of L. Cassius and of some of those of
M. Wolteius (Type III.) shows that the two issues were probably contemporaneous, and that
these moneyers may have been colleagues at the mint.
The types of his coins, Liber and Libera, refer to the erection at the foot of the Aventine,
near the Circus Maximus, of the temple dedicated to Ceres and these divinities by the consul,
Spurius Cassius, in B. c. 493. Preller (Röm. Mythologie, vol. ii., pp. 37 f.) has shown the connec-
tion between the temple of Ceres and the cult of Liber Pater and Libera, or the Libertas of the
Plebs, a cause to which the Cassia gens, as shown by their coins, were specially devoted (Babelon,
vol. i., p. 329). The Aedes Cereris became the temple of the Libertas of the Plebs, and it was there
that the decrees of the Senate were deposited for the inspection of the tribunes of the people.
388 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
NA. VOLTE|, NA. F
(MARCUS VOLTEIUS MARCI FILIUS);
Denarius
Type I.
3154 63-0 || AR 75|Head of Jupiter r., laureate. M. Vol TEI. M. F (in ex-
ergue). The tetrastyle
Doric temple of Jupiter
Capitolinus with closed
doors; the pediment is
ornamented with a
thunderbolt, and Sur-
mounted by a range
of ornamented crockets;
acroteria at the lower
angles and apex.
[Pl. xlii. 1.]
3155 60-0 || AR “75 | Similar. Similar.
3156 || 59-6 || AR “75 | Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
3157 56.5 | AR, 75 Similar. Similar.
1 Of this moneyer we have no information beyond that supplied by his coins. He may,
However, have been related to L. Wolteius, whose coinage is attributed to the previous year.
The date of office as moneyer of M. Wolteius is ascertainable within somewhat narrow limits
from the evidence of finds, and from the types and fabric of his coins. They were probably the
latest that occurred in the Hev-Szamos hoard, and must have been struck shortly before the
burial of the later finds attributed to this Period (see Tables of Finds). The obverse types of
the denarii are very similar to those of other contemporary issues, e.g., those with the head of
Jupiter are like the coins of L. Wolteius Strabo and L. Procilius (B.C. 79); those with the head of
Liber are like the coins of L. Cassius of the same year; and those with the bust of Attis (P) are
similar in type and fabric to coins of P. Satrienus (B.C. 77) with the head of Mars (see below,
p. 392). M. Wolteius must, therefore, have held office in or about B.C. 78, and it is very probable
that he had as colleague L. Cassius, and, moreover, that his issue was at least partly a special one.
Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 468) has given an interesting explanation of the types
of the coins of M. Volteius, and has shown that they probably relate to the five principal
agonistic festivals, which were celebrated annually at Rome. Type I., with the head of
Jupiter and a representation of his temple on the Capitol would refer to the ludi Romani,
established by Tarquin the Ancient, and celebrated in September ; Type II., with the head
of Hercules and the Erymanthian boar to the ludi Plebeii, games and fêtes held in
November in honour of that divinity, under whose special protection were the combats
of the palaestra and musical contests; Type III., with the head of Liber, or Bacchus, and
Ceres in a chariot to the ludi Cereales in honour of Ceres, Liber, and Libera, held during
the month of April; Type IV., with the bust of Attis (P) and Cybele in a chariot to the ludi
Megalenses, which were celebrated also in April in honour of Cybele, the Mother of the Gods,
and in commemoration of the transportation to Rome from Pessinus, in B.C. 204, of the sacred
stone representing the goddess, which was a few years later deposited in her templé on the
JPalatine; and Type V., with the head of Apollo and a tripod to the lºudi Apollinares, held in
July, which were founded in B.C. 212, in honour of Apollo, and which are so often recorded
on Roman republican coins. -
The helmeted bust on Type IV. has been identified by Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t, ii.,
p. 469) as that of Attis, the beautiful Phrygian shepherd, who was beloved by Cybele, and
CIRC. B.C. 78; A.U.C. 676 389
No. Weight Metal Obverse Reverse
and Size
Type II."
3158 | 66.1 | AR 75 | Head of young Hercules r., | M. Vol TEI. M. F (in ex-
wearing lion's skin, tied ergue). The Eryman-
under the chin. thian boar running r.
3159 60-6 || AR -75 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xlii. 2.]
Type III.
With symbol on reverse
3160 55-0 || AR “75 | Head of Liber or Bacchus | M. Vol TEI. NA. F (in ex-
r., crowned with ivy; ergue). Ceres in chariot
hair long and in locks. r., drawn by two serpents;
she holds lighted torch in
each hand; behind her,
symbol, altar.
[Pl. xlii. 3..]
3161 | 61-8 || AR, 7 | Similar. Similar; symbol, axe.
3162 59-6 || AR, 75 Similar. Similar; symbol, butterfly.
3163 || 59.5 | AR 8 Similar. Similar; symbol, winged
caduceus (vertical).
(Cracherode Coll.)
3164 || 51.3 || AR, 75 | Similar. Similar; symbol, winged
caduceus (horizontal).
whose cult in Asia Minor was inseparable from her own; but Cavedoni (Nuovi Studi, p. 27)
prefers to see in it a representation of one of the Corybantes, more particularly of “Corybas
himself, the son of Jason and Cybele, who, after the apotheosis of his father, went with
his mother and uncle Dardanus to Asia Minor, where he spread the cult of the Mother of the
Gods, whom he called Cybele, after his own mother.”
The commemoration of these public games seems to suggest that the coinage of
M. Wolteius was a special one, and was issued on the occasions of those festivals. This is
somewhat confirmed by the letters S. C, D, T, which are found on Type W., and which were
usually explained as Senatus consulto donum twlit, but for which Mommsen has proposed Senatus
consulto, de thesauro, an interpretation now generally accepted. They would suggest that,
at least, some portion of this coinage was struck from bullion which was kept in reserve in the
public treasury, and which was supplied in accordance with the provisions of the Lew Plautia:
Papiria (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 565). This, as we have already shown, had happened on several
occasions since the passing of that law. Like many issues of the time, this one may have
been intended to meet some unusual expenditure in connection with the celebration of the
principal public games. If this was the case, there would then have been, in B.C. 78, one
ordinary and one special moneyer at the mint, as in the three preceding years.
M. Volteius uses a variety of mint-marks, consisting of symbols only, or of symbols and
Greek numerals.
* There is a hybrid formed of the reverse of this type and of the obverse of the denarius of
L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi with the laureate head of Apollo and symbol, anchor, as no. 1868, p. 253
Bahrfeldt, Zeit. f. Num., 1877, p. 36).
390
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
3165
3166
3167
3168
3169
3170
3171
3172
3173
3174
3175
alſo
3177
3178
3179
Weight
64'2
50-8
57.5
59.4
59-0
58.0
58.2
63.5
58.0
59.0
60-8
59.3
61:0
61:0
59.8
Metal
amd Size
AR. 7
AR, 75
AR 7
AR 75
AR. 75
AR •8
AR 7
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 7
AR. 7
AR. 7
AR. 75
AR. 8
AR. '75
Obverse Reverse
Similar. Similar; symbol, club.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar. Similar; symbol, eagle.
Similar; countermark be- Similar; symbol, helmet
fore head, P with crest.
Similar; no countermark. Similar; symbol, ladder.
Similar. Similar; symbol, plectrum.
Similar. Similar; same symbol.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
Similar. Similar; symbol, rudder.
Similar. Similar; symbol, Satyr's
head.
Similar. Similar; symbol, shield.
Similar. Similar; symbol, spear-head.
Similar. Similar; symbol, thyrsus.
Similar. Similar; symbol, tortoise.
Similar. Similar; symbol, tripod-
stand.
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar. Similar; symbol, weight
with strap.
Type IV.
With symbol on obverse and Greek mumber on reverse'
Bust of Attis (?) r., draped,
and wearing helmet,
wreathed with laurel;
behind, symbol, winged
caduceus.
M. Vol TEI. M. F (in ex-
ergue). Cybele seated
in chariot r., drawn by
two lions; she holds
patera in r. hand, and
reins in 1. ; above, Gree
number B -
(Blacas Coll.)
* The numbers appear to extend to ſl E (= 85) at least.
CIRC. B.C. 78; A.U.C. 676
391
No.
3180
3181
3182
3183
3184
3.185
3186
3.187
3.188
3189
3190
3.191
3.192
3]93
3.194
3195
3196
3197
31.98
3199
Weight
59.0
59-0
61-6
57.0
58-0
58-4
61.3
59-0
60-0
56-0
59.3
58-7
58.0
61:4
58-5
60-9
58-6
61.5
58-7
58.0
Metal
and Size
AR, -75
AR. 75
AR, 7
AR 75
AR -75
AR 7
AR 7
AR, 75
AR 7
AR, 7
AR 7
AR, 75
AR, 75
AR, 75
AR, 7
AR 7
AR, 7
AR. 7
AR. 7
AR. 75
Obverse
Similar; same symbol.
Similar; symbol, crescent
In OOIl.
Similar; symbol, butterfly.
Similar; same symbol.
Similar; symbol, wreath.
Similar; symbol, thyrsus.
Similar; symbol, strigil.
Similar ; symbol, tongs.
Similar; symbol, owl.
Similar; symbol, cock.
Similar; symbol, palm-
branch.
Similar; symbol, piercer.
Similar; same symbol.
Similar; symbol, simpulum.
Similar; symbol, pileus
surmounted by star.
Similar; symbol, staff with
double hook.
Similar; symbol, pelta.
Similar; symbol, Mace-
donian shield.
Similar; symbol, shield with
central rib and boss.
Similar ; lyre-
key.
symbol,
Reverse
Similar ; same number.
Similar ; number T
[Pl. xlii. 4.]
Similar ; number C
Similar ; same number.
Similar ; number H
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; number G)
Similar ; number 1
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; number 1A
Similar ; number KA
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar ; number KG)
Similar ; number A
Similar ; number AA
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar; same number.
Similar ; number AB
Similar ; number /\Z
Similar ; number MA
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar ; number MB
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; number M ſt
Similar; number MG)
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar; number NA
392 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
3200 609 || AR 7 || Similar; symbol, dolphin. Similar; number Nz
(Nott)
8201 || 584 || AR 7 |Similar; symbol, prow. Similar; number NH
3202 || 61-3 || AR 75 Similar; Symbol, altar. Similar ; number E
(Blacas Coll.)
3203 || 60.7 | AR 7 || Similar; symbol, human Similar; number =Z
foot.
3204 || 52-0 || AR 7 || Similar; symbol, quiver | Similar; number O
and bow.
3205 || 53-4 || AR “75 | Similar; symbol, ladder. Similar ; number OZ
3206| 603 || AR 7 || Similar; symbol, sprinkler. Similar; number T.
Type V.
3207 || 59:2 | AR 7 | Head of Apollo r., laureate; M. Vol TEI. M. F (in ex-
hair in two long locks. ergue). Tripod lebes;
the centre leg entwined
with serpent ; on 1., S. C
(Senatus consulto); on r.,
D. T (De thesauro).
[Pl. xlii. 5.]
(Nott)
Circ. B.C. 77; A.U.C. 677'
Tº . SATRIENVS
(PUBLIUS SATRIENUS)*
Denarius
3208 || 59-6 || AR 7 | Head of young Mars r., D . SATRIE /
wearing crested helmet.” NVS (in exergue).
Wolf walking 1.; above,
RONAA
[Pl. xlii. 6.]
* Specimens of the coinages of all three moneyers, P. Satrienus, C. Postumius Tatius, and
L. Rutilius Flaccus, attributed to this year, were met with in the Roncofreddo, Frascarolo,
Licodia, Rignano, and Palestrina hoards, with the exception that the coins of P. Satrienus were
absent at Rignano, and those of C. Postumius Tatius at Roncofreddo. As coins of all the issues
were absent from the Hev-Szamos find, it is conclusive evidence that they were not struck till
after its burial. We have thus an ascertainable date for these issues, which Count de Salis has
assigned to circ. B.C. 77.
* Publius Satrienus is only known to us from his coins, as ancient writers do not make any
mention of the Satriena gens. The name may have been derived from Satrius, like Nasidienus
from Nasidius, Matienus from Matius, &c. Several members of the Satria gens, who flourished
about this time, may have been connected with this moneyer. This is the only member of
this family of whom we have coins.
* This head may be of Mars or Roma, but more probably of the former, as the features are
CIRC. B.C. 77; A.U.C. 677 393
No. JJ eight ..". Obverse Reverse
With mumber on obverse 1
3209 || 62-7 || AR 7 || Similar ; behind head of Similar.
Mars, number VIII (Nott)
3210 56.4 || AR 7 || Similar ; number XI Similar.
3211 58:1 | AR 7 || Similar; number XII Similar.
3212 || 61-0 || AR 7 || Similar; number XIV Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
3213 | 60:7 | AR “75 | Similar ; number XVI Similar.
[Pl. xlii. 7.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
3214 50-6 || AR 75 Similar ; number XIIX Similar.
3215 59.6 || AR 7 || Similar ; number XX Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
3216 60.5 | AR 7 || Similar ; number XXI Similar.
3217 | 57.5 | AR 7 || Similar ; number XXVIII Similar.
3218 59.3 || AR 7 || Similar ; number XXX Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
3219 55.2 | AR 7 || Similar ; number XXXI Similar.
3220 58.5 | AR 7 || Similar ; number XXXII Similar.
3221 59.2 | AR 7 || Similar ; number XXXIII Similar.
(Nott)
3222 || 58-7 || AR 7 || Similar ; number XXX| || | | Similar.
3223 62.4 || AR 7 || Similar ; number XXXV Similar.
3224 || 57.9 | AR 7 || Similar ; number XXXXIII | Similar.
too masculine for the female divinity. This was also Mommsen's opinion (Hist. mon, rom., t. ii.,
p. 479), but Babelon (vol. ii., p. 420) gives reasons for identifying the head as that of Roma.
As Mars was the father of Romulus and Remus, either would be applicable in point of connec-
tion with the reverse type, in which may be seen a reference to the foundation of Rome.
The style of the head on the obverse is very similar to that of Attis (?) on the coins of
M. Wolteius (see above, p. 390). The only mint-marks used by P. Satrienus are numbers
which are placed on the obverse.
The quadrans in the Bignami collection, now in the Capitoline Museum, on which has
been read the moneyer's name, SATR, cannot be of this issue, as no bronze money was struck
at this time. Bahrfeldt thinks it may be a coin of C. Numitorius, altered by tooling (Num. Zeit.,
1897, p. 69). The quinarius published by J. Neudeck (Num. Zeit., 1870, p. 49) with head of
Apollo and SARI below Victory in a biga seems also to be a misread coin.
* These numbers run up to Cl ill at least (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 420).
3 E
394 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reven'se
3225 | 60-0 | AR 7 | Similar; number XXXXVII | Similar.
3226 57-0 | AR 7 || Similar ; same number. Similar.
(Nott)
3227 | 55-3 || AR 7 || Similar; number Ll Similar.
(Nott)
3228 54.3 || AR 7 || Similar ; number Lll Similar.
3229 || 59.5 | AR “75 | Similar ; number LVII || Similar.
(Nott)
3230 57.4 || AR 7 || Similar ; number LX Similar.
3231 || 62-2 || AR 75 Similar ; number LXII Similar.
(Nott)
3232 59-7 || AR “75 | Similar; number LXIIII Similar.
(Nott)
3233 602 || AR 7 || Similar; number LXXII Similar.
(Nott)
3234 58-3 || AR 7 || Similar ; number LXXX Similar.
3235 | 59-6 || AR 7 Similar ; number LXXXVI Similar.
(Nott)
3236 62-0 | AR 7 || Similar ; number Similar.
_LXXXXVI ||
3237 56-3 || AR 7 || Similar ; number C Similar.
C. DOSTVNA|. A
(CAIUS POSTUMIUS TATIUS 91)
Denarius
3238 617 | AR 7 | Bust of Diana r., draped; C. POSTVNA
her hair drawn back and ZN
tied into a knot behind; Hound running r. ;
at her shoulders, quiver around his neck, collar;
and bow, the latter | below, hunting spear.
terminating in a stag’s [Pl. xlii. 8.]
head. (Cracherode Coll.)
(in exergue).
1 This moneyer is also unknown, except from his coins. The surname TA or AT is uncertain,
as these initials are not found elsewhere in any cognomen connected with the Postumia gens.
As, however, the same monogram occurs on coins in conjunction with the head of the Sabine king,
CIRC. B.C. 77; A.U.C. 677 395
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
3239 61-3 || AR 75 | Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
3240 | 58.6 | AR 75 | Similar. Similar.
(Nott)
3241 || 57.2 | AR “75 | Similar. Similar.
L. RVTILI . FLAC
(LUCIUS RUTILIUS FLACCUS )
Denarius
3242 63.9 || AR 75 | Head of Roma r.,” wearing L. RVTILI (in exergue).
winged helmet orna- Victory, naked to the hips,
mented with gryphon's in biga, r., horses gallop-
head, earring of single ing; she holds wreath in
drop, and necklace; visor r. hand, and reins in 1.
in three pieces, even at [Pl. xlii. 9..]
the ends; hair long and
tied ; behind, FLAC
3243 || 58-3 || AR 75 | Similar. Similar.
3244 || 617 | AR 75 | Similar ; the visor of the Similar.
helmet is peaked. [Pl. xlii. 10.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Tatius, struck by L. Titurius Sabinus (see above, p. 297) and T. Vettius Sabinus (see below,
p. 417), it is not impossible that the Postumia gens, which was one of the most ancient,
may have claimed descent from that king. P. Postumius Q. f. Tubertus was consul in B.C. 505,
only five years after the expulsion of the kings. The cognomen would, therefore, be Tatius or
Tatianus.
No coins of this issue were met with in the Hev-Szamos and Roncofreddo hoards, but as
they were present in that of Frascarolo and in others assigned to this Period, the date
B.C. 64 given by Babelon (vol. ii., p. 382) as the approximate one of their striking is somewhat
too late.
Like other members of his family, who filled the office of moneyer (see coins of A.
Postumius Albinus S. f., Babelon, vol. ii., p. 379, no. 4; and of A. Postumius A. f. S. n. Albinus,
above, p. 351), C. Postumius places the bust of Diana Aventina on his money in commemoration
of events connected with the battle of Lake Regillus. The hound, shown on the reverse, was
the constant companion of the goddess in her capacity as the Huntress.
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zewt., 1900, p. 75) mentions a denarius of this issue without the cognomen
A, which belonged to Signor Sarti of Rome, and which is now in the Haeberlin collection.
There is also a hybrid consisting of the reverse of this denarius and of the obverse of that
of L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi (Bahrfeldt, Zeit. f. Num., 1877, p. 37).
1 This moneyer is uncertain, but Cavedoni (Nuovi Studi, p. 25) proposed to identify him
with the senator, L. Rutilius, who was one of the judges in the action against Cluentius in
B. c. 69 (Cicero, pro Cluentio, lxv., 182). This is the only member of the Rutilia family of
whom coins are known. Specimens of this issue occurred in all the hoards assigned to this
Period, with the exception of those of San Miniato and Hev-Szamos. It is possible that the
single specimen of this coinage, which was said to have been in the Carrara hoard, was, like
some other pieces, added after its discovery (see above, p. 361).
* The types of the head of Roma and of Victory in a biga relate to some event connected
with the moneyer's family, of which there is no other record. The obverse type is a revival of
the one which had been so long exclusively used, but had fallen into disuse.
396 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 76 ; A.U.C. 678
L. LVCRETI . TRIO
(LUCIUS LUCRETIUS TRIO 3)
A.
Denarius
Type I. 3
3245 59.2 | AR “75 | Head of Sol r., radiate. L. LVCRETI . TRIO below
and above Crescent moon
surrounded by seven
stars (septem Triomes).
[Pl. xlii. 11.]
3246 || 57-0 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
Type II.”
With number on, obverse *
3247 | 60:8 || AR 75 | Head of Neptuner., laureate; L. LVCRETI
behind, trident and num- TRIO below Winged
ber XVI Genius on dolphin r.,
which he guides with a
bridle.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
* There are two moneyers whose coins are attributed to this year, L. Lucretius Trio and
L. Rustius : the former an ordinary moneyer, the latter a special one, as shown by the letters
S. C (Senatus consulto). The coins of L. Lucretius Trio were present in the Roncofreddo,
Frascarolo, Rignano, Licodia, Palestrina, and Ossero finds, but those of L. Rustius occurred
only in that of Roncofreddo.
* No mention is made of this moneyer by ancient writers. An earlier member of the
Lucretia gens, Cn. Lucretius Trio, who filled the office of moneyer in the middle of the second
century B.C. (see above, p. 132), had the same cognomen, which only occurs on coins in
connection with that family. The present moneyer may have been his grandson.
* This type is an allusion to the moneyer’s name. The sun and moon which give the
greater light (lway) are intended to refer to the gentile name, Lucretius, whilst the seven
stars (septem Triomes), which form the constellation of the Great Bear, are a type parlant
of the cognomen Trio. Such fanciful and punning allusions to names were not unusual at
that time at Rome (Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 152, 153).
* The head of Neptune and the Genius on the dolphin are evidently intended to record
some naval event connected with a member of the moneyer's family, and not improbably with
C. Lucretius Gallus, who, in B.C. 181, was created dwumvir mavalis with C. Matienus, in order
to equip a fleet against the Ligurians. Ten years later, when appointed praetor, he received
the command of the fleet in the war against Perseus of Macedon (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 152).
The reverse type of the rider and the dolphin may have been suggested by the early coins of
Tarentum.
* The mint-numbers run, at least, to LXXX.
There are restorations by Trajan of both types of the denarius (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 153).
CIRC.
397
B.C. 76; A.U.C. 678
No.
3248
3249
3250
3251
3252
3253
3254
3255
3.256
3257
3258
3259
8260
3261
Weight
46.0
59.2
61:0
58-3
54-5
60-4
53.8
58-7
59.7
60-0
59.0
62.8
62-3
60-2
59-6
60-1
59.4
57-9
54'4
Metal
and Size
AR. 75
(plated)
AR. 75
.75
•75
.75
•75
-75
.75
.75
-75
.75
•75
•75
.75
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Obverse
same number.
number XVI ||
number XX
number XXI
number XX|| ||
number XXX
number xxxiii
number XXX|| ||
number XXXVIII
number XXXX| ||
number XXXXV
number Ll
number Lll
number Lllll -
number LV
number IXL
number IIXL
number LXIII
number LXV
Reverse
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xlii. 12.]
Similar.
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
398 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight gº. Obverse Reverse
3267 58.5 | AR 7 || Similar ; number LXIX Similar.
[Pl. xlii. 13.]
3268 53-4 || AR 75 Similar; number LXX Similar.
3269 61-0 || AR 7 || Similar ; number LXXI Similar.
3270 60-5 | AR “75 Similar; number LXXII Similar.
L., . RVSTI
(LUCIUS RUSTIUS )
Denarius
3271 || 61.3 | AR 75 | Head of young Mars r., L. R.VSTI (in exergue).
wearing crested helmet; Ram” standing r.
behind, S. C (Senatus con-
Sulto); under chin, mark
of value, 3%
3272 58-4 || AR, 8 || Similar. Similar.
3273 || 56.8 || AR 75 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xlii. 14.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
* Very little is known of the Rustia family, and, during the period of the Republic, only
one member, whose praenomen is not given, appears to be mentioned in history. He was an
officer in the army of Crassus, and served in the expedition against the Parthians in B. c. 53
(Plutarch, Crassws, 32). It is very doubtful whether the moneyer and this officer are the
same individual, as there would be a lapse of twenty-four years between his filling the office
at the mint and his service in Parthia.
Specimens of this issue occurred in the Roncofreddo hoard, but not in any others
assigned to the latter part of this Period. This gives us an approximate date when L. Rustius
acted as a special officer of the mint. The issue, from the rarity of the coins, appears to have
been a small one.
* No satisfactory explanation of this type has been suggested. The ram was the emblem
of the month of March, which, before the time of Julius Caesar, was the first in the Roman
calendar. This would establish a connection between the obverse and reverse types, but it is
also possible that the ram was the symbol of the Rustia family, as heads of that animal are
represented on later coins of Q. Rustius, who held office during the reign of Augustus circ.
B.C. 12 (see Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 410, 412, no. 3).
The helmeted head on the obverse is very similar in style and form to that on the coins of
P. Satrienus (see above, p. 392).
The revival of the mark of value on the denarius may be purely accidental, like the
occurrence of the head of Roma on the coins of L. Rutilius Flaccus of the previous year. It
does not affect the chronology of the issue. This is the last instance of the occurrence of this
sign as a mark of value on Roman denarii (see above, p. 241).
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, pp. 66, 67) describes a denarius in the Bignami collection, now
in the Capitoline Museum, with the head of Mars slightly varied, without S. C., and with
the mark of value X for 9%. He also mentions another in the Brendicke collection, Berlin,
with the moneyer's name O. , RVSTI, and with the obverse type head of youth with long
hair and bound with fillet. They are probably both barbarous imitations.
CIRC. B.C. 75 ; A.U.C. 679 399
Metal
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 75; A.U.C. 679 |
C. EGNATIVS CN . F. CN . N. NMAXSVNAVS
(CAIUS EGNATIUS CNAEI FILIUS CNAEI
NEPOS MAXSUMUS 2)
Dermarius
Type I. 3
3274 599 || AR 75 Bust of Venus r., draped, C. EGNATIVS. CN . F
(in
wearing diadem and neck-
lace ; hair rolled back and
collected into a knot ; on
her shoulders, Cupid; be-
CN . N
exergue). Libertas draped
and crowned by Victory
in biga 1. ; horses walk-
hind bust, NWAXSVNAVS ing; behind, her cap;
edge Serrated.
Similar.
[Pl. xlii. 15.]
AR. 8 || Similar.
(plated)
3275 || 43-0
* To this year have been assigned the coinages of three moneyers, C. Egnatius Cr. f. Cn. n.
Maxsumus, L. Farsuleius Mensor, and L. Plaetorius L. f. Of these, Egnatius issued an ordinary
coinage, but those of Farsuleius and Plaetorius are special; the last acting in his capacity as
quaestor. Specimens of the coinage of Egnatius occurred in the Roncofreddo, Frascarolo,
Palestrina, and Ossero hoards; those of Farsuleius in the finds at Roncofreddo, Rignano, Licodia,
Palestrina, and Ossero; whilst those of Plaetorius were only met with in that of Palestrina.
We may gather from this evidence that as no denarii classed to a later date than B. c. 75 were
present in the Roncofreddo or Frascarolo hoards, their burial occurred some time during that
year. There is a strong similarity in fabric and style in all three issues; but it is most
marked in the case of the obverse types of the heads of Libertas and of Juno Moneta in those
of Egnatius and Plaetorius. Though the coins of the latter occurred only in the Palestrina
hoard, there can be little question as to the date which should be assigned to them.
* The Egnatia gens was of Samnite origin, and does not appear to have removed to Rome
till after the Social war. Gellius Egnatius was a leader of the Samnites in the third great war
which broke out in B.C. 298, and Marius Egnatius was one of the principal leaders of the Italian
allies in the Social war which began in B.C. 90. Cicero (pro Cluentio, xlviii., 135) mentions
a Cn. Egnatius, a man of somewhat disreputable character, who was admitted into the
Senate, but was subsequently expelled. He had a son, who was also a senator. There
was another Egnatius of that time who accompanied Crassus in his expedition against
the Parthians, but who escaped after the crushing defeat of his general (B.C. 53). Appian
(de Bell. Civ., iv., 21) mentions two Egnatii, father and son, who were included in the
proscription of B.C. 43, and were both slain. These may be the two above mentioned by
Cicero. The moneyer may be identified with the elder of the two, as the issue of the coins
occurred about B.C. 75. He is the only member of his family of whom coins are known.
* The types of the coins of Egnatius are difficult to explain, and so far no satisfactory
interpretation of them has been given. The form NAAXSVMVS for NAAXI MVS is an
archaism, which might lead us to suppose that if the types are personal they may refer to
some remote ancestor of the moneyer. (For other instances of the insertion of the sibilant
S between X and the vowel see below, p. 410.) Babelon (vol. i., p. 472) says, “le type
(i.e. Type I.) de la Liberté, au revers, peut faire croire que l'un des ancêtres du monétaire
contribua, a la construction d’un atrium Libertatis. Sur le n. 2 (i.e. Type III.) l'association
de la déesse Rome et de Vénus fait songer au temple qui fut plus tard álevé, sous le rêgne de
l'Empereur Hadrien, à Rome et à Venus, Romae et Veneri. . . . Sur le denier n. 3 (Type II.)
on voit, comme l’a remarqué Cavedoni (Ripostigli, p. 81), le temple de Jupiter et de la Liberté,
appelé aedes Jovi's Libertatis.” These interpretations of the types are of a very general
character, and do not seem to bear any special reference to the moneyer, or rather to his
family, as would have been expected at this time. It seems, therefore, more probable that, in
400 COINAGE OF ROME
f
No. Weight .*. Obverse. Reverse
Type II.
With number on reverse
3276 568 || AR 75 |Bust of Cupid r., with bow C. EGNATIVS. CN F (in
&nd quiver attached to exergue). CN. N (on r.).
his shoulder by a strap; Distyle temple, within
behind, MAXSVMVS; which are standing
before, countermark, Tl figures of Jupiter and
Libertas; in the tym-
panum, thunderbolt and
cap of Liberty; on 1. of
temple, number TTI
3277 56-3 || AR “75 | Similar; no countermark. Similar ; number V
3278 || 61-3 || AR 75 | Similar. Similar; number VTT
3279 | 61-0 || AR “75 | Similar. Similar; same number.
3280 | 60:1 | AR “7 | Similar. Similar; number VTTTT
[Pl. xlii. 16.]
(Sambon)
3281 | 64’3 | AR, 8 Similar. Similar; number XTTTI
(Cracherode Coll.)
3282 | 53-3 || AR, 8 || Similar. Similar; same number.
3283 || 62.1 | AR, 75 Similar. Similar; number XXI
(Cracherode Coll.)
3284 || 61-0 || AR “75 Similar. Similar ; same number.
viewing the types in a more personal light, the frequent reference to Venus would point to a
special cult of that divinity by the Egnatia gens, and that the association of Jupiter and
Libertas, and Roma and Venus, and also the crowning of Libertas by Victory denote the
freedom obtained by the Samnite nation after the recent Social war, and to the friendly
relations which in consequence existed between the two peoples now formed into one. The
Egnatia gens had fought many times for the independence of their country, and now that
discord was at an end, only friendly and amicable relations were to prevail. These interpreta-
tions do not, however, explain the special reference of the oars and the prows associated with
Roma and Venus on 'Type III., which appear to record some naval victory. -
The numbers I, II, l l l and llll sometimes occur under the bust of Venus on Type I. ; but
there are none on the two specimens described here.
The edges of the coins of Type I. are serrated, but those of the other two types are plain.
This is the second instance of a moneyer striking serrated and non-serrated coins at the same
time (see also coins of L. Procilius, p. 386).
1 The numbers run from l—XXX at least.
CIRC. B.C. 75; A.U.C. 679
401
No. Weight
|
3285 60.5
3286 60.5
3287 59.3
3288 61.6
3289 59.5
3.290 59.5
3291 64.5
3292 59.8
f
Metal
and Size
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR. 7
AR, 75
AR. 75
AR. 8
AR 7
AR 8
Obverse
Reverse
Type III.
With letter on reverse
Bust of Libertas r., draped,
wearing diadem, earring
with triple drop, and neck-
lace ; hair rolled back,
collected into a knot, and
falling down her neck;
behind, cap of Liberty
and legend, MAXSVNAVS
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar,
Similar.
Similar.
C. EGNAIVS. CN. F (in ex-
ergue). CN - N (on r.).
Two female figures facing;
one, Roma, helmeted, and
leaning on spear, places
her foot on the head of
a wolf; the other, Venus,
diademed, holds sceptre
in r. hand, and with 1.
her dress; she is caressed
by Cupid, who arranges
her hair; on either side,
an upright oar placed on
a prow ; on 1. of Roma,
letter B
Similar ; letter C
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; letter D; moneyer's
name, C. EGNZNVS. CN. F
[Pl. xlii. 17.]
Similar; letter k; moneyer's
name, C. EGNAIVS. CN.F
Similar ; letter NW
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar ; letter N
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar ; letter T
(Sambon)
Similar ; letter S
1 The letters include the whole Roman alphabet. Bahrfeldt (Zeit. f. Num., 1877, p. 39)
mentions hybrids formed of the obverse of this type and of the reverse of the denarius of
D. Junius Silanus L. f. (see above, p. 244), and also of the reverse of the denarius of
Manius Fonteius C. f. (see above, p. 322).
3 F
402 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
and Sºze
L. FARSVLEI . NMENSOR
Tr *
No. Weight Obverse Reverse
(LUCIUS FARSULEIUS MENSOR")
Denarius
SERIES I.
|With number on reverse
3293 60-5 | AR 7 | Bust of Libertas r., draped, L. FARSVLEI (in exergue).
wearing diadem, earring Roma (or warrior) hel-
with triple drop, and meted and holding spear
necklace ; hair rolled and reins in 1. hand, in
back, collected into a biga, r. ; horses cantering ;
knot, and falling over her | she turns to 1., and with
neck; before, NMENSOR ; her r. hand assists a fogate
behind, cap of Liberty figure to mount into the
and S. C (Senatus com- chariot *; under horses'
sulto); bead and reel feet, number XXTI
| border. [Pl. xlii. 18.]
*w-ºs-w
* 60-3 | AR ‘7 Similar. |Similar; number XX|| ||
8295. 56-6 ‘75 Similar. Similar; number XXXIV
| | (Nott)
3296 61.3 AR 75 | Similar. Similar; number XLIX
(de Salis Coll.)
* Very little is known of the Farsuleia gens, though it was of ancient origin. We have,
therefore, no information about L. Farsuleius Mensor beyond what is supplied by his coins.
He is the only member of his family who filled the office of moneyer, and his appointment
must have been about B.C. 75, as specimens of his coinage occurred in the Roncofreddo,
Rignano, Licodia, Palestrina, and Ossero hoards, but not in that of Frascarolo. They were
probably the latest pieces in point of date in the first-mentioned hoard. The similarity of type
and fabric between the coins of L. Farsuleius Mensor, C. Egnatius Maxsumus, and L. Plaetorius
has been mentioned (see above, p. 399).
* In the absence of any information about his family it is difficult to explain the historical
event illustrated by the coins of L. Farsuleius. Eckhel (Doct. num. vet., t. v., p. 212) thinks that
the types allude to the lea, Julia which was promulgated during the Social war (B.C. 90), and
by which the right of citizenship was granted to all Italians; hence the representation of
Libertas on the obverse, and on the reverse, Roma, or the Genius of the Roman people,
inviting the Genius of Italy to enter her chariot. This explanation is ingenious, and yet
it seems a probable one, and, moreover, it is possible that some member of the moneyer's
family may have assisted in the passing of this law. Dr. A. Vercoutre (Le denier de Lucius
Farsuleius Mensor) proposes a different interpretation. He suggests that these coins were
struck circ. B. c. 82, and that they illustrate Sulla's famous letter to the Senate after the defeat
of Jugurtha, in which he announced his impending return to Italy (Appian, de Bell. Cºv.,
I., lxxvii.). Sulla is therefore represented as the successful general in his war chariot, the
horses of which are trampling on the scorpion, the symbol of Asia, and as the protector of his
fellow-citizens, whom he was about to deliver from the violence of the Marian party. The head
of Libertas on the obverse would symbolize the promised protection of the independence of
oppressed Italy. Dr. Vercoutre also suggests that the moneyer L. Farsuleius was an agent of
Sulla, and that he was employed to strike this money for the payment of Sulla's troops from
bullion which formed part of the booty from the Numidian campaign. This explanation seems
less probable than that given by Eckhel, and the evidence of finds is against so early an
a "tribution of this issue. It is, however, quite possible that the types of these denarii
relate to the Social war or to the more recent struggle between the Marian and Sullan parties.
The letters S., C (Senatus consulto) show that the issue was a special one. Babelon (vol. i.,
p. 493) draws attention to the resemblance between the bust on these coins and that on
the coins of C. Annius Luscus, the proconsul, struck in Spain by the quaestor L. Fabius
Hispaniensis (Ib., vol. i., pp. 140, 141, nos. 2, 3). The treatment of the portrait in each case
is certainly similar, but there is a difference in style which shows that there was an interval
between the two issues.
CIRC. B.C. 75 ; A.U.C.
679 403
No.
3.297
3.298
3.299
3300
3301
3302
3303
3304
3305
3306
3307
3308
3309
3310
3311
Weight
58.1
61.3
59.6
59.8
60-8
60-3
58-3
62-0
53-0
57.0
60.5
60-0
61.7
62.1
60-4
Metal
and Sºze
AR •8
AR. 75
AR. 8
AR. 7
AR. 75
AR -75
AR 75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR 75
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR. 75
AR 75
AR. 75
Obverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse
number L
(Nott)
Similar;
number VXXIT
(Nott)
Similar;
number VXXV
(Nott)
Similar;
Similar; number XXCV
Similar; number XXCVII
Similar; number XCTſ
number XCV
Similar ;
Similar; number CVT
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar ; number CIX'
SERIES II.
With number on obverse
Bust of Libertas r., &c.,
similar to no. 3293.; be-
fore, NMENSOR and S. C
(Senatus consulto); be-
hind, cap of Liberty and
number XXTIT"; bead and
reel border.
Similar; number XXXTIT
Similar; number XVTTTT
Similar; number XJ.W
Similar; number XJWTI
Similar; number VXTTT
L. FARSVLEI (in exergue).
Roma (or warrior) in biga,
&c., similar to no. 3293;
under horses’ feet, in-
stead of a number, a
Scorpion.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
[Pl. xlii. 19.]
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
(de Salis Coll.)
1 The numbers on this series run from I to CXIIX at least; and it may be noticed that the
two forms of N, and L (= 50) were used. • º
There are hybrids consisting of the obverse of the denarius of L. Farsuleius (Series I.)
and of the reverses of those of Manius Fonteius C. f. (see above, p. 322), and of M. Sergius
Silus (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 442).
* The numbers on this series are from 1 to LXXXX at least.
There is a hybrid in the British Museum with the reverse of the denarius (Series II.) and
with the obverse of that of Kalenus and Cordus (see below, p. 415).
404 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
- bv e º 4 & 8
and Size Obverse Reverse
No. Weight
L. Tº LAETORI . L. F
(LUCIUS PLAETORIUS LUCII FILIUS
! [CESTIANUS])
Denarius
3312 59.4 || AR “75 Bust of Juno Moneta 2 r., L. T LAETORI L. F.O.S. C
draped, wearing diadem, = Quaestor, Senatus con-
earring with triple drop, sulto (in field). Athlete,
and necklace; hair rolled naked, running r., hold-
back and collected into a ing palm-branch in r.
knot; behind, NWONETA; | hand, and caestus in l.
under chin, S. C (Senatus [Pl. xlii. 20.]
consulto).
3313 || 58-4 || AR “75 | Similar. Similar.
With symbol on reverse
3314 | 60-7 || AR 7 Similar. Similar ; below athlete,
symbol, ball or discus.
(Nott)
3315 58-1 | AR 7 Similar. Similar; symbol, hoop.
(Nott)
3.316 || 56-7 || AR 7 similar Similar; symbol, strigil.
[Pl. xlii. 21.]
(Sambon)
* This moneyer is generally identified with L. Plaetorius, who was a senator, and who is
mentioned by Cicero (pro Cluentio, lx. 165). The coins were issued by him during his quaestor-
ship, which preceded his nomination to the Senate, and they belong to a special issue as shown
by the letters S. C (Senatus consulto), which occur both on the obverse and on the reverse. No
specimens of the coinage of L. Plaetorius were met with in the Roncofreddo, Frascarolo,
Licodia, Rignano, or Ossero hoards; but the two specimens in that of Palestrina were à flew."
de coin. Similarity of type and fabric, however, show that this issue was contemporary with
those of C. Egnatius MaxSumus and L. Farsuleius Mensor. The head of Juno Moneta is
similar in treatment and style to those of Venus and Libertas on the coins of Egnatius and
Farsuleius, and these divinities all wear the same shaped earring, a triple drop, a form unusual
at this time. It is therefore very probable that, though not met with in all the hoards of
this Period, these coins were struck before the time of the burial of those in question. It is
also possible that the issue was a small one. Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 483) classes
these coins as almost immediately following the period covered by the Roncofreddo and
Frascarolo hoards, and at the beginning of that represented by the Cadriano find.
* As quaestor, L. Plaetorius would have charge of the public treasury, including coins as well
as bullion, which was kept in the temple of Saturn, and for that reason he may have selected
the head of Juno Moneta for the obverse type of his money. As the issue was a special one,
the athlete on the reverse may denote that it was struck on the occasion of the celebration of
some public games; but this figure may also record some great athletic feat achieved by an
ancestor of the moneyer, especially as he holds in his left hand the caestus, which is, no doubt,
a punning allusion to the cognomen Cestianus, borne by a branch of the Plaetoria gens. The
symbols which usually accompany this figure are objects connected with the palaestra.
Besides Gaulish imitations of these denarii there are also hybrids in which the obverses and
reverses of the coins of L. Plaetorius and M. Plaetorius Cestianus (see below, p. 436, Type III.)
have been interchanged (Bahrfeldt, Zeit. f. Num., 1877, p. 40). Also the obverse of the denarius
of L. Plaetorius occurs with the reverse of that of L. Scribonius Libo (see below, p. 419).
CIRC. B.C. 74; A.U.C. 680 405
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
3317 | 52-3 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar; symbol, torch.
3318 62.1 | AR “7 | Similar. Similar; symbol, whip.
(Nott)
3319 | 67-0 | AR, 7 || Similar. Similar; symbol, wreath.
Circ. B.C. 74; A.U.C. 680'
L. COSSVTI . C. F. SABVLA
(LUCIUS COSSUTIUS CAII FILIUS SABULA )
Denarius º
With number on reverse
3320 58-3 || AR 7 | Head of Medusa l., winged L. COSSVT1 . C. F below
and entwined with ser- || Bellerophon, hurling
pents; behind, SABVLA spear, on Pegasus flying
r. 3 ; behind, number | | | |
(Blacas Coll.)
3321 | 61-3 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar ; number VI
3322 57.4 || AR, 75 | Similar. Similar ; number VIII |
3323 57.4 || AR, 7 || Similar. Similar ; number X
(Cracherode Coll.)
3324 57-3 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar ; number X| ||
[Pl. xlii. 22.]
(de Salis Coll.)
* The issues assigned to this year consist of one ordinary and two special : the former
struck by L. Cossutius Sabula; the latter by P. Cornelius Lentulus and Q. Pomponius
Rufus. Our very scanty data about these moneyers and the rarity of their coins render
their attribution to this particular year somewhat uncertain. It is, however, in the main,
supported by the evidence of the Licodia, Palestrina, and Ossero hoards: denarii of
L. Cossutius Sabula occurred in all three ; those of P. Cornelius Lentulus in that of
Palestrina, only ; whilst those of Q. Pomponius Rufus were absent from all.
* This moneyer is only known from his coins. The Cossutia gens was of equestrian rank,
and it is conjectured from Cicero’s reference to the Tabulae Cossutianae, found near Caesena,
in Gallia Cisalpina (ad. Fam., xvi., 27), that it originally came from that place.
* The types of Medusa and Bellerophon in connection with the Cossutia gens have not been
satisfactorily explained. As these types occur on coins of Corinth, Babelon (vol. i., p. 437)
suggests that the moneyer may have been a propraetor or proquaestor in Greece, and that in
virtue of that office he struck the coins at Corinth. He would also attribute their issue to
about B. c. 54. From the evidence of finds these coins must be given to a considerably earlier
date, and, moreover, their fabric is purely that of the Roman mint, and not provincial. It is
possible that an ancestor of the moneyer may have filled some position in Greece. The types
evidently relate to an event connected with his family.
The issue does not appear to have been a large one as the mint-numbers on the reverse are
not known beyond XXXXll,
406 - COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
3325 | 614 | AR 7 || Similar. - Similar ; number XVIII
3326|| 550 | AR 8 Similar. - Similar ; number XXVI
3327 | 60:1 | AR 75 | Similar. Similar ; number XXXX
3328 61-0 | AR 75 Similar. Similar ; number XXXXII
D. LENT. T. F. L. N
(PUBLIUS CORNELIUS LENTULUS PUBLII
FILIUS LUCII NEPOS )
Denarius
3329 || 637 || AR 7 | Head of Hercules r, bare, D. LEN. T. F. L. N (in
with close beard; behind, field). The Genius of
O. : S. C (Quaestor ; sen- the Roman people,
atus consulto). bearded, veiled, and
naked to the waist,
seated facing on a curule
chair and crowned by
Victory; he holds cornu-
copiae in r. hand, and
Sceptre in 1., and rests his
r. foot on globe.
[Pl. xlii. 23.]
(de Salis Coll.)
3330 62-7 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
(Nott)
| The great rarity of the coins of this issue and their absence from all the principal finds
attributed to this Period, except that of Palestrina, make it difficult to fix their date. The
moneyer is, however, usually identified with P. Cornelius P. f. L. n. Lentulus, surnamed
Spinther, who was curule aedile, B.C. 63, and praetor, B.C. 60, when, through Caesar's interest,
he received Hither Spain for his province, where he resided till B.C. 58. On his return to
Rome he was elected consul, B.C. 57, and later on we meet with him as proconsul in Cilicia,
B.C. 56—53. When the Civil war broke out in B.C. 49, Lentulus declared against Caesar, and
was with Pompey at Pharsalia, whom he followed to Egypt, arriving safely in Rhodes.
Of his subsequent fate we have no information. His coinage is a special One, and was issued
by him in his capacity as quaestor. His son Publius struck coins as legate of Brutus and
Cassius in B.C. 43–42 (see Coins of the EAST under date ; Babelon, vol. i., p. 428, nos. 70-76).
Cavedoni (Ripostigli, p. 206) and others suppose that P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther and
Cnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus (see Babelon, vol. i., p. 417, nos. 54, 55) were quaestors
together on account of the analogy of the types of their coins. Though classing the two issues to
about the same period, Count de Salis was of opinion that these quaestors were not colleagues in
office, for he attributes the coins of the former to the mint at Rome, and those of the latter from
their fabric to Spain (see SPAIN, B.C. 76–72). Babelon (vol. i., p. 419) draws attention to the
resemblance of the head of Hercules on the coins of P. Cornelius Lentulus to that on the
coins of the town of Osca in Spain, and Eckhel (Doct. num. vet., vol. v., p. 182) even mistook
the legend O. S. C. for OSCA; but the similarity is not sufficiently striking to found any
theory on the connection between the two coinages. The cult of the Genius of the Roman
people was specially honoured by the Cornelia gens, and was on more than one occasion
illustrated on their coinages (see earlier coins of P. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus, p. 233,
and others of his son, Cnaeus ; Babelon, vol. i., p. 417, mos. 54, 55).
CIRC. B.C. 74 ; A.U.C. 680 407
Metal
f Obverse Reverse
and Suze l
No. "eight
O . DONATONI : RVFVS
i (QUINTUS POMPONIUS RUFUs")
Dernarius
With number and symbol on reverse
3331 59-7 || AR 8 Head of Jupiterr., laureate; O. . T ONAT ONI (in ex-
before, RVFVS; behind, ergue). Eagle standing 1.
S. C (Senatus consulto). on sceptre; head turned
to r., and holding wreath
in r. claw; below which
is the number TT; on r.,
symbol, prawn.
3332 || 47-3 || AR “75 Similar. Similar ; same number and
(plated) symbol.
3333 61-3 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar ; number TTTT;
symbol, bird.
[Pl. xlii. 24.]
(Blacas Coll.)
3334 || 59.5 | AR 75 Similar. Similar; number VT; Sym-
bol, serpent.
| The entire absence of these coins from the finds ascribed to this Period and their rarity
render their date of issue uncertain. Quintus Pomponius Rufus appears to be unknown
except from his coins, so that we are not aware in what capacity he struck this special
issue, whether as quaestor or aedile. Cavedoni (Ripostigli, p. 210) judging, no doubt, from
fabric, placed this coinage at circ. B.C. 71, but Count de Salis assigned to it a somewhat
earlier date.
The Pomponia gens claimed descent from Pompo, one of the alleged sons of Numa Pompilius,
and the type of Jupiter and his eagle may refer to the tradition that to Numa were revealed
the conjurations for compelling Jupiter himself to make known his will by lightnings and the
flight of birds; whereas others were forced to wait for these prodigies from the favour of
the god, who was often silent to such as were doomed to destruction (Smith, Biog. & Myth.
Dict. s. v. Numa). This issue, though a special one, does not appear to have been of great
extent as the highest number recorded on the reverse is VIII (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1897,
p. 59). The symbol is always an animal, fish, bird, serpent, &c.
The obverse of this denarius forms a hybrid with the reverse of that of Q. Pomponius
Musa with the Muse, Melpomene (see p. 444, no. 3615; Bahrfeldt, Zeit. f. Num., 1877, p. 42).
408 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. and Snze
Weight Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 73; A.U.C. 681
O. : CRETERE]. ROCVS OR O . CREDER .
NA. F. ROCVS
(QUINTUS CREPEREIUS MARCI FILIUS ROCUS”)
Denarius
With letter and symbol on obverse and same letter
O71, 7°00)6.7°S6
SERIES I.
Bust of Amphitrite turned O.. CRETERE!
from the spectator, head ROCVS
r., draped, and showing tune in sea-chariot r.,"
her shoulders bare ; be- drawn by two hippo-
fore, letter A ; behind, camps; he holds reins in
symbol, dolphin. 1. hand, and with r. hurls
trident ; above, letter A ;
edge serrated.
3335 below Nep-
3336
3337
48-4
58.5
AR. 75
AR. 8
Similar ; letter B; symbol,
tortoise.
Similar ; letter C.; symbol,
crab.
Similar ; letter B
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar ; letter C
[Pl. xliii. 1.]
Similar ; letter D
(Blacas Coll.)
60-3 || AR 75 Similar ; letter D ; symbol,
| fish.
3338
* The moneyers assigned to this year are Q. Crepereius M. f. Rocus and L. Axsius L. f. Naso.
The former struck an ordinary coinage ; the latter a special one. There is a certain similarity
in their mint-marks: Q. Crepereius Rocus using the same letter on the obverse and reverse
with an additional symbol on the obverse; and L. Axsius Naso the same number on the
obverse and reverse. The coins of the former, however, have the edge serrated, but those of
the latter are plain. The issue of Q. Crepereius Rocus was the latest represented in the
Ossero hoard (see above, p. 364). No coins of this moneyer occurred in the previously-
mentioned hoards.
* The Crepereia gens was of equestrian rank, and was distinguished for the strict
discipline of its members. Cicero (in Verr., i., 10) mentions M. Crepereius, one of the judges
in the case of Werres, who on being appointed tribunus militaris designatus was not able to
take part in the proceedings after the 1st January, B.C. 69. It is possible that this
|M. Crepereius was the father of the moneyer, who is the only member of his family of
whom we have coins. Cavedoni (Ripostigli, p. 213) placed his tenure of office at some time
between B.C. 64–56, but Count de Salis has assigned these coins to a somewhat earlier date,
which is supported by their general style and by the evidence of finds.
* The types of Amphitrite and Neptune in a sea-chariot refer to some naval event, in
which an ancestor of the moneyer probably took an active part. As the reverse type is found
on coins of Corinth, Babelon (vol. i., p. 439) has suggested that this issue of Q. Crepereius,
like that of L. Cossutius Sabula (see p. 405), was struck there. As, however, the Corinthian
coins bearing this type are of imperial times, this suggestion is not a very probable one.
Besides, the coins are of Roman fabric, not provincial.
There are two series of coins of this issue differing only in the moneyer's name;
O. , CREſ E R El , ROCVS, and O. , CREſ E R , NA , F , ROCVS. Both series have the same
mint-marks, viz., the same letter on the obverse and on the reverse, and a symbol on the
obverse only. The same symbol, which is either a fish or marine animal, occurs with the
same letter in each series. The mint-letters appear to run only from A–K, so that the issue
was not a very large one.
CIRC. B.C. 73 ; A.U.C. 681
409
No.
3339
3340
3341
3342
3343
3344
3345
3346
3347
3348
Weight
62-7
60-0
59.7
68.7
59.5
59.0
59.9
53-2
60.1
Metal
and Size
AR, 7
AR. 75
AR, 7
AR, 7
AR, 7
AR 7
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR 7
AR, .75
Obverse
Reverse
SERIES II.
Similar ; letter A ; symbol,
dolphin.
Similar; letter B; symbol,
tortoise ; before head of
Amphitrite, countermarks
S O
Similar ; letter C ; symbol,
crab ; no countermarks.
Similar ; letter E.; symbol,
Sepia.
Similar ; letter G; symbol,
fish.
Similar ; same letter and
symbol.
Similar ; letter H ; symbol,
Sponge (?).
Similar ; same letter and
symbol.
Similar; letter k ; symbol,
heron.
Similar ; moneyer's name,
O . CRETER. NA. F
ROCVS
Sea-chariot; above whiclı,
letter A
(Nott)
below
Similar ; letter B
[Pl. xliii. 2.]
letter C
(Nott)
Similar;
letter E
(Nott)
Similar ;
Similar; letter G
Similar ; same letter.
Similar ; letter H
Similar ; letter C.'
letter k
(Nott)
Similar ;
L. AXSIVS L., F. NASO
(LUCIUS AXSIUS LUCII FILIUS NASO )
Dernarius
With same number on obverse and reverse
SERIES I.
Head of young Mars r.,
wearing helmet without
crest, but ornamented
with feather at each side ;
below, NASO ; under
chin, S. C (Senatus con-
sulto); behind, number T
|
i
L. AXSIVS. L. F (in ex-
ergue). Diana in biga of
stags (cervi aayes) gallop-
ing r. ; she holds sceptre
in r, hand, and reins in
1. ; under stags, dog, and
behind chariot, two
others, all running r. ;
behind Diana, number T
The dies used for this piece had evidently got mixed.
obverse of no. 3341.
2 There is no mention of the Axia gens till nearly the end of the Republic.
The reverse belongs to the
Q. Axius was an
intimate friend of Cicero and Varro; the latter introducing him as one of the speakers in the
3 G
410 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight º 6 Obverse Reverse
3349 547 | AR 75 Similar; number IT Similar; number IT
... - - [Pl. xliii. 3..]
(de Salis Coll.)
3350 60:8 || AR 8 || Similar; number TTT Similar; number TTT
(Cracherode Coll.)
3351 47.6 | AR 7 | Similar; number TTTI Similar; number TTTI
(plated) tº- ºr tº-
3352 59-7 || AR 85 Similar ; number VI Similar ; number Vl
3353 | 60-3 || AR 75 Similar; number X Similar; number X
SERIES II.
3354 57-3 || AR 75 Similar; the helmet of Mars Similar; number XT
is crested; number XT [Pl. xliii. 4.]
- (Blacas Coll.)
3355 58-7 || AR 8 || Similar; number XVI Similar; number XVI
3356 56-8 || AR 75 Similar; number XVTT Similar; number XVIT
- (Nott)
3357 62.2 | AR 8 || Similar; number XX Similar; number XX
- (Blacas Coll.)
third book of his de Re Rustica. There was also a L. Axius Naso, who was proscribed by the
triumvirs during the last Civil war (Appian, de Bell. Civ., iv. 26), who might be the same as
the moneyer. The coins belong to a special issue; but it is uncertain in what capacity
Axsius struck them, whether as quaestor, aedile, or praetor. Babelon (vol. i., p. 246) thinks
that he was a colleague of T. Wettius Sabinus, whose coins are here classed to the next year.
As none of the coins of L. Axsius were present in any of the hoards attributed to this Period,
it is somewhat difficult to fix their precise date of issue. Specimens, however, occurred in the
San Gregorio di Sassola hoard buried a few years later (see Tables of Finds). He is the
only member of the Axia gens who struck coins at the Roman mint. Other instances of
inserting the sibilant S between X and the vowel, as AXSIVS for AXIVS, are met with
about this time in MAXSVMVS for MAXI MVS (see coins of C. Egnatius, p. 399), and
ALEXSAND REA for ALEXAND REA (see coins of M. Aemilius Lepidus, p. 449, no. 3649).
The types of the coins evidently refer in a general way to the Axia gens, and not to any
special event connected with the history of any particular member. Cavedoni (Rev. Num.,
1857, p. 192) thought that the reverse type related to the origin of the family, which may
have come from Perusia, or from the district of the Sabini, where the cult of Diana was
specially honoured; but Longpérier (Mém. de la Soc. des Amt. de France, t. xxi., p. 357)
suggests another solution, which is that the stags (cervi dºes) are a punning allusion to the
family name Aaſia. The peculiar ornamentation of the helmet of Mars with two feathers or
aigrettes is not unusual about this time, and examples are met with on the coins of Ti. Weturius
(ITALY, B. c. 93), C. Poblicius Malleolus, and Q. Minucius Thermus (ITALY, B. c. 90), all with the
head of Mars, and on others with the head of Roma as on the coins of Q. Lutatius Cerco (ITALY,
B.C. 90). Valerius Maximus (I., viii. 6) in describing the helmet of Mars speaks of it as galea duobus
distincta pinnis. The form of the helmet on the coins of Axsius of Series II., i.e. with the
crest is like that on the denarii of P. Satrienus (p. 392) and L. Rustius (p. 398). The numbers
as mint-marks are continuous on the two series; that with the helmet of Mars without a crest
seems to end at X, and that with the crested helmet to proceed from that number.
There is a series of Small bronze coins, consisting of the as, semis, &c., with the reverse
types, NASO within a wreath or with a warrior standing holding a spear, which is usually
classed to Panormus in Sicily (Brit. Mus. Cat., Sicily, p. 126; and Babelon, vol. i., pp. 248, 249).
These coins may have been struck by L. Axsius Naso in virtue of some office which he held in
that island. They are evidently of later date than his coins of the Roman mint. . . .
411
PERIOD XII.
Circ. B.C. 72–50; A.U.C. 682–70,
THE date B.C. 72–50 marks the interval between the probable burials of the later
hoards mentioned in the previous Period (see p. 360) and of those discovered at
San Gregorio di Sassola (Prov. di Campagna), Compito (Prov. di Lucca), Cadriano
(near Benevento), and San Cesario (near Modena), which, as will be shown, oc-
curred some time during B.o. 52–50. It is unfortunate that no hoards found
either in Italy or in Spain and Gaul appear to have been recorded, which would
enable us to divide up this Period into shorter intervals. Their absence in Italy
may be accounted for by the fact that at this time there were no great military
movements. In the case of Gaul the hoards have not been sufficiently minutely
described to be of any use for purposes of classification. In order to ascertain
the sequence of the issues during this Period we have to depend in a great
degree on the evidence of the coins themselves, their fabric and style, and on
what information can be gleaned from the history of the moneyers.
DENOMINATIONS AND TYPES.—The only denomination struck during this
interval was the denarius in silver: the issue of bronze money being still in
abeyance. The constant changes in the types of the denarius—in many cases
the same moneyer using more than one—continue as previously, but there
is an important modification in their character. At first, as before, only
events connected with their families of more or less remote times are recorded
by the moneyers, but gradually the distance of time is lessened, and we meet
with those of recent occurrence, and, in one instance at least, a contemporary
event appears to be illustrated (see coins of P. Crassus, B.C. 55, p. 487).
Mint-marks in the form of symbols, letters, and numbers are employed
freely, and in great variety, especially in the earlier issues to B. c. 67, and
they reach their climax in the coinage of C. Calpurnius Piso Frugi B.C. 64, who
uses, in addition, a considerable series of fractional signs. From B.C. 64 they
practically cease, only to be revived in two solitary instances in the form of
letters on the somewhat limited issues of L. Cassius Longinus B.C. 52, and
of M. Mettius B.C. 44. When these mint-marks cease the extent of an issue
can only be determined by the rarity or frequency of its coins.
The serrated edge so much in use before this Period is continued, but does
not seem to have extended much after B.C. 69. The change from the serrated
to the non-serrated edge, and also the variation in the relief of the type, are well
illustrated in the series of coins struck by C. Hosidius Geta B.C. 71 (see below,
p. 420).
In regard to the moneyers' names the momen is generally preceded by the
praenomen, and followed by the cognomen, to which is sometimes added the
patronymic initial, and also that of the grandfather. There are a few exceptions
in which the pracnomen, the momen, or the cognomen only occurs.
412 COINAGE OF ROME
CLASSIFICATION.—The dearth of information supplied by finds, the constant
changes in the types of the denarius, and the apparently rapid variations in its
fabric, render the classification of the issues year by year, as attempted by
Count de Salis, somewhat conjectural, but here and there data supplied by the
special coinages are of very material assistance in arriving at their sequence.
During the twenty-three years, from B.C. 72–50, if the evidence of finds be
accepted, there were forty separate issues of coins at the Roman mint which
were struck by twenty-eight ordinary moneyers and by fifteen extraordinary ones,
quaestors or aediles, who exercised the right under the special order of the
Senate, which is denoted by the legend S. C (Senatus consulto). This result of
only twenty-eight recorded ordinary moneyers during twenty-three years either
shows that great irregularity existed in their appointment, or may point to the
circumstance that though a triumvirate was nominated annually, yet, by Some
arrangement, only one member, or perhaps two, but very rarely all three, exercised
the right. If we accept Count de Salis's classification of annual issues, this latter
seems to be the only way to account for so small a number of moneyers. The
only other alternative would be to suppose that the duration of office extended
over more than a year. Though on two occasions only, viz., in B.C. 72 and 71, the
issues of three ordinary moneyers have been grouped under one year, yet there is
no absolute evidence of a mint-triumvirate such as sometimes certainly occurred
at an earlier date, but there are instances of two moneyers striking a joint-coinage
as in the case of (Q. Fufius) Kalenus and (Mucius) Cordus B.C. 72, and of Paullus
Aemilius Lepidus and Lucius Scribonius Libo B.C. 71. Similar conditions appear
to have existed in the case of the special issues, when usually only one quaestor or
One aedile placed his name on the coins, an exception, however, occurring in the
joint-issue of the aediles Aulus Plautius and Cnaeus Plancius B.C. 54. It is during
this Period that some of the moneyers first add the title of IllWIR to their names,
but it is quite the exception, and it occurs only eight times previous to B.C. 49.
Count de Salis has assigned the earliest instance to B.C. 72, the moneyer being
Manius Aquillius. Babelon (vol. i., Introduct., p. xxxv.) puts its first appearance
in B.C. 54, but this date is not admissible from the evidence of the coins them-
selves. The title may have been intentionally used to distinguish between the
ordinary and the special issues.
Some evidence for grouping the coins within certain prescribed limits is
afforded by the remarkable changes of fabric and workmanship. In this
respect the earlier denarii resemble those of the preceding Period, the designs
being well executed and in moderate relief; but from about B.C. 71 they are in
high relief, especially in the case of the obverse type, and this style is continued
at intervals till B.C. 64, when it appears to have reached its extreme point in the
extensive coinage of C. Calpurnius Piso Frugi. As there is a return to a lower
relief from that date it may be concluded that it was found that the high relief
was not suitable for the general convenience of the currency, and also that it
entailed more labour in the actual striking of the coins. Artistically the coins
of this Period are the finest of the Roman republican series, the engravers of
the dies showing an amount of skill which does not compare unfavourably with
that of Greek engravers of the time.
The hoards, which were buried during this Period and of which we possess
CIRC. B.C. 72–50; A.U.C. 682––704 413
records, are all Italian, and were discovered as above-mentioned at San Gregorio
di Sassola, Compito, Cadriano, and San Cesario.
The San Gregorio di Sassola hoard was unearthed in 1903, and consisted
of 563 pieces, amongst which were a few quinarii struck after the passing of
Lew Clodia, circ. B.C. 104; the rest being denarii. They were contained in
a red earthenware vase. The hoard, which was discovered by a peasant,
was examined and described by Dott, L. Cesano (Scavi, 1903, pp. 604-620).
There were a few denarii of the early period without moneyers' names
or with symbols, and from circ. B.C. 170 to B.C. 70 the issues of the various
moneyers were fairly well represented. From that date specimens of only
a few of the numerous coinages were met with. The latest pieces were
denarii of M. Aemilius Scaurus (B.C. 58); L. Furius Brocchus (B.C. 55), , and
L. Cassius Longinus (B.C. 52). As there were no coins of C. Memmius
Quirinus and Mn. Acilius, attributed to B.C. 51—50, nor any of Julius Caesar
with the elephant and pontifical emblems struck in Gaul B.C. 50–49 (Babelon,
vol. ii., p. 10, no. 9), all of which were present in the Cadriano and San Cesario
hoards, that of San Gregorio di Sassola must have been buried shortly before
those two, i.e. in B.C. 52 or early in the next year. The absence of so many
issues after B.C. 70 would rather point to the circumstance that this hoard was
of a private character, and that the owner had made but few additions to his
treasure for some years before his death. This would also account for the fine
condition of the coins of P. Aemilius Lepidus, L. Scribonius Libo, and
L. Furius Brocchus, which must have been issued some years before its conceal-
ment. The hoard is therefore not completely representative of the coinage in
circulation at the time of its burial.
The Compito hoard, which was discovered in 1874, consisted of 955
denarii, 23 quinarii, and 1 victoriatus. The coins were contained in an
earthenware vessel, and were carefully described by S. T. Baxter in the
Periodico di Numismatica e Sfragistica, vol. vi., 1874, pp. 109-120, and later by
Mommsen (Zeit. f. Num., 1875, pp. 352-356). Mr. Baxter was of opinion that
the whole find came into his hands. From the denarii he would exclude six
specimens, viz., the legionary pieces of Mark Antony (circ. B.C. 39–31) as being
of so much later date than other coins in the hoard, and, moreover, being much
worn and oxidized, which was not the case with many of the earlier-struck
pieces. He was unable to account for the presence of these recent pieces in
the hoard. To these may be added the single denarius of L. Mussidius Longus
(Babelon, vol. ii., p. 243, no. 6) which was struck circ. B.C. 39, or near the
same time as the coins of Antony. Of the early issues there were ten denarii
without and with symbols, and one victoriatus. The quinarii, all struck after the
passing of the Lew Clodia, circ. B.C. 104, were of the moneyers T. Cloulius,
C. Egnatuleius, M. Cato Victrix, L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, Q. Titius, L. Rubrius
Dossenus, and Cn. Cornelius Lentulus. The latest pieces in the hoard issued at
the Roman mint were of L. Furius Brocchus and P. Licinius Crassus (B.C. 55);
of Faustus Cornelius Sulla (B.C. 54); of L. Cassius Longinus (B.C. 52); and of
C. Memmius (B.C. 51). Most of the coins of these issues were described as fine
or a fleur de coin. With the exception of the denarius of C. Memmius it will be
seem that the Compito hoard contained no later pieces than that of San Gregorio
414 COINAGE OF ROME
di Sassola, and as in the case of the latter there were no coins of Mn. Acilius or
of Julius Caesar struck in Gaul. This similarity shows that the burials of the
San Gregorio di Sassola and Compito hoards occurred within a short interval of
each other; the former probably in B.C. 52; the latter in B.C. 51. This is about
the date fixed by Mr. Baxter.
At Cadriano, about four miles from Benevento, there was discovered in
1810 a very large hoard of republican denarii, contained in a bronze vessel, of
which about 2,000 were examined and described by Prof. Filippo Schiassi (Del
Ritrovamento di Medaglie Consolare e di Famiglie fatto a Cadriano l'ammo, 1811;
ed. Sec., Bologna, 1820). The hoard was a very complete one, so much so,
that from about B.C. 175 to B.C. 50, the probable date of its burial, there were
very few issues which were not represented in it. The coins of earlier date
existed only in small numbers. According to Count de Salis's classification the
latest pieces were those of L. Vinicius (B.C. 53); of L. Cassius Longinus
(B.C. 52); of C. Memmius (B.C. 51); and of Mn. Acilius (B.C. 50), all struck at
the Roman mint. There were no coins present which are assigned by Count
de Salis to a later date than B.C. 50, and it did not contain any pieces of Julius
Caesar which are known to have been struck by him at Rome in B.C. 49. On the
other hand there were specimens of the denarius of Caesar mentioned above, and
attributed to Gaul (B.C. 50–49). The burial of the hoard may therefore be put
to the end of B.C. 50 or to the beginning of B.C. 49, and it is not impossible
that, though it did not contain any of the coins which are attributed to the
Roman mint in B.C. 49 before the arrival of Caesar, it was the property of a rich
senator who was amongst those who took refuge at Capua. The ancient city of
Beneventum was also on the line of march of Pompey to Brundusium, to which
place he was followed by Caesar at the beginning of March.
The San Cesario hoard, discovered in 1812, comprised in all some 4,000
denarii, of which about 730 were examined and described by Cavedoni
(Ripostigli, p. 33). Its contents were precisely similar to those of the Cadriano
hoard, and, as will be seen from the Tables of Finds, the burial of both hoards
must have occurred within a very short time of each other. As San Cesario is
distant about eight miles from Modena in the direction of Bologna, Caesar
probably passed the place in his march to Ariminum from the north. The
burial of the hoard may well be attributed to this circumstance.
CIRC. B.C. 72 ; A.U.C. 682 415
Mſ, tal
No. JJ eigh # p 7 * 42 7"Nº 42 . … x * * * * * * *
enghi (11t (l Size Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 72; A.U.C. 682 l
KALENI : CORD !
([QUINTI FUFII] KALENI: [MUCII) CORDI2)
Denarius
| .
3358 63-2 AR 8 KALENI below Jugate CORDI (in exergue). Roma
heads of Honos and in short chiton, holding
Virtus r. ; the former is spear in 1. hand, and rest-
laureate with hair in ing r. foot on globe,
ringlets; the latter wears stands 1. and with r.
i crested helmet; behind, hand grasps that of
HQ (Homos); before, Italia, who, wearing long
VIT (Virtus). chiton, faces her, and
holds cornucopiae in 1.
| hand; behind Roma, RO
(Roma); behind Italia,
! |AL (Italia), and winged
Caduceus; edge Serrated.3
. (Nott)
| All the coins attributed to this year are of precisely the same style, fabric, and work-
manship : the flans being large and the edges serrated. It is therefore quite possible that
Kalenus, Cordus, and Manius Aquillius, the last of whom styles himself “triumvir,” formed a
triumvirate of the mint, whilst the coins of T. Wettius Sabinus show that they belong to a
special issue.
* The moneyer Kalenus is usually identified with Q. Fufius Calenus, who was a tribune of
the plebs B.C. 61; elected praetor B.C. 59, by the influence of Caesar, and was his legate in
Gaul B. c. 51. On the outbreak of the Civil war B.C. 49, Calenus consistently attached himself
to Caesar, accompanied him to Greece, and on his return was elected consul B. c. 47.
After the murder of Caesar B.C. 44, Calenus joined Mark Antony, and received the command
of the legions in Northern Italy. -
Of his colleague Cordus nothing is known beyond that he was a moneyer. In later times
the cognomen Cordus is generally associated with the Caesia, Cremutia, and Julia families, but
during the early Republic we meet with the name of C. Mucius Cordus Scaevola, who attempted
to assassinate Porsenna, king of Clusium. There was a C. Mucius who was the architect of
the temple which Marius consecrated to Honos and Virtus after his victory over the Cimbri
and Teutones.
* The reverse type of the coins of Kalenus and Cordus is apparently an allusion to the
recent pacification of Italy after the Social war, and the obverse type was, no doubt, intended
to convey the intimation that in future this alliance would be under the special care of the
divinities Honos and Virtus. This seems a more probable explanation of the obverse type than
to suppose that it is a record of the foundation of the temple to Honos and Virtus by Marius,
of which C. Mucius was the architect (Eckhel, Doct. num. vet., t. v., p. 256). It is very
probable that relatives of both moneyers took part in the Social war. The names of the
moneyers are in the genitive case.
Attention has been drawn to the circumstance that a single specimen of this issue is said
to have occurred in the Hev-Szamos hoard (see above, p. 362; and Mommsen, Hist. mom. Pom.,
t. ii., p. 473), but none were present in those unearthed at Roncofreddo, Frascarolo,
Rignano, Licodia, Palestrina, and Ossero. As the coins from their fabric are certainly of
later date than the burials of the first three hoards, it may be suggested that one of two
things happened : either that this coin was inserted into the Hev-Szamos hoard after it was
unearthed, or that the owner of the treasure kept his coins for some time before concealment
without adding to them but for this one exception. The first appears to be the more
probable explanation. On account of the reverse type, Babelon (vol. i., p. 512) is of
opinion that this issue may have occurred as early as B.C. 82, but that date would not agree
with the evidence of finds.
There is a hybrid consisting of the obverse of the denarius of this issue and of the reverse of
that of L. Farsuleius Mensor (see above, p. 403, no. 3306; and Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 122).
416 COIN AGE OF ROME
No. Weight ...",". Olyverse Ren'e)"Se
3359 62-3 | AR 85 Similar. Similar.
ſ [Pl. xliii. 5.]
(Nott)
3360 | 61.5 AR 8 Similar. Similar.
3361 | 61-3 || AR 8 Similar. similar
0 - |-
3362 | 61.2 | AR 75 | Similar, Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
| Similar. Similar.
3363 58.6 | AR
•S
5
NW. AO VIL. A/V . F. WW . N
(MANIUS AQUILLIUS MANIT FILIUS
MANII NEPOS I)
Denarius
3364 60.
3
AR 85 Bust of Virtus r., draped, W. AOVIL. AW. F. W. N
and wearing crested (in field); SICIL (in ex-
helmet, ornamented at ergue). The consul, Mn.
the side with feather : Aquillius, with head bare,
before, VIRTVS ; behind, and bearing shield on 1.
III VIR (Triumvir). arm, standing towards 1.,
looking back, and raising
with r. hand a kneeling
female figure, Sicilia, who
is half-naked and is sink-
ing to the ground; edge
serrated.
1 Manius Aquillius, who is only known from his coins, was probably a grandson of the
consul of the same name, who in B.C. 101 conducted the war against the slaves in Sicily in
their second revolt under Athenion, and who for his success was rewarded with a triumph on
his return to Rome. The moneyer may also have been connected with the Manius Aquillius,
who filled a similar office a few years back, and whose coins are attributed to circ. B.C. 90, and
are classed to a local mint (see ITALY, circ. B. c. 90). The types of both these issues were
copied by L. Aquillius Florus, a moneyer under Augustus, circ. B.C. 14 (Babelon, vol. i.,
pp. 215-218). Fr. Lenormant (La Mon. dams l’Ant., t. III., p. 165) was of opinion that Mn.
Aquillius was a moneyer between B.C. 54–50, but the similarity of his coins in fabric and style
to those of Kalenus and Cordus, and of T. Wettius Sabinus, probably induced Count de Salis to
assign them to a somewhat earlier date. Moreover, some time before B. C. 54, the serrating of
the edge of the coins appears to have fallen into disuse. Specimens occurred in all the hoards
attributed to this Period. This is the first instance of a moneyer noting his office of triumvir of
the mint on his coins. Babelon (vol. i., p. 212) suggests that he was a moneyer of Pompey,
and that his coins were struck outside Rome; an hypothesis which he considers is warranted
by the occurrence of the title of triumvir. He also attributes the issue to circ. B.C. 54.
The reverse type refers to the success of Manius Aquillius in B.C. 101 in Sicily, and the
obverse to the exceptional valour which he is said to have shown throughout the war.
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 45) mentions a specimen of this coinage in the Bignami
collection, now in the Capitoline Museum, with the edge plain.
CIRC. B.C. 72; A.U.C. 682 417
Metſul
and Size
3365 60-0 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
| [Pl. xliii. 6.]
3366 || 59.5 | AR 8 Similar; III.VIR for IIIVIR Similar.
No. Weight Obverse Reverse
3367 59.3 | AR 8 || Similar; III VIR Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
3368 || 59-0 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
3369 57-3 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
T. VETTIVS SABINVS
(TITUS VETTIUS SABINUs)
Denarius
3370 62-0 || AR 75 | Head of Tatius r., bearded; T. VETTIVS (in exergue).
under chin, monogram, Togate figure in biga 1.;
Å (Tatius); before head, horses walking; he holds
S. C. (Senatus consulto); reins in r. hand, and
behind, SABINVS sceptre in 1. ; above,
IVDEX ; behind, ear of
corn; 3 edge serrated.
[Pl. xliii. 7.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
•S
Similar. Similar.
3371 61-8 || AR
AR,
3372 60.3 •8 || Similar. |Similar.
| (Blacas Coll.)
1 Cicero (pro Flacc., xxxiv. 84) speaks of a T. Wettius who was praetor B.C. 59, and who
received Africa as his province. He presided at the trial of L. Flaccus, whom Cicero defended;
but though we know no further particulars of him, it is quite possible that he was the
moneyer of the above coins. The letters S., C (Senatus consulto) show that this coinage was a
special one, and the presence of an ear of corn suggests that T. Vettius may have struck it
in the capacity of curule aedile. The similarity in fabric, &c., of his coins to those of Kalenus
and Cordus, and Manius Aquillius, has already been noticed (see above, p. 415).
2 The head of Tatius, king of the Sabines, on the obverse, relates to the surname
Sabinus of the moneyer, and to the claim of his family to Sabine origin. A similar head with
the same monogram occurs on the coins of L. Titurius, struck in B.C. 87 (see above, p. 297).
The type of the reverse is, perhaps, not so easily explained. . It is evident that the title of
“Judex” does not apply to the moneyer, but rather to the charioteer, and Mommsen (Hist.
mon. rom., t. ii., p. 520) following Cavedoni (Nuovi Studi, p. 27) would see in the figure a
representation of Tatius or preferably of Numa, as chief judge of the state, and in the ear of corn
a reference to the distribution of lands ordered by that monarch. On the other hand, Babelon
(vol. ii., p. 532) following Eckhel (Doct. num, vet., t. v., p. 337) has recognized in the figure
the interrea, Spurius Vettius, an ancestor of the moneyer, who supported the election of Numa.
The chariot in which he administers justice was the most ancient form of the sella curulis, a
word which etymologically recalls the idea of a chariot. Babelon confirms the view that the
ear of corn applies to the moneyer, and not to the charioteer. 3
II
4.18 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. JJ eia] *... •
eight clind Size
Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 71 ; A.U.C. 683 |
TAVLLVS LET |DVS
(PAULLUS AEMILIUS LEPIDUS")
Denarius
8373 59.8 || AR 75 Head of Concordia r., DAVLLVS (in exergue).
veiled and diademed ; Trophy, to which a togate
before, CONCORDIA ; "| figure, Lucius Aemilius
be h in d, ſº AVL LVS. Paullus, extends his r.
LET |DVS hand; on 1. of trophy
stand a man with long
beard, his hands tied be-
hind him, and two youths,
Perseus of Macedon and
his sons, all in Greek
dress; above trophy,
TER (Tertius).
3374 59.5 | AR 75 Similar. Similar.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
3375 58.2 | AR 8 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xliii. 8.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
3376 60:1 | AR 75 Similar; moneyer's name, Similar.
TAVLLS for TAVLLVS (Cracherode Coll.)
* The coinages attributed to this year reveal a similar organization of the mint to that of the
previous one. There are three moneyers who may have formed a triumvirate : Paullus Aemilius
Lepidus, Lucius Scribonius Libo, and Caius Hosidius Geta. Besides a joint-coinage the first
two struck separate issues, and the third styles himself triumvir (III VIR). It will be noticed
that the coins of these three moneyers show a similar style of work to those of the previous year,
but a change in this respect takes place in those of C. Hosidius Geta, and the flat fabric
with serrated edge is suddenly abandoned for coins with the types in high relief, smaller in
size and with plain edges. This new style will be met with in subsequent issues.
* This moneyer, Paullus Lepidus, the colleague of L. Scribonius Libo at the mint, is
usually identified with Paulus Aemilius Lepidus, who was exiled with his father Lucius Aemilius
Paulus B.C. 43, accompanied Octavius in his campaign against Sextus Pompey B.C. 36 ; elected
consul suffectus B.C. 34; and censor B.C. 22. The classification of the above coins to so early a
date as B.C. 71 renders this identification scarcely probable, and yet no other member of the
Aemilia gens is known of that period to whom the issue could be assigned. Babelon (vol. i.,
p. 121) places this coinage at circ. B. c. 54. The above coins belong to the separate issue of
Paullus Lepidus, as distinguished from his joint one with L. Scribonius Libo.
* The head of Concordia on the obverse may refer to the restoration of the Sullan rule and
to the total defeat of the Marian party; the death of Sertorius having occurred in the previous
year. The reverse type records the defeat and capture by Lucius Aemilius Paulus Macedonicus
in B. c. 168, of Perseus, king of Macedon, and his two sons, whom he brought to Rome to
adorn his triumph, which lasted three days. The legend TER (Tertius) no doubt relates to
the great victories gained by L. Aemilius Paullus in Spain B.C. 190; in Liguria B.C. 181; and
in Macedon B.C. 168, for which he was accorded three separate triumphs, and was hailed
three times “Imperator.”
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 17; 1900, p. 10) mentions several specimens of this issue
reading TAVLVS for TAVLLVS, and one in the Berlin collection reading TAV LLS as above.
There is a restoration of this denarius by Trajan.
The aureus of this type formerly in the Pembroke collection (Cat., no. 325, pl. vii.) and
that figured by Riccio (Catalogo, p. 226, pl. i., no. 1) are false. The Pembroke specimen, which
weighed 106'4 grs., sold for £1 12s. only (see Sale Catalogue, 1848, p. 75).
CIRC. B.C. 71 ; A.U.C. 6S3 419
Metal
No. Weight (Lnd Size
Obverse Reverse
LIBO
(ILUCIUS SCRIBONIUS] LIBO 1)
Denarius
635 | AR 8 Head of Bonus Eventus” r., A well-head, or puteal,
wearing diadem, over ornamented with a festoon
which the hair is drawn between two lyres, and
from the back; before, below with a hammer;
BON . EVENT ; behind, above, DVTEAL; below,
LIBO SCRIBON (Puteal Scri-
bonianum).
(Cracherode Coll.)
3378 61.9 || Alk, ‘S Similar. Similar.
3379 || 60-0 | AR “75 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xliii. 9..]
3380 56.8 || AR -8 Similar. Similar.
3381 | 60-0 || AR “75 Similar. Similar ; the well-head is
Ornamented with an anvil
instead of a hammer.
[Pl. xliii. 10.]
3382 61-3 || AR -8 Similar. Similar; tongs instead of
anvil on well-head.
[Pl. xliii. 11.]
1 Lucius Scribonius Libo, the colleague at the mint of Paullus Aemilius Lepidus (see p. 418),
was probably the father-in-law of Sextus Pompey. He is first mentioned in B.C. 56, in which year
he appears to have been tribune and supported Pompey, with whom he went to Greece at the out-
break of the Civil war. In B.C. 44 he was in Spain with his son-in-law, Sextus Pompey, whom
he subsequently deserted, and as a reward for this defection was elected consul B.C. 34, having
Mark Antony as his colleague. The above coins belong to his separate issue as distinguished
from the joint one with Paullus Aemilius Lepidus. His tenure of office as a moneyer is
somewhat uncertain. Count de Salis has attributed the coins to B.C. 71, but Babelon (vol. i.,
p. 121) puts them considerably later, circ, B.C. 54.
* The worship of Bonus Eventus, the god of “Good Fortune '' and the Agathodaemon of the
Greeks, had its origin at the time that Rome became a colonizing state. He was therefore
looked upon as the divinity who favoured Agriculture, and in his capacity as the god of
“Good Fortune” he was specially invoked at the outset of a journey or undertaking. In
imperial times he had a temple near the Pantheon, and he is often represented on coins from
Galba to Gallienus. His connection with the Scribonia gens has not been satisfactorily
explained, but Babelon (vol. ii., p. 427) suggests that Bonus Eventus may be an allusion to
Beneventum, whence the Scribonia gens may have originally come, as inscriptions connected
with it have been found there. This interpretation seems to be somewhat conjectural.
The reverse type shows the puteal Scribonianwm, or puteal Libonis which was erected in
the Forum near the arch of Fabius. The puteal was the stone enclosure placed at the mouth of
a well, and was square or circular. Festus (De sig. verb., S. v. Scribonianum) relates that a
certain Scribonius was commanded to examine places which had been struck by lightning as
being sacred ground, and not to be trodden on or built over. A puteal was in consequence
erected by Scribonius in the Forum and received, as a distinguishing mark, his own name.
It is not improbable that the head of Bonus Eventus may relate to the circumstance that this
particular spot had been visited by the god of thunder, which may have been considered a
propitious sign. The change of implements (referring to the coining of money) on the puteal
seems to suggest that the Puteal Scribonianum was square and not circular, and thatt he hammer,
tongs, and anvil, are indicative of three of its sides.
This denarius was also restored by Trajan.
420 COINAGE OF ROME
No. JJ eight M ſtºl Obverse Reverse
(ºn d Size
TAVLLVS LET\|DVS : LIBO
(PAULLUS AEMILIUS LEPIDUS: [LUCIUS
SCRIBONIUS] LIBO )
Denarius
3383 || 61-8 || AR 8 Head of Concordia r., veiled LIBo (in exergue). A well-
and diademed ; before, head, or puteal, orna-
CONCORD ; behind, mented with a festoon
TAVLLVS LEPIDVS; between two lyres, and
similar to no. 3373. below with a hammer;
similar to no. 3377 ;
a round, T V T E A L.
SCRIBON
(de Salis Coll.)
3384 61.5 | AR Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xliii. 12.]
7
5
3385 58-7 || AR 75 Similar. Similar ; the well-head is
ornamented with tongs
instead of a hammer.
[Pl. xliii. 13.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
|
|
C. HOSID | . C. F. GETA
(CAIUS HOSIDIUS CA II FILIUS GLTA 3)
- Denarius
SERIES I.
3386 61-7 || AR 8 Bust of Diana r., draped C. HOSIDſ . C. F (in ex-
and wearing earring of ergue). A wild boar
single drop ; hair drawn (the wild boar of Caly-
back and tied behind ; don) r., pierced by a
at her shoulders, bow spear, and attacked by
and quiver; behind bust, a dog; edge Serrated.
GETA; before, III. VIR [Pl. xliii. 14.]
(de Salis Coll.)
* This is the joint-issue of the moneyers Paullus Aemilius Lepidus and Lucius Scribonius
Libo before referred to. The type consists of the obverse of the denarius of the former, and
of the reverse of that of the latter; the only difference being a slight alteration in the
inscriptions in both cases. The aureus in the Vienna Cabinet of this type, like those of
Paullus Lepidus (see p. 418), is false (Mommsen, Hist. mon. rom., t. ii., p. 499).
* The cognomen Geta was borne by several families, notably, the Hosidia, Licinia, and
Septimia, but it rarely occurs in connection with the first till quite late in Republican times.
This moneyer is not improbably the Hosidius Geta who was proscribed by the triumvirs B.C. 43,
and rescued by the ingenious piety of his son, who, pretending that his father had laid violent
hands on himself, performed the funeral rites for him, and concealed him meanwhile on one of

CIRC. B.C. 71 ; A.U.C. 683 421
No. Weight Mºtg! Obverse IR everse
(twd Size
3387 34.5 AR 7 Similar. Similar.
(plated
a m (l
broken)
ºb
Cº.
SERIES II.
3388 63.2 | AR 7 || Similar ; the head of Diana | Similar; edge not serrated.
is smaller and in higher [Pl. xliii. 15.]
relief, and she wears
diadem, earring in form
of cross, and double neck-
lace of long pendants;
before, GETA ; behind,
|||. VIR 1
3389 61.5 | AR 65 Similar; III VIR for III.VIR Similar.
- (Woodhouse Coll.)
3390 59.8 || AR ‘7 Similar. Similar.
3391 58-3 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
3392 | 60-7 || AR 7 || Similar ; no necklace ; Similar.
| | | . VIR
3393 60.2 AR “75 Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
his farms. He is the only member of the Hosidia gens of whom coins are known. This is
the second instance of the occurrence of the title | | | V | R on coins (see above, p. 416).
Adrien de Longpérier (Mém. de la Soc. des Amt. de France, vol. xxi., pp. 354 f.) has
recognized in the reverse type the hunt of the Calydonian boar, and suggests that it is a type
parlant of the name Hosidia, the first syllable of which he associated with the Greek Šs. This
and his other suggestions as to the connection of the Greek word with the name of Hosidia will
not bear examination from a philological point of view. Admitting, however, that Longpérier
is right in recognizing the boar as the Calydonian boar, the bust of Diana on the obverse needs
no explanation, as it was that divinity who sent the animal to ravage the land of Aetolia in
revenge for the neglect shown to her by King Oeneus.
As the types occur on ancient coins of Aetolia, it might be suggested that an ancestor
of the moneyer took some part in the conquest of that province by the Romans, and that this
circumstance is thus recorded by his descendant. A similar instance has been met with in
the coins of Q. Fabius Maximus, which are supposed to commemorate the victories of an
ancestor or ancestors of the moneyer near Valentia in Spain (see above, p. 178).
* No attempt seems to have been made to account for the remarkable variety in fabric
of the denarii of this issue ; some, probably the earlier pieces, being in low relief and with
serrated edge ; the others in high relief, of smaller diameter, and with plain edge. If all the
coins were struck at Rome, and we have no good reason for supposing otherwise, the dies for
the two series must have been made by different sets of engravers and at separate officinae.
The larger and serrated pieces are similar to the coins of Paullus Lepidus and Lucius Scri-
bonius Libo; whereas the smaller ones with the plain edge are like the coins of subsequent
issues, more especially that of Lucius Roscius Fabatus which is attributed to the following year.
422 COIN AGE OF ROME
Metal
- Q'87"S Revers
(tival Size Obverse 6?' 60°S 62
No. Weight
Circ. B.C. 70; A.U.C. 684'
L. ROSCI . FABAT|
(LUCII ROSCII FABATI)
Denarius
With symbol on obverse and reverse
3394 61-0 || AR 7 Head of Juno Sospita” p. ; FAB ATI (in exergue).
wearing goat's skin tied Female figure standing
under the chin ; below, r., and feeding from her
L. ROSCI ; behind, sym- dress a serpent, erect,
bol, lighted altar (no. 1). before her; behind figure,
symbol, temple-cake (no.
1); edge serrated.
3395 614 || AR 65 Similar; symbol, amphora | Similar; symbol, vase-stand
(no. 2). (no. 2).
(Nott)
| The only coins attributed to this year are those struck by Lucius Roscius Fabatus. Their
types are in high relief, and in this respect, and in general style and fabric, they are
very similar to the non-serrated pieces of C. Hosidius Geta which are classed to the
previous year. It would almost seem from this and the following issues as if an entirely new
set of die-sinkers and engravers were employed at the Roman mint, some of whom show
marked skill in their handicraft. The coins of Fabatus have the edges serrated. According to
Count de Salis's classification, these are possibly the latest coins with serrated edges which can be
attributed to the Roman mint. It would therefore appear that this mode of treating the edge
of the denarius was practised intermittently at Rome for a space of about twenty-three years,
i.e. from B. c. 92–70. As we have seen, the serrated edge never entirely superseded the plain
one. Judging from the number of symbols as mint-marks and their variety, this issue was an
unusually large one, and for that reason it is possible that Fabatus may have held office alone,
or preferably that he was the only member of the triumvirate who was charged with the issue
of the coinage for the year.
* Lucius Roscius Fabatus was probably the lieutenant of Caesar who took part in the Gallic
war, and commanded the thirteenth legion on the Lower Rhine in the winter of B.C. 54. He
was praetor B.C. 49, and in virtue of that office acted as intermediary between Caesar and
Pompey. He was killed in B.C. 43 in the first of the battles in the neighbourhood of Mutina
between Mark Antony and the legions of the Senate.
* The obverse type of the head of Juno Sospita would lead us to conclude that the Roscia
gens originally came from Lanuvium, where that divinity had her most ancient and principal
sanctuary. Some particulars of her cult have already been given in connection with the coins
of L. Papius (see above, p. 370). The reverse type depicts the scene which occurred at
Lanuvium at the annual festival in honour of Juno Sospita, when a virgin descended into the
grotto under her temple with food for the sacred serpent which dwelt there. If the girl
selected for the ceremony was chaste, then she returned in safety to her home, where she was
greeted with much rejoicing by her relations and neighbours (Propertius, iv. 8, 3). Crowds
from Rome witnessed the ceremony, and it is possible that a member of the Roscia gens may on
one occasion have been selected to perform it. The name of the moneyer is in the genitive case.
As on the coins of L. Papius the symbols used as mint-marks on the obverse and on the
reverse have a direct relation to each other in their character. Illustrations of those on coins
in the National Collection are figured on p. 423. A more complete series is shown by Babelon
(vol. ii., p. 403).
CIRC. B.C. 70 ; A.U.C. 684 423

424
OF ROME
COIN AGE
INo.
3396
3397
3398
3.399
3400
3401
3402
3403
3404
3405
3406
3407
3408
3409
Weight ... 62
603 || AR 75
59.6 R 75
613 AR 7
59-3 || AR 7
51-2 || AR 75
60-6 || AR, 7
60.0 AR 75
60.9 || AR .7
61.5 || AR 7
59-0 || AR 7
59-3 || AR, 7
60-6 || AR 7
Obverse
Similar ; symbol, amphora
(no. 3).
Similar ; same symbol.
Similar ; symbol, anvil or
block (no. 4).
Similar; same symbol.
Similar ; symbol, apex or
augur's cap with Spike
and cross-piece at base,
and strings (no. 5).
Similar ; symbol, four astra-
gali (no. 6).
Similar ; symbol, awl (no.
7).
Similar ; symbol, axe (no.
8).
basket
Similar ; symbol,
(no. 9).
Similar ; symbol, bee (no.
10).
Similar ; symbol, bench
(no. 11).
Similar ; symbol, metal-
worker's bench (no. 12).
Similar ; symbol, borer for
stake-driving (?) (no. 13).
bucket
Similar ; symbol,
with strap attached to
beam for raising water,
antlia (no. 14).
|
|
|
Reverse
Similar; symbol, wine-
skin (no. 3).
Similar; same symbol.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; symbol, hammer
(no. 4).
[Pl. xliii. 16.]
(Nott)
Similar ; same symbol.
Similar ; symbol, cap with
plain spike and strings
(no. 5).
Similar; symbol, staff with
double hook at one end
(no. 6).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, graving-
tool (no. 7).
Similar; symbol, sceptre
(no. 8).
Similar ; symbol, bidens
(no. 9).
[Pl. xliii. 17.]
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, flower
(no. 10).
Similar ; symbol, bag (car-
penter's) with handle
(no. 11).
Similar ; symbol, mallet
(no. 12).
[Pl. xliii. 18.]
(de Salis Coll.)
symbol,
Similar ; pedum
(no. 13).
Similar ; symbol, well-head,
puteal (no. 14).
[Pl. xliii. 19.]
(Blacas Coll.)
CIRC. B.C. 70; A.U.C. 684
425
No.
3410
3411
3412
3413
3414
3415
3416
34.17
3418
3419
3420
3423
3424
Weight
62-3
57.9
61:4
60-3
58-4
60-5
60.5
60-9
60-7
60-7
61-7
61.5
60.5
61:0
60-0
Metal
and Size
AR. 75
AR, 7
AR. 65
AR 75
AR 7
AR, 7
AR, 7
AR, 7
AR 7
AR, "5
AR. 7
AR 7
AR, 75
AR 75
AR -7
Obverse
Similar; symbol, camel
(no. 15).
Similar; symbol, candel-
abrum or column (no.
16).
Similar; symbol, round cap
with strap (no. 17).
Similar; symbol, cap sur-
mounted by star, pileus
(no. 18).
Similar; symbol, cap sur-
mounted by feathers (no.
19).
Similar; symbol, conical
cap of skin with strings,
galerus (no. 20).
Similar; symbol, case for
Scrolls, capsa (no. 21).
Similar; symbol, chair with
high back (no. 22).
Similar; symbol, cauldron
on stand (no. 23).
Similar; symbol, cock on
cavea (no. 24).
Similar ; symbol, colander
(no. 25).
Similar; symbol, column
surmounted by crescent
(no. 26).
Similar ; symbol, cooking-
pot with handle (no. 83).
Similar; symbol, cornu-
copiae (no. 27).
Similar; symbol, double
cornucopiae (no. 28).
Reverse
Similar ; symbol, ass (no.
15).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, bench
(no. 16).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, strigil
(no. 17).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, cap sur-
mounted by cross (no.
18).
symbol, helmet
Similar ;
(no. 19).
Similar; symbol, club (no.
20).
[Pl. xliii. 20.]
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, bag with
strap-handle (no. 21).
Similar; symbol, stand with
lamp (no. 22).
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; symbol, small
cauldron (?) (no. 23).
Similar; symbol, bagpipes
(no. 24).
Similar; symbol, ladle (no.
25).
Similar; symbol, column
(no. 26).
Similar; symbol, tripod
stand (no. 83).
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; symbol, rudder
(no. 27).
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; symbol, single
cornucopiae (no. 28).
3 I
426
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
3425
3426
3427
3428
} 61.4
3430
3431
34.32
3433
3434
3435
34.36
3437
3438
3439
Weight
59.4
60.5
60-3
58-7
60-3
60-2
56-2
61:4
59.0
60-0
60-8
60-9
60-8
56-7
Metal
and Size
AR 7
AR 75
AR 7
AR 7
AR 7
AR 7
AR, 7
AR 65
AR 7
AR 7
AR 7
AR 75
AR 75
AR, 75
AR •75
Obverse
Similar; symbol, cow run-
ning (no. 29).
Similar; symbol, cuirass
(no. 30).
Similar ; symbol, curri-
comb (?) (no. 31).
Similar ; same symbol.
Similar; symbol, curule
chair (no. 32).
Similar; symbol, cuttle-
fish (no. 33).
Similar; symbol, dice-box
(no. 34).
Similar; symbol, die for
coin (no. 35); counter-
mark before head, Al
Similar; symbol, flask with
strap (no. 36); no counter-
mark.
Similar ; same symbol.
Similar; symbol, two flutes
(no. 37).
Similar ; symbol,
head (no. 38).
goat's
Similar; symbol, hand with
caestus (no. 39).
Similar ;
(no. 40).
symbol, hatchet
Similar ; symbol, head of
Pan (no. 41).
Reverse
Similar; symbol, calf run-
ning (no. 29).
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar; symbol, crested
helmet (no. 30).
Similar; symbol, horse's
leg (no. 31).
Similar; same symbol.
[Pl. xliv. 1.]
Similar; symbol, seat (no.
32).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, prawn
(no. 33)
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, two flutes
(no. 34).
Similar; symbol, hammer
(no. 35).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, bottle
with strap (no. 36).
(Nott)
Similar; same symbol.
Similar; symbol, two lyre-
keys (no. 37).
Similar; symbol, column
surmounted by duck (no.
38).
Similar ; symbol, oil jar
with strap (no. 39).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, double-
axe, bipennis (no. 40).
Similar ; symbol,
with fillet (no. 41).
[Pl. xliv. 2.]
(Nott)
pedum
CIRC. IB.C. 70; A.U.C. 684 427
No.
3440
3441
3442
3443
3444
3445
3446
3447
3448
3449
3450
3451
Weight
60-9
60-2
56-0
60-4
60-7
61.4
59-9
60.4
60-4
61:0
59.0
61.5
Metal
and Size
AR 7
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR 7
AR, 75
AR, 75
AR 7
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR •75
AR, 75
AR 7
..R. 7
Obverse
Similar; symbol, head of
Satyr (no. 42).
Similar; symbol, helmet
with crest, gryphon's
head (no. 43).
Similar; symbol, helmet
with crest (no. 44).
Similar; symbol, helmet
with crest and cheek-
pieces (no. 45).
Similar; symbol, helmet
with spike and straps
(no. 46).
Similar; symbol, hook (no.
47).
Similar; symbol, ibis with
one leg raised (no. 48).
Similar ; symbol, ibis stand-
ing (no. 49).
Similar; symbol, head-
dress of Isis (no. 50).
Similar ; similar symbol
(no. 51).
Similar ; symbol, jug with
handle, on table (no. 52).
Similar; symbol, jug with
handle, prochous (no. 53).
Similar ; symbol, jug with
handle (no. 54).
Similar ; symbol, key (no.
55).
Reverse
Similar ; symbol, leg of
Satyr (no. 42).
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; symbol, harpa (no.
43).
Similar; symbol, human
head (no. 44).
Similar ; symbol, helmet
with crest (no. 45).
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; symbol, staff or
dagger (no. 46).
Similar ; symbol, cooking
pot with handle (no. 47).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, egg (no.
48).
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar; symbol, bee (no.
49).
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; symbol, forepart
of cow (?) (no. 50).
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; symbol, sistrum
(no. 51).
[Pl. xliv. 3..]
Similar; symbol, jug with
handle and spout, on
stand (no. 52).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, patera with
wheel-shaped ornament
(no. 53).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, bottle
(gourd) with strap (no. 54).
Similar ; symbol, temple-
key (no. 55).
(Nott)
428
COIN AGE OF ROME
No.
3454
3455
3456
3457
3458
3459
3460
3461
3462
3463
3464
3465
3466
3467
3468
Weight
60-7
57.6
61.5
60-0
59.5
59.1
61.6
60-0
57.0
59-1
46.8
61:0
60-8
58-4
51-5
Metal
and Swze
AR 7
•75
.75
•75
.75
•75
.75
AR 7
(plated)
AR. 7
AR 75
AR, '65
Obverse
Similar; symbol, lizard (no.
56).
Similar; symbol, lyre (no.
57).
Similar; symbol, mask (no.
58).
Similar ; symbol, nest with
egg (no. 59).
Similar ; symbol, olive-
branch (no. 60).
Similar ; symbol, paddle
(no. 61).
Similar ; symbol, palm-
branch (no. 62).
Similar ; symbol, palm-
tree (no. 63).
Similar ; symbol, patera
(no. 64).
Similar ; symbol, peacock
(no. 65).
Similar ; symbol, petasus
with wings (no. 66).
Similar ; same symbol (no.
67).
Similar ; symbol, phalerae
(no. 68).
Similar ; same symbol.
Similar ; symbol, pigmy
with shield (no. 69).
Reverse
Similar; symbol, ichneumon
(no. 56).
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar ; symbol, lyre-key
(no. 57).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, Sceptre
with fillet (no. 58).
Similar; symbol, bird (no.
59).
[Pl. xliv. 4.]
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, cup with
handle (no. 60).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, spear with
five prongs (no. 61).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, uncertain
(no. 62).
Similar ; symbol, date-palm
(no. 63).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, jug with
handle (no. 64).
Similar ; symbol, Stephane
(no. 65).
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar ; symbol, staff with
thong (no. 66).
Similar ; talaria
(no. 67).
[Pl. xliv. 5.]
symbol,
Similar; symbol, mouth-
piece for horse (?) (no. 68).
[Pl. xliv. 6.]
(Woodhouse Coll.)
Similar; same symbol.
Similar; symbol, crane (no.
69).
(Nott)
CIRC. B.C. 70; A.U.C. 684
No.
3469
3470
34.71
34.72
3473
3474
3475
3476
3477
3478
3481
3482
3483
Weight
61:4
60-7
62-3
61:0
60-4
41-3
61:4
57.5
61.2
57.7
58-6
58-7
60-0
61.2
60.5
Metal
and Size
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 65
AR 7
AR 7
AR, 7
(plated)
AR. 75
AR 7
AR '8
AR. 8
AR 7
AR 75
AR 7
AR. .7
AR. 65
Obverse
Similar ; symbol, plane (no.
70).
Similar ; Same symbol.
Similar; symbol, cooking-
pot with handle (no. 71).
Similar ; symbol, prow-
head (no. 72).
Similar; symbol, rhyton
(no. 73).
Similar; symbol, scales
(no. 74).
Similar ; symbol, sceptre
with wreath (no. 75).
Similar; same symbol.
Similar; symbol, Scorpion
(no. 76).
Similar; symbol, scraper (?),
a Surgical instrument (no.
77).
Similar ; symbol, sepia (no.
78).
Similar ; symbol, shears
(no. 79).
Similar ; symbol, shield,
oval (no. 80).
Similar ; symbol, shield,
round (no. 81).
Similar; symbol, shield,
round (no. 82)."
Reverse
Similar; symbol, plane (no.
70).
[Pl. xliv. 7.]
Similar ; same symbol.
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, two hooks
(no. 71).
Similar; symbol, aplustre
(no. 72).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, cup with-
out handle (no. 73).
Similar ; symbol, box for
weights (no. 74).
Similar; symbol, bucket sus-
pended to pedum (no. 75).
Similar ; same symbol.
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar; symbol, crab (no.
76).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, uncertain
(no. 77).
[Pl. xliv. 8.]
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, spear with
four prongs (no. 78).
Similar ; symbol, comb (no.
79).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, knife (no.
80).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, sword in
sheath (?) (no. 81).
Similar; symbol, two
bows (?) (no. 82).
(Blacas Coll.)
* For symbols no. 83, see p. 425, no. 3422.
430
COINAGE OF ROME
Weight
60-7
No.
3484
3485
34.86
3487
3488
3489
3490
3491
3492
3493
3494
3495
3496
3497
60-0
62-0
62-0
59.0
58-5
58-0
47.1
60-0
59.0
59.0
60-7
Metal
and Size
AR, 75
AR, 8
AR 7
AR, 75
AR 7
AR. 75
AR, 7
AR •7
AR 75
AR. 7
(plated)
AR 7
AR. 8
AR. 75
AR. 8
Obverse
Similar ; symbol,
head (no. 84).
stag's
Similar; symbol, stand for
torch, with straps (no.
85).
Similar ; symbol, stand and
bracket for lamp (no. 86).
Similar ; symbol, standard
surmounted by bird (no.
87).
Similar ; symbol, standard
surmounted by wolf (no.
88).
Similar ; symbol, stork (no.
89).
Similar ; sword
(no. 90).
symbol,
Similar ; same symbol.
Similar ; symbol, thyrsus
(no. 91).
Similar ; symbol, tiara,
Parthian (?) (no. 92).
Similar ; symbol, torque
(no. 93).
Similar ; symbol, tortoise
(no. 94).
Similar ; symbol, trident
(no. 95).
Similar ; symbol, tripod
with bottle (no. 96).
Reverse
Similar ; symbol, goat's
head (no. 84).
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar; symbol, torch (no.
85).
[Pl. xliv. 9..]
Similar ; symbol, lamp (no.
86).
[Pl. xliv. 10.]
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, base of
candelabrum (?) (no. 87).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, Parthian
standard, draco (no. 88).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, cage or
enclosure (no. 89).
Similar; symbol, sheath
no. 90).
(no "Nº
Similar; same symbol.
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, two-
handled cup (no. 91).
Similar ; symbol, uncertain
(no. 92).
Similar ; symbol, two brace-
lets (?) (no. 93).
[Pl. xliv. 11.]
Similar ; symbol, lyre (no.
94).
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar ; symbol, dolphin
(no. 95).
Similar ; symbol, lyre (no.
96).
(Cracherode Coll.)
CIRC. B.C. 70; A.U.C. 684
431
No.
3498
3499
3500
3501
3502
3503
3506
3507
Weight
58-7
61:4
59.7
59-6
59.8
58.4
59.7
60-8
Metal
and Size
AR 7 || Similar ; symbol, trumpet,
AR,
AR
e 7
.75
.75
-75
.75
3510
59-0
.75
Obverse
curved, cornu (no. 97).
Similar; symbol, urn with
cover (no. 98).
Similar ; symbol, vine-
branch (no. 99).
Similar; symbol, vine-leaf
(no. 100).
Similar ; symbol, volumen
(no. 101).
Similar ; symbol, well-head
or fountain (no. 102).
Similar ; symbol, windlass
with bucket (no. 103).
Similar; symbol, windlass,
but varied in form (no.
104).
Similar ; symbol, wine-skin
(no. 105).
Similar ; symbol, wine-skin
(no. 106).
Similar; symbol, wing (no.
107).
Similar; symbol, wreath
(no. 108).
Similar; symbol, yoke (no.
109).
Reverse
Similar ; symbol, trumpet,
straight, tuba (no. 97).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, jug with
handle, prochows (no. 98).
Similar; symbol, ivy-branch
(no. 99).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, bunch of
grapes (no. 100).
Similar ; stilus
(no. 101).
(Nott)
symbol,
Similar ; symbol, well-head,
puteal (no. 102).
Similar ; symbol, bucket (?)
(no. 103).
[Pl. xliv. 12.]
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, pitcher
(no 104).
[Pl. xliv. 13.]
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, bottle with
two handles (no. 105).
Similar; symbol, cup with
long stem and stand (no.
106).
(Nott)
Similar; symbol,
palm-
branch (no. 107).
Similar; symbol, flower on
stem (no. 108).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, helmet
with short spike and strap
(no. 109).
[Pl. xliv. 14.]
(de Salis Coll.)
432 COINAGE OF ROME
tº Metal q
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 69; A.U.C. 685*
L. TORO VAT
(LUCIUS [MANLIUS] TORQUATUS)”
Denarius
3511 60-0 | AR 8 | Head of Sibylla 3 r., with L. TOROVAT III. VIR
ivy-wreath, the fillets of at sides of Tripod, sur-
which, with a lock of hair, mounted by amphora
fall down her neck; be- between two stars; the
low, SIBYLLA ; around, whole within a highly
laurel-wreath. ornamented torque.
[Pl. xliv. 15.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
3512 61-0 | AR 75 Similar; legend, SIBVLLA Similar.
* The unusual style and the very high relief of the types of the coins of Lucius Manlius Tor-
quatus render, in the absence of any specific evidence from finds, the fixing of their date of issue
a somewhat difficult matter. Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 512) puts the coinage at circ.
B.C. 61; Babelon (vol. ii., p. 179) at circ. B. c. 54; but Count de Salis at a few years earlier than
either of these numismatists. The high relief of type was noticeable in the case of the coins of
L. Roscius Fabatus of the previous year. It occurs at intervals during the next few years, but
most conspicuously in the coinage of C. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, who probably held office in B.C. 64
(see below, p. 450). As L. Torquatus signs himself || | V | R on his coins he would appear to
have had colleagues at the mint, but who they were, or whether they also issued coins, is
uncertain. Cavedoni (Ripostigli, p. 214) would associate M. Lepidus (see p. 447) and
L. Vinicius (see p. 492) with L. Torquatus at the mint, but we cannot see any striking
similarity in the style and fabric of the coins of these three moneyers. The only other issue
ascribed by Count de Salis to B. c. 69 is that of the curule aedile, P. Sulpicius Galba, whose
coins are of somewhat similar fabric to those of L. Torquatus.
* Lucius Manlius Torquatus, to whom these coins are generally attributed, was the
accuser, in B.C. 62, of P. Cornelius Sulla for complicity in the conspiracies of Catiline. On the
breaking out of the Civil war B.C. 49, Torquatus, who was then a praetor, joined the
aristocratic party, and went with Pompey to Greece, and after the battle of Pharsalia to
Africa. There he again suffered defeat, and being about to fly to Spain, was taken prisoner,
and with his companions put to death.
* The head of Sibylla and the tripod on these coins are the emblems of the quindecimviri,
an office probably held by one of the moneyer's ancestors. The Decemviri, or later, the
Quindecimviri Sacris faciumdis were the members of an ecclesiastical college, and were
elected for life. Their chief duties consisted in the care of the Sibylline books, and in the
celebration of the games of Apollo, and also of the saecular games. In virtue of their office
each one had a bronze tripod in his house. The amphora is the symbol of the sacred rites
which those officers had to perform, and the stars are no doubt emblematic of Apollo and Diana,
to whose service the quindecimviri were consecrated (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 180). The torque
on the reverse is a punning allusion to the cognomen Torquatus; a similar instance having
occurred on a previous coinage of a member of this gens, L. Torquatus (see ITALY, B.C. 99–94;
and Babelon, vol. ii., p. 176). Babelon describes this ornament as a wreath of laurel, but the
ends at the base and its peculiar decoration show that it is more likely a torque.
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 12) says that the legend on the obverse is always
SI BVLLA, and never SI BYLLA. The coins in the British Museum show that both forms
were used.
CIRC. B.C. 69; A.U.C. 685 433
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
3513 602 || AR 7 || Similar; legend, SIBYLLA; Similar.
and plain circle instead of [Pl. xliv. 16.]
laurel-wreath. (Nott)
3514 | 60-0 || AR 7 || Similar; without plain Similar.
circle. [Pl. xliv. 17.]
3515 50-2 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
Tº . GALB
(PUBLIUS SULPICTUS GALBA )
Denarius
3516 59.3 || AR 75 | Head of Vesta r., veiled; T. GALB (in exergue).
behind, S. C. (Senatus | Sacrificial implements:
consulto). - simpulum between knife
(secespita) and axe orna-
mented with lion's head
(securis); on 1., AED
(Aedilis); on r., CVR
(Curulis).
[Pl. xliv. 18.]
3517 | 605 || AR 7 || Similar; legend, S. C Similar; legend reading AE
- - for AED
[Pl. xliv. 19.]
(Blacas Coll.)
3518 59.8 || AR “7 | Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
* Publius Sulpicius Galba was appointed one of the judges at the trial against Verres in
B.C. 70, but was rejected by Verres on account of his reputation for severity. He was an
unsuccessful candidate for the consulship in B. c. 63, and he is mentioned as pontifex in B.C. 57,
and augur in B.C. 49. According to the Lea, Ammalis he must have filled the office of curule
aedile shortly before or very soon after B.C. 70, and it was in virtue of that office that he
issued this special coinage, probably to meet some extraordinary expenditure. Mommsen
(Hist., mon. rom., t. ii., pp. 480-481), who also ascribes these coins to B.C. 69, supposes Galba
to have been a colleague of M. Plaetorius Cestianus, who was also curule aedile, but we know
that Plaetorius's companion in office was C. Flaminius (see below, coins of Plaetorius, p. 434).
The style of the coins of Galba, somewhat resembles those of L. Manlius Torquatus, but the
types are in slightly lower relief, in which respect they approach nearer to the denarii of
M. Plaetorius. All three issues are of very good workmanship, which from this time onwards
shows great improvement, though the style is somewhat varied.
The types of Galba’s coins relate to his priestly functions as curule aedile.
These denarii were restored by Trajan.
3 K
434 COINAGE OF ROME
Motal
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 68 ; A.U.C. 686
NA. DLAETORIVS NA. F. CESTIANVS
(MARCUS PLAETORIUS MARCI FILIUS
CESTIANUS)
Denarius
Type I.
With symbol on obverse
3519 602 || AR 75 Female bust (Fortuna?) 1.., | Pediment of temple within
draped, wearing circular which anguipede mon-
earring, and diadem, over ster, with r. hand raised,
which the hair is drawn and holding club in 1. ;
to the back of the head, on base of pediment and
and confined in a bag below, M. DAETORIVS
or net ; behind, symbol, - CEST. S. C
fly. [P1. xliv. 20.]
1 The only coins attributed by Count de Salis to B.C. 68 are those of the curule aedile
Marcus Plaetorius Cestianus; the date of his holding that office being ascertainable within the
space of a year or two. It would appear that in B. c. 70, M. Plaetorius, with whom the
cognomen Cestianus is only associated on coins, accused M. Fonteius of extortion and
misgovernment in Spain (Cicero, pro Font.), and shortly afterwards, probably in B.C. 68, when
curule aedile, having C. Flaminius as his colleague, he heard the indictment against
D. Matrinius, who was defended by Cicero. In B.C. 66 Plaetorius was praetor, having
Flaminius again as his colleague, and in B. c. 51 he was condemned, but it is not known for
what offence (Cicero, ad Att., v. 20, 8). In B. c. 44 we find him a neighbour of Atticus the
philosopher and historian (Cicero, ad Att., xv. 17), but nothing further appears to be recorded
of him.
The coins of Plaetorius present a variety of types, all difficult to explain, and for some of
which no satisfactory solution has been found. It is evident that some are connected with his
office as curule aedile, in which capacity he had the direction of many of the public games and
festivals. Of his colleague C. Flaminius no coins are known, so that Plaetorius must have
received some special powers direct from the Senate, under which he struck this large series of
money. With one exception, that of Type VI., which he connects with the Megalesiam games in
honour of Cybele, Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 481) makes no attempt to explain the
types nor to determine the divinities whose portraits are represented on the obverses, and he
would not connect them with the other public festivals which were under the control of the
curule aediles. Babelon (vol. ii., pp. 310-312) offers a few suggestions which will be mentioned.
Taking the Types in the order of the descriptions of the coins the following explanations
may be tentatively given; in some cases we must admit that they are somewhat conjectural.
Type I.--Babelon (loc. cit.) has identified the head on the obverse as that of Fortuna, and
he suggests that on the reverse we have a view of the tympanum of her celebrated temple at
Praeneste, where this divinity as Fortuna publica primigemia was specially honoured. Some-
what similar representations of the head of Fortuna, though differently treated, are found on
the coins of M. Arrius Secundus (Babelon, vol. i., p. 220), and of Q. Sicinius (ab., vol. ii.,
p. 460). Though there is no documentary record of any connection between the Plaetoria family
and Praeneste, this explanation of the type seems to be supported by the next one.
Type II.-The figure of Sors on the reverse renders it fairly certain that the bust on the
obverse is also that of Fortuna, though varied in treatment from the preceding one. It was at
Praeneste that the institution of the oracle known as the Sortes Praemestinae was closely
associated with the worship of Fortuna. This mode of divination was very popular at Rome,
and not only Romans of distinction, but even foreign potentates are mentioned as resorting to
CIRC B.C. 68 ; A.U.C. 686 435
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
3520 || 434 || AR '75, Similar; symbol, sword 'Similar; moneyer's name,
(plated) with curved blade. NA. DAETOR IV
CEST. S. C
[Pl. xliv. 21.]
(Nott)
3521 | 604 || AR “75 Similar; symbol, human Similar; moneyer's name,
€8.1". NA. T LAETOR I
CEST. S. C
3522 53-0 || AR 75 Similar; symbol, stilus. Similar.
3523 59.8 || AR 7 || Similar; symbol, arrow. Similar ; moneyer's name,
• NA. T LAETOR
CEST. S. C
[Pl. xliv. 22.]
(de Salis Coll.)
3524 606 | AR 8 Similar; symbol, wheel. Similar.
it. This type recalls the conjoined figures of the Fortunae Antiates, Fortuna Felia, and
Fortuna Victºria, as shown on later coins of the moneyer Q. Rustius (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 412,
no. 3), for there was at Antium, as at Praeneste, a large temple which was dedicated to
Fortuna. The inscribed scroll or cartouche, which the figure on the reverse holds, is a
representation of one of the small tablets or counters, sortes, made of wood or other materials,
which were used in casting lots or for determining the future. The inscription Sors is not
placed on the plinth of the statue as has been generally supposed (Babelon, loc. cit.).
Type III.-If we recognize on the obverse the head of Ceres, and on the reverse the torch
as her special emblem, these coins may have been struck at the time of the celebration of the
Ludi Cereales, which were under the direction of the aediles. The head, however, may have
been intended for Flora, and so relate to the Ludi Floreales, in which case the jug and the
torch would illustrate the orgies that took place during her festival. The identification of this
type with Ceres seems to be the more probable one.
Type IV.-The head on these coins, being precisely the same as that on the preceding issue,
may also be identified as that of Ceres. As the caduceus was the symbol of commerce,
and in that signification was not infrequently found associated on coins with an ear of corn, it is
possible that we have here a record of a special largesse of corn, which may have occurred
about the time of the celebration of the Ludi Cereales. -
Type V., with the same reverse, may relate to the same or to a similar occasion, with which
might well be associated Bonus Eventus, whose portrait has been recognized by Babelon as
forming the obverse type. A similar head, also identified as that of Bonus Eventus, is to be
seen on coins of Q. Cassius Longinus (Babelon, vol. i., p. 330, no. 7). Its treatment in both
these instances is different from that found on the coins of L. Scribonius Libo, in which case
the name of the divinity is given (see above, p. 419).
Type VI.—Both Mommsen and Babelon recognize in this type a reference to the
celebration of the Ludi Megalesiaci in honour of Cybele, the Mater Magna Deorum, which
were under the control of the curule aediles, as notified by the representation of the curule
chair on the reverse.
Type VII.--Babelon (loc. cit.) has identified the bust on the obverse as that of Vacuna, a
Sabine divipity, who combined in her person the attributes of Diana, Ceres, Venus, Victory,
and Minerva. The reverse type of the eagle may be connected with the games sacred to
Jupiter, the exhibition of which was also one of the duties of the curule aediles.
The mint-marks used by Plaetorius consist of symbols which occur on the obverse or on
the reverse of all the types except the last one.
It only remains to mention that the title of “curule aedile ” occurs solely in connection
with the last two Types, and to draw attention to the difference between the fabric of the
denarii of these Types and of those of the other five Types. The workmanship of the former is
so very inferior in comparison to that of the latter, that, if we are to attribute all the coins
struck by M. Plaetorius to one year, it is evident that the dies must have been executed in
separate officinae, at which different sets of workmen were employed. A similar variation in
fabric has already been noticed in the issue of C. Hosidius Geta (see above, p. 421). The
fabric of the denarii of Types I.-W. resembles more that of the coins of other issues of the time.
436
COINAGE OF ROME.
No.
3525
3526
3527
3528
3529
3530
3531
3532
3533
Weight
61.3
58.0
59.3
61:0
62-0
59.3
60-0
55.7
58-6
Metal
and Size
AR.
º
AR,
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Similar ;
Obverse
Reverse
Type II.
With symbol on obverse
Female bust (Fortuna?) r.,
draped, hair rolled back
and collected into a knot
behind, and sometimes
decorated with pearls;
of which a bunch is
shown above her earl ;
behind, symbol, fillet.
Similar ; same symbol.
symbol, lituus.
symbol, Scales.
symbol, vine-leaf.
same symbol.
Similar; symbol, wheel.
symbol, uncertain.
NA. T LAETORI CEST. S. C
around Half length figure
of Sors, draped, facing,
and holding with both
hands before her a scroll
or tablet inscribed SORS;
her dress is fastened on
each shoulder with a
brooch.
Similar.
[Pl. xliv. 23.]
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xliv. 24.]
Similar.
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
Similar.
Type III.
With symbol on obverse
Female bust (Ceres?) r.,
draped, wearing circular
earring and necklace;
hair in a bag or net, and
ornamented with poppy
heads; above forehead
and below the bag, close
curls; tresses drawn
from the ears to the
back; behind, symbol,
basket (calathus).
NA. T LAETORI
CEST. EX. S. C
divided by
Jug with handle (pro-
chows) and lighted torch.”
[Pl. xlv. 1.]
(Nott)
1 Except for the absence of the laurel-wreath this head in style and treatment is very
similar to that of Apollo on the coins of Q. Pomponius Musa (see below, p. 442, no. 3606).
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 38) mentions that a denarius of this type is without
the legend SORS on the scroll; and Cavedoni (Ripostugli, p. 114) states that Greek letters as
well as symbols occur behind the head on the obverse, but we have not met with any coins of
this issue with letters as mint-marks.
* Bahrfeldt (Zeit. f. Num., 1877, p. 40, and Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 39) describes hybrids
consisting of the obverse of this type and of the reverses of denarii of L. Plaetorius (see above,
p. 404), of L. Scribonius Libo (see above, p. 420, no. 3383), and of L. Mussidius Longus
(Babelon, vol. ii., p. 31, no. 58), and others with the reverse of this type and with the obverse
of the denarius of L. Plaetorius, or with the head of Augustus to right.
CIRC. B.C. 68; A.U.C. 686
437
3539
3540
3541
3542
3543
3544
3545
3546
3547
Weight
60.1
59.7
60-6
54.8
64-0
59.0
60-0
59.4
59.7
63.0
62.9
60-3
61.7
58-9
Mettul
and Size
AR, 75
AR, 75
AR, 75
AR 7
AR, 75
AR. 7
AR 75
AR, 75
AR 7
AR -75
AR. 75
AR 75
At 75
AR 7
Obverse
Similar; symbol, bird.
Similar; symbol, branch of
laurel.
Similar; symbol, crane.
Similar; symbol, cup with
two handles.
Similar; symbol, dagger.
Similar; same symbol.
Similar; symbol, quiver
with strap.
Similar; symbol, bucra-
nium.
Similar; symbol, shield.
Reverse
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
Similar.
+ (Nott)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; moneyer's name,
NA. T LAETOR
CEST. EX. S. C 1
(Nott)
Similar.
[Pl. xlv. 2.]
(de Salis Coll.)
Type IV.
Female bust (Ceres?), r.,
draped and
similar to no. 3533.
adorned, NM. PLAETOR!
§'ºs, divided by
Caduceus, winged.
[Pl. xlv. 3..]
Type IV. var.
With symbol on obverse
Similar; behind head, sym-
bol, amphora.
Similar; symbol, bee.
Similar; symbol, dagger.
Similar; symbol, fly.
Similar; moneyer's name,
NA. T LAETORI
CEST. EX. S. C
Similar. -
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
! Babelon (vol. ii., p. 314, no. 7)
name transposed as on no. 3543.
figures another variety of this type with the moneyer’s
4.38
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
3548
3561
3562
Weight
58-4
60-4
61.7
60.5
54.7
61.2
61:0
61-6
61:0
49.0
50.8
55.5
62.1
Metal
and Size
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR. 7
AR. 8
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR 7
AR. 75
AR. 7
AR, 75
AR 7
AR 7
(plated)
AR. 7
AR. 75
AR, 75
Obverse
Similar; symbol, jug with
handle (prochows).
Similar ; symbol, lizard.
Similar; symbol, shield.
Similar; symbol, simpulum.
Similar ; symbol, staff (?).
Similar ; symbol, vase with
strap (for oil).
Reverse
Similar.
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
[Pl. xlv. 4.]
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Type V.
|With symbol on obverse
Young male head (Bonus
Eventus) r., with long
flowing hair; behind,
symbol, arrow.
Similar; symbol, bucra-
nium.
Similar; symbol, butterfly.
Similar ; symbol, candela-
brum.
Similar ; symbol, club.
Similar; symbol, crook of
shepherd.
Similar; symbol, earring or
torque.
Similar ; symbol, falx,
Similar; symbol, flail.
NA. T LAETORI łivided by
CEST. Ex. S. C divided by
Caduceus, winged; similar
to no. 3543.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xlv. 5.]
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xlv. 6..]
CIRC. B.C. 68 ; A.U.C. 686
439
No.
3563
3564
3565
3566
3567
3568
3569
3570
357.1
3572
3573
3574
3575
3576
Weight
56-2
63.5
60-3
60.5
56-5
58.0
65-0
60-0
60-0 .
58.0
59.0
61-4
60-3
Metal
and Size
AR. 7
AR. 75
AR. ''/
AR 7
AR -75
AR -75
AR •75
AR, 7
AR, 7
AR. '75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR •75
AR •75
Obverse
Similar; symbol, flower.
Similar; symbol, fly.
Similar; symbol, hook or
grappling iron.
Similar ; symbol, ladder.
Similar ; symbol, plane.
Similar; symbol, purse (?).
Reverse
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar.
[Pl. xlv. 7.]
Similar.
[Pl. xlv. 8.]
Similar; symbol, spear- || Similar.
head.
Similar ; symbol, star. Similar.
Similar; symbol, volumen Similar.
or scroll.
Similar; symbol, vine-leaf. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; same symbol. Similar.
Type VI.
With symbol on reverse
Bust of Cybele r., draped,
and wearing turreted
crown and earring; hair
long and straggling;
behind her shoulders,
fore-part of lion; under
chin, globe; behind bust,
CESTIANVS ; bead and
reel border.
Similar.
Similar.
NA. T LAETOR IVS AED .
CVR . EX . S. C. around
Curule chair, on 1. of
which, symbol, aplustre;
bead and reel border.
Similar; symbol, barley-
COTIOl.
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar; symbol, branch of
laurel.
440
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
3577
3578
3579
3580
3581
3582
3583
3584
3585
3586
3587
3588
3589
3590
3591
3592
3593
3594
Weight-
61-6
53.7
58.4
56-8
59.0
56.3
59.8
59.4
58-6
63-8
58.2
61:4
58.0
57.2
60-2
57-0
60-8
57.0
59.9
Metal
and Size
AR, 75
AR, 75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR -75
AR. 75
AR. 8
AR, -75
AR. '75
AR, 75
AR, 75
AR. 75
AR, -7
AR. 8
AR. 75
AR. 75
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Obverse
Reverse
Similar; symbol, butterfly.
[Pl. xlv. 9..]
Similar; symbol, chisel.
Similar; symbol, dolphin.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; symbol, fish.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; symbol, hammer.
Similar; same symbol.
Similar; symbol, horn for
drinking. .
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; symbol, palm-
branch.
[Pl. xlv. 10.]
Similar; symbol, prow-
head.
Similar; symbol, rudder.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; symbol,
with fillet.
(Blacas Coll.)
sceptre
Similar; symbol, scorpion.
Similar; symbol, serpent,
erect.
Similar; symbol, staff with
double hook.
Similar ; symbol, star.
Similar; symbol, stilus.
[Pl. xlv. 11.]
Similar; symbol, tessera
with handle.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; symbol, vine-leaf.
Similar; symbol, wing.
(Cracherode Coll.)
CIRC. B.C. 67; A.U.C.
687 441
Metal
No. g
and Size
Weight Obverse
i
3596, 63-3 AR 8 | Female bust, Vacuna, r.,
draped, winged, and hairin
ringlets; wearing crested
Reverse
Type VII.
NA. T LAETOR IVS NA. F.
AED . CVR around Eagle
standing front on thunder-
bolt; head to 1. ; bead
and reel border.
(Cracherode Coll.)
helmet encircled with
wreath of laurel, corn,
poppy, and lotus; at her
shoulders, quiverand bow;
under chin, cornucopiae :
behind bust, CESTIANVS;
before, S. C (Senatus
consulto); bead and reel
border.
3597 AR. Similar.
61.7 •75
61-6
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xlv. 12.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
3598
‘75 | Similar. Similar.
| - (Nott)
3599 || 60.3
3600 60-0 AR 8 Similar. Similar.
8601 582 AR 75 Similar. Similar.
Circ. B.C. 67; A.U.C. 687
O . TONATON] . NAVSA
(QUINTUS POMPONIUS MUSA 2)
Denarius
Type I.
O. : TOMTONI, MVSA | HERGYLFS divided b
around Head of Apollo || MVSARVNA * *Y
r., diademed ; hair in Hercules wearing lion's
ringlets. skin, standing r., and
playing lyre ; at his feet,
club.
| |
1 The only coinage attributed to B. c. 67 is that of the ordinary moneyer, Q. Pomponius
Musa. It consists of ten different types, representing Hercules and the Muses, so that in all
probability it was of considerable extent. In fabric the coins of this issue are very similar to
those of Types I.-W. of M. Plaetorius Cestianus, the curule aedile of the previous year. The
workmanship is excellent, and the dies must have been executed by skilful engravers.
* Quintus Pomponius Musa is only known from his coins, the cognomen Musa not being
met with in ancient writers in connection with the Pomponia gens before imperial times.
The representations of Hercules Musagetes and of the nine Muses are no doubt intended to
refer to the cognomen of the moneyer. It is possible that we have in these representations a
3 L
442 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight º '. Obverse Reverse
3603 59.9 AR 7 Similar. | Similar.
& (Cracherode Coll.)
3604 || 58-1 | AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xlv. 13.]
(Blacas Coll.)
3605 || 43.9 || AR 75 Similar. Similar; MVSA for MVSA
(plated) | (Woodhouse Coll.)
Type II.
3606 || 63.5 AR 75 Head of Apollo r., laureate, O. POMTONI dº
hair rolled back, and in MVSA divided by
loose locks over the fore- The Muse, Calliope, in
head ; before ear, orma- long flowing tunic and
ment in shape of flower; peplum, standing r., and
behind, lyre-key. playing lyre, which rests
on pedestal.
|
3607 || 61.1 | AR -75 Similar. Similar.
3608 63.2 AR 75 Similar. Similar; moneyer's name,
MVSA
O. : T ONATON |
(de Salis Coll.)
3609 60.2 AR 75 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xlv. 14.]
| (Cracherode Coll.)
reproduction in detail of the statues of Hercules and of the nine Muses, which M. Fulvius Nobilior
placed in the temple erected by him in the Circus Flaminius to Hercules and the Muses during his
censorship in B c. 179. He is said to have adorned the temple with paintings and statues, which
he had brought from Greece on his conquest of Aetolia in B.C. 189. To Hercules as chief of the
choir is assigned a special obverse type for his coins, showing Apollo diademed, and with his hair
arranged in ringlets, as on the coinages of L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi (see above, p. 251) and
of C. Calpurnius Piso Frugi (see below, p. 450); approaching, however, more closely to the
latter in style, but with the head not in so high relief. The head of Apollo on the other types,
i.e., with representations of the Muses, is of a different form. It is laureate, and the hair is
rolled back, and there is an ornament near the ear, similar to that on the head of Fortuna of
Type II. of the coins of M. Plaetorius Cestianus (see above, p. 436), to which in other respects,
i.e., fabric and style, those of Pomponius resemble. Hercules, as leader of the choir, is repre-
sented playing on his lyre, and the nine Muses are shown with their various attributes : —
Calliope, the Muse of Epic Poetry, who had the sweetest voice, sings and accompanies herself
on her lyre; Clio, the Muse of History, reads an open scroll ; Erato, the Muse of Erotic Poetry,
plays the lyre; Euterpe, the Muse of Lyric Poetry, holds two pipes (tabiae); Melpomene, the
Muse of Tragedy, holds a club and a mask; Polymnia, the Muse of Rhetoric, laureate, stands
in a pensive mood; Terpsichore, the Muse of Dancing, holds the plectrum and the lyre, which
she is said to have invented ; Thalia, the Muse of Comedy, holds a mask, and sometimes also a
pedum or shepherd's crook; and Urania, the Muse of Astronomy, touches a celestial globe
with her wand (Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 360,361). These figures of the nine Muses are of extreme
interest for comparison with the numerous statues preserved from ancient times.
In the inscription MVSA we meet with the sign or accent, apea, denoting that the vowel
is long. It takes the forms V, V, or V, which Cavedoni (Saggio, p. 171) would identify with the
accent in the Greek word Motoa. It is found in a variety of forms on inscriptions just after
Sulla to the second half of the third century.
CIRC. B.C. 67; A.U.C. 687
443
No.
3610
3611
3612
3613
3614
Weight
65.9
59-1
62.1
61.9
60-9
Metal
and Size
.75
Obverse
Type III.
Head of Apollo r., laureate,
&c.; similar to no. 3606;
behind, volumen tied with
cord.
Similar.
Reverse
O. POMTONI ... .
MVSA divided by
The Muse, Clio, in long
flowing tunic and pep-
lum, standing 1., resting
l. elbow on pedestal, and
holding open scroll in r.
hand.
[Pl. xlv. 15.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Type IV.
Head of Apollo r., laureate,
&c.; similar to no. 3606;
behind, flower on stalk.
MVSA tº e
O. RONANONI divided by
The Muse, Erato, in long
flowing tunic and pep-
lum, standing towards r.,
head facing, and holding
lyre in 1. hand, and
with r. striking it with
plectrum.
[Pl. xlv. 16.]
(Bank Coll.)
Type V.
Head of Apollo r., laureate, MVSA tº º
&c.; similar to no. 3606; O. PONATON] divided by
behind, two pipes (tibiae)
crossed.
Similar.
The Muse, Euterpe, in
long flowing tunic and
peplum, standing r., Sup-
porting her head with 1.
hand, her elbow resting
on pedestal, and holding
two pipes (tibiae) in r.
hand.
[Pl. xlv. 17.]
Similar ; NAWSA
(Cracherode Coll.)
444
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
3615
3616
3617
3618
3619
Weight
58-3
55:1
58-8
63-7
63-2
Metal
and Size
AR. 8
AR. 75
AR 75
AR 75
AR 7
AR 7
Obverse
Reverse
Type VI."
Head of Apollo r., laureate,
&c.; similar to no. 3606;
behind, sceptre.
t
|
|
O . Tº ONATONI
|
i
MVSA divided by
The Muse, Melpomene,
in long flowing tunic and
peplum, standing front,
head turned to r. ; she
rests r. hand on club,
and holds mask in out-
stretched l.
[Pl. xlv. 18.]
Similar. Similar.
Type VII.
Head of Apollo r., laureate, O. DOMPONI a...,
&c.; similar to no. 3606; MVSA divided by
behind, wreath with fillet.
Similar.
The Muse, Polymnia, in
long flowing tunic and
peplum, standing facing,
her head bound with
wreath.
[Pl. xlv. 19.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar; moneyer's name,
NAVSA
O. : T ONATONI
Type VIII.
Head of Apollo r., laureate,
&c.; similar to no. 3606;
behind, tortoise.
Similar; behind head, flower
on stalk.”
O . Tº ONATONI q. ,
MVSA divided by
The Muse, Terpsichore, in
long flowing tunic and
peplum, standing towards
r., holding lyre in 1. hand,
and plectrum in r.
[Pl. xlv. 20.]
Similar.
3620
61:0
1 The reverse of this denarius forms a hybrid with the obverse of that of Q. Pomponius
Rufus (see above, p. 407; Bahrfeldt, Zeit. f. Num., 1877, p. 42).
* The obverse die of Type IV. has been used in this case and in that of no. 3622.
CIRC. B.C. 67; A.U.C. 687
445
No. Weight
3621
3622
3624
3625
3626
3627
3628
61-3
59.2
30.9
64-0
57.6
55.2
51-6
63-3
Metal
and Size
AR. 8
AR 8
AE 7
AR. 75
AR 75
AR. ''/5
AR 7
AR 75
AR. 75
Obverse
Similar; behind head, tor-
toise.
Similar; behind head, flower
on stalk.
Similar; behind head, lyre-
key."
Reverse
Similar ; , moneyer's name,
RAVSA
O . DONATON]
Similar.
[Pl. xlv. 21.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
Type IX.
Head of Apollo r., laureate,
&c.; similar to no. 3606;
behind, sandal (calceus).
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
O. : T ONAT ON | . . .
MVSA divided by
The Muse, Thalia, in long
flowing tunic and peplum,
standing 1., resting 1.
elbow on pedestal,” and
holding mask in out-
stretched r. hand.
[Pl. xlv. 22.]
Similar ; NAVSA
Similar ; MVSA
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
Type X.
Head of Apollo r., laureate, O. POMTONI
similar to no. 3606; be.
hind, star.”
Similar.
The Muse, Urania, in
long flowing tunic and
peplum, standing towards
1., and touching, with
wand in her r. hand,
globe resting on tripod.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar; MVSA for MVSA
[Pl. xlv. 23.]
3629
60.6
..sm--
1 This coin has been plated; the obverse is that of Type II.
* On a variety Thalia is represented with a pedum or shepherd’s crook in her I. hand
(Babelon, vol. ii., p. 365, no. 21).
* The star varies in having six to nine points.
446 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight .*. Obverse Reverse
3630 || 60-6 || AR -75 | Similar. Similar; MVSA for MVSA
3631 59-3 || AR 7 || Similar, | Similar.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
3632 54.1 | AR 7 || Similar. | Similar.
Circ, B.C. 66 ; A.U.C. 688 |
NA. Tº ISO NA. F. FRVGl
(MARCUS CALPURNIUS PISO MARCI FILIUS
FRUGI?)
Denarius
Type I.
3633 613 || AR 8 |Terminal bust of Mercury M. TISQ.M. F and
r., draped, head bound FRVGI V 6.
with winged diadem; Patera, against which
before, cup with two rests sacrificial knife
handles (calia); behind, (secespita) in sheath ;
wreath with fillet. the whole within laurel-
wreath.
(Blacas Coll.)
3634 || 60-0 || AR 7 | Similar; behind head and Similar ; knife and sheath,
above wreath, star. smaller.
[Pl. xlv. 24.]
3635 | 58-0 || AR 75 Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
* The only coins attributed to this year are those which bear the name of M. Piso M. f.
Frugi. This attribution is not based on any historical evidence, but only on similarity of
fabric and on the occurrence of the same symbols, the wreath with fillet and the two-handled
cup, of precisely the same forms as on the following coins of M. Lepidus. These analogies
are sufficient to show that the two issues were almost, if not quite, contemporary.
Specimens of this coinage were present in the San Gregorio di Sassola hoard, but were not
met with in those of Compito, Cadriano and San Cesario.
* Of this moneyer nothing certain appears to be known beyond his association with the
mint. Babelon (vol. i., p. 298) places this issue at circ. B.C. 69, and suggests that the moneyer
was the consul of B.C. 61, whose name was M. Pupius Piso Calpurnianus; but Mommsen (Hist.
mon, rom., t. ii., p. 523) does not agree with this identification, as he thinks that these coins
could not have been struck before B.C. 49 on account of their absence from the Cadriano hoard.
M. Pupius Piso Calpurnianus belonged originally to the Calpurnia gens, but changed his name
from M. Calpurnius M. f. Piso Frugi on his adoption by M. Pupius. The attribution of these
coins to circ. B. c. 66 renders it possible to identify the moneyer, not with the consul of B.C. 61,
. with his son, who was praetor B. c. 44, and who was praised by Cicero for his opposition to
ntony.
No very satisfactory explanation of the types of these coins has been given, and it appears
quite to have escaped the notice of Mommsen and Babelon that the head on the obverse of
the coins of Type I. does not wear a simple diadem, but one ornamented with a wing. This
CIRC. B.C. 65; A.U.C. 689 447
Metal
f : Obverse Reverse
and Size
Type II.
No. Weight
3636 62.8 || AR 75 Full length terminal figure, Similar.
| Terminus, facing, draped;
onr., cup with two handles
(calia); on 1., wreath
with fillet.
3637 61.3 AR, 75 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xlvi. 1.]
(Blacas Coll.)
Circ. B.C. 65; A.U.C. 689 |
NA. LET |DVS
(MARCUS AEMILIUS LEPIDUs)
Denarius
Type I.
3638 60.8 || AR 75 Female head (Roma?) r., NW. LEPIDVS (in exergue).
wearing diadem and ear- Equestrian statue r. of
ring of single drop; hair Marcus Aemilius Lepidus
collected into a knot, and bearing trophy; a bulla
falling in locks down the depends from his neck.
neck.
3639 || 59.9 || AR 75 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xlvi. 2.]
(de Salis Coll.)
would identify the bust with Hermes or Mercury in his capacity of guardian of the streets,
whilst the obverse of Type II. shows a figure of Terminus, the guardian of boundaries and
frontiers. The two-handled cup, the wreath, the patera, and the knife are all objects
connected with the worship of Terminus as celebrated at the feasts called Terminalia, when
neighbours met, garlands were placed on his statues, a lamb or a sucking-pig was slain, and
liba were offered. These fêtes are described by Ovid—
Te dwo diversa domimi pro parte coromant ;
Binaque serta tibi, binaque liba feru'ſvt.
$$. # $ $
Spargitwr et caeso communis Terminus agno ;
New queritur, lactams cum sibi porca, datwr.
- Fast. ii. 643 f.
Though not stated on the coins it is possible that when he struck this money M. Piso Frugi
was one of the curule aediles, in which capacity he would have charge of the streets and
boundaries of Rome, and also of the celebration of the Terminalia. In that case the issue
would have been a special one.
* To this year Count de Salis has only attributed the coins bearing the moneyer's name,
M. Lepidus. In fabric and excellence of workmanship they approach nearest to the coinages
448 COIN AGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size
Obverse - Reverse
| | Type I. var, a
3640 580 AR 75 Female head (Roma?) r., Similar.
laureate, and wearing [Pl. xlvi. 3..]
| diadem; hair collected (Cracherode Coll.)
into a knot, and falling
| in locks down the neck;
before, simpulum; be-
hind, wreath with fillet.
3641 59.7 AR 7 Similar ; before head, in- Similar.
stead of simpulum, cup [Pl. xlvi. 4.]
with two handles (calia'). (Nott)
of Q. Pomponius Musa (see p. 441) and of M. Piso M. f. Frugi (see p. 446), and the
resemblance in form of the symbols, the wreath with fillet and the two-handled cup, on the
coins of the latter and on those of M. Lepidus is so striking that it is evident that the two
issues could only have been separated by a short interval.
This moneyer is usually identified with the triumvir Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, the
colleague of Antony and Octavius. He was the younger son of M. Aemilius Lepidus, who was
praetor in Sicily B.C. 81, and consul B. c. 78; his elder brother being L. Aemilius Paullus, one
of whose early public acts was the accusation of Catiline in B.C. 63. The triumvir is first
mentioned in B.C. 52, when the Senate appointed him interrex after the death of Clodius,
for the purpose of holding the comitia, so that even at that time he must have passed the
period of youth. His principal dates are : praetor B.C. 49; magister equitum B.C. 46, 45, and
44; consul with Julius Caesar B. c. 46; pontifex maximus in succession to Julius Caesar
B.C. 44; and triumvir with Antony and Octavius B. c. 43, when he received Spain and
Narbonese Gaul as his province (see CoINAGE of GAUL, B.C. 43–42). On the re-division of the
provinces in B.C. 42, Lepidus received Africa, but he did not proceed there till B.C. 40 (see
CoINAGE OF AFRICA, B.C. 40–36). In B.C. 36 Octavius deprived Lepidus of his triumvirate, and
he retired to Circeii under strict surveillance, where he died at an advanced age in B.C. 13.
The types of the coins of M. Lepidus struck circ. B. c. 65 refer to events connected with
the histories of two of his ancestors who bore the same name as himself. The reverses of
Types I. and I. var. a. and b record the early deeds of M. Aemilius Lepidus, consul B.C. 187,
who is said to have served in the army when still a youth, and at the age of fifteen to have
killed an enemy and saved the life of a citizen. Valerius Maximus (III., i. 1) thus describes the
circumstance : —Aemilius Lepidus puer etiam tum progressus in aciem hostem interemit, civen ser-
vavit ; cujus tajn memorabilis operis indea, est in Capitolio statua bullata et imcincta preteata sematus
consulto posita. The equestrian figure on the coins may be the statue referred to by Valerius
Maximus. The head on the obverse may be intended for that of Roma, as a similar portrait with
the legend ROMA occurs on coins of an earlier member of the Aemilia gens, Manius Aemilius
Lepidus, which are classed to ITALY, circ. B. c. 91 (Babelon, vol. i., p. 118, no. 7). The wreath,
the simpulum, and the two-handled cup recall the duties of M. Aemilius Lepidus as pontifex
maximus. The reverse of Type II. relates to the same ancestor of the moneyer, who was one
of the three ambassadors sent by the Romans in B. c. 201 to the Egyptian court to administer
the affairs of the kingdom for the infant sovereign, Ptolemy V. Though Lepidus was the
youngest of the ambassadors, he seems to have enjoyed the most power and influence, and
accordingly, ancient writers speak of him alone as the twtor of the Egyptian king. It was not
till twenty years later, B.C. 180, that he was elected pontifex maximus. The head of
Alexandria on the obverse in connection with the reverse type needs no explanation, and it is
only necessary to draw attention to the duplication of the consonant, XS for X, in the legend
ALEXSAND REA, which occurs on some specimens. Similar forms of orthography have been
met with in the names of C. Egnatius Maxsumus (see above, p. 399) and of L. Axsius Naso
(see above, p. 409). Type III. records the restoration of the Basilica Aemilia by the father of
the moneyer, M. Aemilius Lepidus, during his consulship B.C. 78. In restoring this temple,
which appears to have received its name at this time, Lepidus further embellished it by adding
shields or portraits of his ancestors as shown in the view of it on the coins. This circumstance
is mentioned by Pliny (Hist, mat., xxxv., 3, 13) :-M. Aemilius collega in consulatu, Quintii Lutatii,
non in basilica modo Aemilia, verum et domi suae [clipeos] poswit (Babelon, vol. i., pp. 126, 127).
The obverse shows the head of the vestal virgin Aemilia, who, on one occasion, when the sacred
fire was extinguished, prayed to the goddess Westa for her assistance, and miraculously rekindled
it by throwing one of her most beautiful garments upon the extinct embers (Val. Max., I., i. 7).
CIRC. B.C. 65 ; A.U.C. 689
449
No.
3642
3643
3644
3645
3646
3647
3648
3649
Weight
63.5
59.4
60-8
54.5
55-2
58-9
61-5
58-2
Metal
and Size
AR -7
AR, 75
AR 75
AR, 7
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR 7
AR. 75
Similar ;
Obverse
Reverse
Type I. var. b
Female head (Roma 2) r.,
wearing diadem and ear-
ring of single drop ; hair
collected into a knot, and
falling in locks down the
neck; similar to no. 3638.
Similar ; the head is also
laureate.
Similar; behind head, palm-
branch."
Similar.
Similar ; behind head,
wreath ; before, simpu-
lum.
Similar ; before head, cup
with two handles (calia).
NW . LED IDVS . AN . XV ,
PR. H. O. C.S (Annorum
quindecem progressus hos-
tem. Occidit, civem servavit)
around Equestrian statue
r., bearing trophy, and
wearing bulla, &c.,
similar to no. 3638.
[Pl. xlvi. 5.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
[Pl. xlvi. 6.]
Similar.
[Pl. xlvi. 7.]
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. xlvi. 8.]
(Nott)
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Type II.
Head of Alexandria r.,
turreted, wearing earring
of single drop and neck-
lace ; hair collected into
a knot, and falling in
locks down the neck;
below, ALEXANDREA
legend reading
ALEXSANDREA
NA. LET |DVS — TVTOR .
REG. S. C. PONF. NAAX
(Tutor regis, sematus con-
sulto, pontifea. maa'imus)
around Togate figure,
Marcus Lepidus, standing
towards 1., and placing
wreath on head of youth,
Ptolemy W., standing
front in Greek dress, and
holding sceptre in r.
hand.
[Pl. xlvi. 9..]
(Nott)
Similar.
[Pl. xlvi. 10.]
! Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 18) mentions a hybrid in the National Museum at Buda-
pest, consisting of this obverse type, and of the reverse of the denarius of Q. Cassius (see
below, p. 482, no. 3871).
3 M
450 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight Metal
and Size Obverse Reverse
Type III.'
3650 | 57-7 || AR 75 | Head of the vestal virgin, M LEPIDVS — AIMILIA
Aemilia, r., laureate and REF S. C (Aimilia re-
veiled. - fecta, senatus consulto)
around Lateral view of
the Basilica Aemilia with
circular shields attached
to the columns.
[Pl. xlvi. 11.]
(Nott)
3651 64.2 | AR 75 | Similar; behind head, Similar.
wreath ; before, simpu- (Blacas Coll.)
lum.
3652 60:8 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xlvi. 12.]
(de Salis Coll.)
3653 58-4 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
(Nott)
Circ. B.C. 64; A.U.C. 690
C. Tº ISO L. F. FRVG|
(CAIUS CALPURNIUS PISO LUCII FILIUS
FRUGI*)
Denarius
Type I.
With symbol on obverse and reverse
3654 63.4 || AR 75 | Head of Apollo r., in high C T ISO L F FRVG below
relief, bound with fillet; Naked horseman gallop-
hair long and in ringlets; ing r. ; above, symbol,
behind, symbol, thyrsus. spear-head.
[P1. xlvi. 13.]
(Nott)
1 This type was restored by Trajan.
* Caius Calpurnius Piso L. f. Frugi, whose coinage is attributed to circ. B. c. 64, was a son of
L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, who was praetor B.C. 74, and also held the office of moneyer circ.
B.c. 88 (see above, p. 251). At an early age, in B.C. 67, the younger Piso was betrothed to
Tullia, the daughter of Cicero, whom he married four years later, in B.C. 63, and in B. c. 58 he was
appointed quaestor. This would give us an approximate date for his appointment as moneyer.
During his quaestorship he used every effort to obtain the recall of his father-in-law from
banishment, but as he died in the summer of the following year at the early age of thirty he did
not live to see the accomplishment of his exertions. Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 485),
and Babelon (vol. i., p. 299) assigned this coinage to circ. B.C. 61.
C. Piso adopted for the types of his coins, which consisted of denarii only, those used by his
father, having the head of Apollo on the obverse, and a naked horseman on the reverse, an allusion
to the establishment of the Ludi Apollinares as an annual festival by his ancestor, L. Calpurnius
Piso (see above, p. 251). The laureate head of Apollo, with its thick and closely-falling ringlets, is
practically the same in both issues, except that in the later one it is in higher relief, whilst that
wearing a diadem is a copy of the head as seen on some of the coins of Q. Pomponius Musa, struck
three years previously (see above, p 441, no. 3602). In one instance (see below, p. 468, no. 3815)
CIRC. B.C. 64; A.U.C. 690 451
Metal
& Obverse *6)"
and Size Reverse
No. Weight
With number and fractional sign on obverse and symbol
O71, 7°00)0?"Sø
3655 53-1 | AR 7 Similar ; behind head of Similar ; C . Tº ISO L. F.
Apollo r., with fillet, FRV ; below horseman,
number and fraction, symbol, fish.
| 3 ſ. [Pl. xlvi. 14.]
(Nott)
3656 53-0 | AR 65 Similar. Similar.
3657 || 56-0 || AR 75 Similar ; number and frac- || Similar; above horseman,
tion, IX 3 symbol, spear-head.
Apollo is represented laureate with a bow and quiver attached to his shoulders. As on the coins of
the elder Piso the horseman bears a palm-branch, a lighted torch, or a whip; but to these several
varieties are added; e.g., the rider being without either of these attributes, sometimes winged,
or wearing a conical-shaped cap (pilews), or a hat with a broad brim (causia). Like his father,
C. Piso used a number of signs to mark his dies, consisting of symbols, letters, numbers (Greek
and Roman), and fractional signs, i.e. fractions of the as. The symbols are of a very varied
character, and in the letters may be noticed a revival of the old forms, A, 7W, or A for A.
The numbers do not appear to have followed any sequence, but rather to have been chosen
haphazard. For 50,000 we have the sign di for IO,000, #y; for 5,000, d; for 50, L or Jy; and
for 10, 3%, the mark of value of the denarius. The fractions and fractional signs are based upon a
division of the unit, as, into twelfths, wheiae; the former being denoted by the sign l; the latter
by * or — ; and the half as or semis by S ; thus I = one as ; S: : • = }}; and S #. Fractions below
the uncia are represented by the forms ſl or X = ºr or semuncia; D = # or sicilicus; 2 = #
or sextula; 3 = +++ or dimidia sextula ; and 3 or 3 = ### or scriptulum. All these fractions
have special names, and the following table, showing the duodecimal system, is compiled from
Prof. James C. Egbert's work on the Introduction to the Study of Latin Inscriptions, pp. 76, 77.
TABLE.
As Unciae As Unciae
As . 1 | 2 | Sexcunx . gº 13, ſle or X*
Deunx ## 11 S : : • Uncia . i’s 1 °, -, O, V, or ro
Dextans # 10 S : : Semuncia, *r # ſ, X, or 6
Dodrans # 9 S: • Binae Sextulae or
Bes # 8 S: Duella . a's § 22
Septunx # 7 S • Sicilicus z's # D
Semis # 6 S Sextula +'s # 8
Quincunx * 5 : : • Dimidia Sextula . Tº i tº 3
Triens # 4 : : Scriptulum . #g # 3 or 3
Quadrans . # 3 : * Siliqua * Tr'ss +++
Sextans tº & # 2 :
There are many combinations of these fractions, sometimes with numerals, as : XI° ſº,
IX:, Ill::, I :, l: ſº, Sº ſº, *2, *H, &c. The fractions as shown on the coins seem to serve no
further purpose than that of mere mint-marks, like symbols, letters, or numbers. From their
varied nature and positions they cannot have any reference to the weight, alloy, or current value
of the piece. The curious ligature D which is sometimes found attached to the Greek numeral,
as A, H, $, is possibly the sign for the sicilicus.
It is difficult to say under what system these marks were selected or used; but to arrive
at some classification the mark on the reverse of the coin has been adopted to form the basis
of the arrangement ; the order being : first, symbols, then letters, then numbers, and lastly,
fractional signs. Thus we get : rev. symbol, obv. symbol ; rev. symbol, obv. letter; rev. symbol,
obv. number; rev. symbol, obv. fractional sign ; or, rev. letter, obv. symbol ; rev. letter, obv.
letter, &c. All these signs may have been repeated in the case of each variation or change of
type, but the series in the National Collection is not sufficiently complete to show whether this
was actually the case.
There are two important circumstances to be noticed in connection with this issue, viz.,
that after this time the types of the denarius are no longer in high relief, and the use of mint-
marks is practically abandoned. The lessening of the relief was a return to former usage,
probably as rendering the coins more convenient for daily use, and less liable to detrition, and
possibly because the low relief gave less labour in the actual striking of the coin. When
mint-marks are used the extent of the issues can be easily estimated ; but when these are
abandoned the only criterion is the degree of rarity of the coins themselves.
452
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
3658
3659
3660
3661
3662
3663
3664
3665
3666
3667
3668
3669
Weight
62-0
61-0
62.6
58.2
64'2
59.5
61.1
59.8
59.2
59-1
55-0
60-8
Metal
and Size
AR, 75
AR. 8
AR 75
AR 7
AR, 8
AR 7
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR 7
AR, 75
AR 7
Obverse
Similar to no. 3654 ; be-
hind head of Apollo r.
with fillet, symbol, lizard.
Similar; symbol, Snake.
Similar ; ram's
head.
symbol,
Similar to no. 3654; be-
hind head of Apollo r.
with fillet, letter T
Similar to no. 3654; be-
hind head of Apollo r.
with fillet, number and
fraction, I :
Similar ; fraction, S: : -
Similar ; fraction, X*
Similar; same fraction.
Similar ; number and frac-
tion, 13 -
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; number and frac-
tion, | || 3: 3
Reverse
With symbol on obverse and letter on reverse
Similar to no. 3654; C. PISO
L F FRVG ; below, horse-
man, letter /\
Similar ; same letter.
Similar ; C. Tº ISO L. F.
FRV ; letter 3
(Nott)
|With Roman letter om obverse and Greek letter on reverse
Similar to no. 3654; C ſº ISO
L F FRVG ; below horse-
man, letter Q
(Nott)
With number and fractional sign or fractional sign on
obverse and letter on reverse
Similar to no. 3654; C. Tº ISO
L F FRV ; below horse-
man, letter /\
(Nott)
Similar ; letter H
(Nott)
Similar; letter |
(Nott)
Similar; letter V
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar ; letter O
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
Similar; letter T
* This might be the sign for the scriptulum.
CIRC. B.C. 64; A.U.C. 690 453
No.
3670
3671
3672
3673
3674
3675
3676
Weight
56-7
61.7
63.9
60-8
61.8
62.9
60-3
Metal
cºnd Size
AR. 7
AR 7
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR 7
AR 7
AR 7
Obverse Reverse
With symbol on obverse and number on reverse
Similar to no. 3654; be- Similar to no. 3654; C. PISO
hind head of Apollo r. L. F. FRV ; below horse-
with fillet, symbol, ser- man, number XV
pent.
With number on obverse and sign and number on reverse
Similar to no. 3654; be- Similar to no. 3654; C. Tº ISO
hind head of Apollo r. L FFRV; below horseman,
with fillet, number NZXXI sign and number 3%' XVI
Similar; number d (= | Similar; same sign and
50,000). number.
[Pl. xlvi. 15.]
Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
|With number and fractional sign on obverse and Sigm and
number on reverse
Similar to no. 3654; be- Similar to no. 3654; C. T. ISO
hind head of Apollo r. LF FRV; below horseman,
with fillet, number and sign and number, 3% XVI
fraction, H (Nott)
Type I. var. a.
With symbol on obverse and reverse
Head of Apollo r, with C T ISO L F FR below
fillet; similar to no. Naked horseman gallop-
3654; behind, symbol, ing r. ; wearing hat with
lituus. brim (causia); above,
symbol, pedum (?).
[Pl. xlvi. 16.]
Jſ ith letter on obverse and symbol on reverse
Similar to no. 3654; be- Similar to no. 3675; C ſº ISO
hind head of Apollo r. L F FR ; above horse-
with fillet, letter T man, symbol, pedum (?).
* This is the sign of the denarius.
454
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
3677
3678
3679
3680
3681
3682
3683
3684
3685
3686
3687
Weight
60-0
62-7
59.7
59.5
61.9
60 6
59.4
64-7
59-0
Metal
and Size
AR 7
AR .7
AR 7
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR 65
AR 7
AR 7
AR •75
AR 7
...R. 75
Obverse
Reverse
TWith number on obverse and symbol on reverse
Similar to no. 3654;
hind head of Apollo r.
with fillet, number CXX|
be- || Similar to no. 3675; C ſº ISO
L F FRV ; below horse-
man, symbol, falx.
(Blacas Coll.)
Type I. var. b
With symbol on obverse and reverse
Head of Apollo r. with
fillet; similar to no.
3654; behind, symbol,
8.Th’OW.
Similar; symbol, wing.
Similar ; symbol, key.
Similar ; uncertain symbol,
bracket (?) (T).
Similar; uncertain symbol,
bracket (?) (t).
Similar; symbol, lyre.
Similar ; symbol, two-
pronged hoe (bidens).
Similar ; ram's
head.
symbol,
Similar; symbol, falx.
Similar ; symbol, lizard.
C T ISO L. F FRV below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., and bearing long
palm-branch over lis
shoulder; above, symbol,
arrow-head.
Similar; same symbol.
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, bird flying
upwards (?).
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, falx.
[Pl. xlvi. 17.]
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, mace.
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, simpu-
lum.
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, staff with
double hook.
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, staff with
single hook.
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, trident.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar ; C ſº ISO L F
FRVG ; below horseman,
symbol, anchor.
(Nott)
CIRC. B.C. 64; A.U.C. 690
455
No.
3688
3689
3690
3691
3692
3693
3694
3695
3696
3697
3698
3699
3700
Weight
61-5
58.5
60-8
64'0
62.5
60-4
57.6
43-0
62-8
61.7
60-3
63.5
58.0
Metal
and Size
AR 7
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 8
AR, 7
AR. 7
AR 7
AR. 75
(plated)
AR 75
AR. 7
AR 7
AR •7
AR 75
Obverse
Similar; symbol, serpent.
Similar; symbol, wreath.
Similar; symbol, dolphin.
Reverse
Similar; symbol, staff with
hook.
(Nott)
Similar ; C. Tº ISO . L. F.
FRV ; symbol, staff.
Similar; C DISO L F FRV;
symbol, tweezers (?).
|With number on obverse and symbol on reverse
Similar to no. 3654; be-
hind head of Apollo r.
with fillet, number DXX
Similar ; number CXX|
Similar ; number CCX
Similar; number é (i.e.
Greek numeral S and D).
Similar ; number C-LX
Similar; number d (=
50,000).
Similar ; number CXLV
Similar; number d ( =
5,000).
Similar; number LX
Similar ; number CVl
Similar to no. 3678; C ſº ISO
L F FRV ; above horse-
man, symbol, club.
(Nott)
Similar ; symbol, lyre-key.
Similar; symbol, mallet.
Similar; symbol, pedum (?).
[Pl. xlvi. 18.]
Similar; symbol, spike or
caltrop.
Similar; symbol, whip with
triple thong.
Similar; symbol, whip with
double thong (?).
(Nott)
Similar; similar symbol.
[Pl. xlvi. 19.]
(Nott)
Similar; C. PISO L. F. FRV;
below horseman, symbol,
pedum (?).
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; C T ISO L F FRV;
symbol, torch.
(Nott)
456
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
3701
3702
3703
3704
3705
3706
3707
3708
3709
3710
3711
3712
3713
3714
Weight
61.5
59-6
59.4
58-1
61-5
62-7
57.0
56-3
58-0
60.6
58-7
57.2
58.0
61.7
Metal
and Size
AR, 75
AR 7
AR 7
AR 75
AR, "5
AR. 75
AR 65
AR 7
AR 7
AR 75
AR 7
AR 7
AR 75
AR 7
Obverse
Reverse
With number and fractional sign on obverse and symbol
O??, ?'60)07'Sø
Similar to no. 3654; behind
head of Apollo r. with
fillet, number and frac-
tion, lll: ;
Similar; number and frac-
tion, E
Similar to no. 3678; C. TISO
L. F. FRVG ; below horse-
man, symbol, anchor.
Similar; C. PISO L.F FRV;
symbol, leaf (?).
(Nott)
With symbol on obverse and letter on reverse
Similar to no. 3654; behind
head of Apollo r. with
fillet, symbol, bulla (?).
Similar; symbol, helmet
surmounted by star.
Similar; symbol, double
falx (?).
Similar ; symbol, mallet.
Similar.
Similar; symbol, ladder.
Similar; symbol, staff with
double hook.
Similar; symbol, star.
Similar; symbol, leaf.
Similar ; symbol, tortoise.
Similar; symbol, human ear.
Similar ; symbol, whip.
Similar to no. 3678; C ſº ISO
L F FRV ; above horse-
man, letter /\
Similar; same letter.
Similar ; letter H
Similar; letter O.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
Similar ; letter ºn
(Nott)
Similar ; letter V
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar ; C . Tº ISO L. F.
FRVG ; below horseman,
letter D
(Nott)
Similar; C T ISO L F FRV;
letter R
Similar ; same letter.
(Nott)
Similar ; letter H
Similar ; letter O
(Blacas Coll.)
CIRC. B.C. 64; A.U.C. 690
457
No.
3715
3716
3717
3718
3719
3.720
3721
3722
3723
3724
3725
Weight
59.3
57.3
63-0
61.4
59.4
60-0
62.2
62.8
62-0
Metal
amil Size
AR. ''/
AR 7
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR 7
AR 7
AR. 65
AR 7
AR. 75
AR 7
AR 7
Obverse
Reverse
With number on obverse and letter on reverse
Similar to no. 3654; be-
hind head of Apollo r.
with fillet, number CX-LV
Similar ;
10,000).
number ºf (=
Similar; number B (i.e.
Greek numeral B and D).
Similar ; number
d (=
50,000).
Similar to no. 3678; C T ISO
L F FRV; above horse-
man, letter /\
Similar; C T ISO L FFRVG;
letter W
Similar; letter -l
Similar; C T ISO L F FRV;
below horseman, letter A\
(Nott)
|With fractional sign or number and fractional sign
on obverse and letter on reverse
Similar to no. 3654; be-
hind head of Apollo r.
with fillet, number and
fraction, XIIS
Similar ; fraction, 3
Similar ; number and frac-
tion, I 3 ſ.
Similar; fraction, *H
Similar to no. 3678; C ſº ISO
L F FRV ; below horse-
man, letter J
Similar ; letter O
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar ; letter T
[Pl. xlvi. 20.]
Similar ; letter X
(Blacas Coll.)
With number on obverse
Similar to no. 3654;
hind head of Apollo r.
with fillet, number J, XXI
be- || Similar to no. 3678; C ſº ISO
L F FR ; no mint-mark.
|With symbol on obverse and number or sign on reverse
Similar to no. 3654; be-
hind head of Apollo r.
with fillet, symbol, strigil
and oil-jar suspended to
hooks.
Similar; symbol, scales.
Similar to no. 3678; C ſº ISO
L F FR ; above horse-
man, number 1/\ (=VI)
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; C. Tº ISO. L.F.FRV;
below horseman, number
or sign, ×
3 N
458
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
3726
3727
3728
3729
3730
3731
3732
3733
Weight
60-4
62-4
58-3
62.5
56.2
60-0
60-8
Metal
and Size
AR. 8
AR 7
AR. 8
AR, 75
AR '75
AR 7
AR 7
AR. 75
Obverse
Reverse
With number and fractional sign on obverse and number
O77, 7°07)07'Sø
Similar to no. 3654; be-
hind head of Apollo r.
with fillet, number and
fraction, 13
Similar to no. 3678; C ſº ISO
L F FRV ; above horse-
man, number 1/\ (=VI)
(Nott)
With symbol on obverse and fractional sign on reverse
Similar to no. 3654; be-
hind head of Apollo r.
with fillet, symbol, cadu-
CéllS.
Similar to no. 3678; C ſº ISO
L F FRV ; above horse-
man, fraction, 2
With number on obverse and fractional sign on reverse
Similar to no. 3654; be-
hind head of Apollo r.
with fillet, number XVI
Similar; number H (i.e.
Greek numeral H and D)
Similar to no. 3678; C ſº ISO
L F FRIV]; below horse-
man, fraction, t-
Similar ; above horseman,
fraction, *
[Pl. xlvi. 21.]
(Nott)
With fractional sign on obverse and reverse
Similar to no. 3654; be-
hind head of Apollo r.
with fillet, fraction, S: 3
Similar ; fraction, 3.
Similar.
Type I.
Similar to no. 3678; C ſº ISO
L F FRVG ; below horse-
man, fraction, * *
Similar; C DISO L F FRV;
above horseman, fraction,
• ; below, * *
Similar.
(Nott)
Val’. C
With symbol on obverse and reverse
Head of Apollo r. with
fillet; similar to no.
3654; behind, symbol,
stand surmounted by
ring.
C T ISO L F FRV below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r. ; wearing conical
shaped cap, and bearing
long palm-branch over
his shoulder; above,
symbol, trumpet (carnya).
(Nott)
CIRC. B.C. 64; A.U.C. 690 459
No.
3734
3735
3736
3737
3738
3739
3740
Weight
58-5
61-6
65.2
59.0
374.1
59.0
62.2
60-8
61:4
Metal
and Size
AR 75
AR 7
AR 7
AR 7
AR. 65
AR. 75
|
AR 75
Similar ; fraction, 3
.75
|
Olyverse Reverse
With number on obverse and symbol on reverse
Similar to no. 3654; be- Similar to no. 3733; C ſº ISO
hind head of Apollo r. L F FRV; above horse-
with fillet, number XXIX man, symbol, lituus.
With Greek number on obverse and letter on reverse
Similar to no. 3654; be- Similar to no. 3733; C ſº ISO
hind head of Apollo r. L F FRVG ; below horse-
with fillet, number A (i.e. man, letter T (L)
Greek numeral A and D) [Pl. xlvi. 22.]
(de Salis Coll.)
With symbol on obverse and number and fractional sign
O??, ?'e U67"Se
Similar to no. 3654; be- Similar to no. 3733; C ſº ISO
hind head of Apollo r. L FFRV; below horseman,
with fillet, symbol, key. number and fraction, I'l
(Nott)
Similar. Similar.
With fractional sign on obverse and reverse
Similar to no. 3654; be- Similar to no. 3733; C ſº ISO
hind head of Apollo r. L F FRV ; above horse-
with fillet, fraction, ºv man, fraction, —
(=co and D) (Nott)
Similar ; fraction, v
(Blacas Coll.)
Type I. var. d
TWith number on obverse and symbol on reverse
Head of Apollo r. with C. TISO . L. F FRV below
fillet ; similar to no. Naked horseman gallop-
3654; behind, number ing r., and bearing long
CCL palm-branch, tied with
fillet, over his shoulder;
above, symbol, lituus.
[Pl. xlvi. 23.]
(Nott)
Similar ; number DXX Similar; same symbol.
i (Blacas Coll.)
460
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
3742
3743
3744
3745
3746
3747
3748
3749
Weight
54'4
62.5
60.5
60-8
60-0
59.1
58-1
54.6
Metal
and Size
AR, 75
AR, 7
AR 7
AR, 7
AR. 65
AR, '65
AR 7
AR -75
Obverse
Reverse
With number and fractional sign on obverse and symbol
O77, 7°00'07"Sø
Similar to no. 3654; be-
hind head of Apollo r.
with fillet, number and
fraction, IS
Similar to no. 3740; C T ISO
L F FRVG ; above horse-
man, symbol, uncertain.
With symbol on obverse and letter on reverse
Similar to no. 3654; be-
hind head of Apollo r.
with fillet, symbol, club.
Similar; symbol, mallet (?).
Similar; symbol, chisel.
Similar; symbol, wing.
Similar.
Type I.
Similar to no. 3740; C ſº ISO
L F FRVG ; below horse-
man, letter F
(Nott)
Similar; letter T
Similar ; C : T ISO . L. F.
FRVG ; letter S
(Nott)
Similar ; same letter.
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Vall’. 0
TWith symbol on obverse
Head of Apollo r. with
fillet; similar to no.
3654; behind, symbol,
Wing.
Type I.
C. Tº ISO L. F FRVGI below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r. ; wearing hat with
brim (causia), and bear-
ing long palm-branch,
tied with fillet, over his
shoulder; no mint-mark.
[Pl. xlvi. 24.]
(Nott)
var. f
With symbol on obverse and letter on reverse
Head of Apollo r. with C TISO L F FRVG below
fillet ; similar to no.
3654; behind, symbol,
wreath ; before head,
countermark, L
Naked horseman gallop-
ingr., and holding whip in
1. hand; below, letter H
[Pl. xlvii. 1.]
CIRC. B.C. 64; A.U.C. 690
461
No.
3750
3751
3752
3753
3754
3755
3756
3757
Weight
49-0
58.2
62.4
61-8
61'4
50-7
56.5
57.8
Metal
and Size
AR.
.7
(plated)
AR.
AR.
.75
Obverse
Reverse
Type II.
With symbol on obverse and reverse
Head of Apollo r, with
fillet; similar to no.
3654; behind, symbol,
key.
Similar ; symbol, wreath.
C T ISO L F FRV below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing 1., and bearing lighted
torch in r. hand; above,
symbol, lizard.
Similar ; below horseman,
symbol, rudder.
(Nott)
With letter on obverse and symbol on reverse
Similar to no. 3654; be-
hind head of Apollo r.
with fillet, letter /\
Similar.
With number and fractional
Similar to no. 3750; C. Tº ISO
L. F. FRVG ; above horse-
man, symbol, arrow.
Similar.
(Nott)
sign on obverse and symbol
O%, 7'07)07'S6
Similar to no. 3654; be-
hind head of Apollo r.
with fillet, number and
fraction, XI'ſ.
Similar to no. 3750; C T ISO
L F FRV; below horse-
man, Symbol, rudder.
[Pl. xlvii. 2.]
(Nott)
Type II. var. a
TWith symbol on obverse and reverse
Head of Apollo r, with
fillet; similar to no.
3654; behind, symbol,
fibula (?).
C T ISO . L. F FRVGI below
Naked winged horseman
galloping 1., and holding
whip in r. hand; above,
symbol, bird flying.
(Nott)
With Greek number on obverse and symbol on reverse
Similar to no. 3654; be-
hind head of Apollo r.
with fillet, number 2 (i.e.
Greek numeral Z and D)
Similar; number 6 (i.e.
Greek numeral 6 and D)
Similar to no. 3755; C T ISO
L FFRV; above horseman,
symbol, lighted torch.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar; same symbol.
[Pl. xlvii. 3..]
* The whip has sometimes a double thong.
462
COIN AGE OF ROME
No.
3758
37.59
3760
3761
3762
3763
3764
Weight
55.5
60-4
59.0
59-1
55.7
63.4
60-2
Metal
and Size
AR 7
AR 75
AR. '75
AR, 7
AR. 75
AR 75
AR 7
Obverse
Reverse
Type III.
With symbol on obverse and reverse
Head of Apollo 1. in high C T ISO L. F FRVG below
relief, bound with fillet;
hair long and in ringlets;
behind, symbol, caduceus.
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r. ; above, symbol,
arrow-head.
With symbol on obverse and Greek letter on reverse
Similar to no. 3758; be-
hind head of Apollo 1.
with fillet, symbol, cres-
cent (?).
bucra-
Similar; symbol,
nium.
Similar to no. 3758; C ſº ISO
L. F. FRV; below horse-
man, letter |
(Nott)
Similar ; letter X 1
(Nott)
With fractional sign or number and fractional sign on
obverse and number on reverse
Similar to no. 3758; be-
hind head of Apollo 1.
with fillet, fraction, S'ſ.
Similar; fraction, 'ſ-
Similar ; number and frac-
tion, l'ſ,
Similar to no. 3758; C T ISO
L F FRV; below horse-
man, number V
[Pl. xlvii. 4.]
(Nott)
Similar ; number Vl
Similar ; number XV
(Nott)
With symbol on obverse and fractional sign on reverse
Similar to no. 3758; be-
hind head of Apollo 1.
with fillet, symbol, bell.
Similar to no. 3758; C T ISO
L F FRV ; above horse-
man, fraction, 2
(Blacas Coll.)
* This may be a fractional sign (semuncia), in which case the sign on the previous coin
would be that of the as, and not a letter.
CIRC. B.C. 64; A.U.C. 690
463
No.
3765
3766
3767
3768
3769
3770
3771
Weight
64-6
59.6
58-6
57.5
57.5
62.6
57.3
Metal
and Size
AR 75
AR •75
AR 7
AR 7
AR. 65
AR. 75
AR. •75
AR 7
Obverse
Reverse
Type III. var, a
With fractional sign on obverse and letter on reverse
Head of Apollo l, with
fillet ; similar to no.
3758; behind, fraction,
S3 e
Similar, fraction, S:
Similar.
C T ISO . L. F FRV below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., and bearing long
palm-branch over his
shoulder; below, letter H
Similar ; same letter.
Similar.
[Pl. xlvii. 5.]
With number or fractional sigm on obverse and fractional
sign on reverse
Similar to no. 3758; be-
hind head of Apollo 1.
with fillet, number
Similar ; same number.
Similar ; fraction, 3
Similar to no. 3765; C ſº ISO
L F FRV ; above horse-
man, fraction, —
Similar ; above horseman,
fraction, * * ; below, *
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; below horseman,
fraction, 2
Type III. var. b
With symbol on obverse and letter on reverse
Head of Apollo l, with
C T ISO L F FRVG below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., and bearing long
palm-branch, tied with
fillet, over his shoulder;
below, letter T
[Pl. xlvii. 6.]
(Blacas Coll.)
Type III. var. c
With symbol on obverse and reverse
fillet ; similar to no.
3758; behind, symbol,
mallet (?).
Head of Apollo l, with
fillet ; similar to no.
3758; behind, symbol,
3772
62.9
arrow-head.
C. Tº ISO L. F FRVG below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r. ; wearing conical
shaped cap, and bearing
long palm-branch, tied
with fillet, over his
shoulder; above, symbol,
serpent with crested
head (?).
[Pl. xlvii. 7.]
(Blacas Coll.)
464
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
3773
3774
3776
3777
3778
Weight
55.5
59-0
59.2
62-0
59.0
59.1
Metal
and Size
AR 7
AR 75
AR 7
AR 65
AR •7
AR. 75
Obverse
Reverse
Type III. var. d
|With fractional sign on obverse
Head of Apollo 1.
fillet; similar to no.
3758; behind, fraction, H
with C T ISO L F FRVG below
Naked winged horseman
galloping 1.5 wearing hat
with brim (causia), and
bearing lighted torch in r.
hand; no mint-mark.
Type IV.
With Greek letter on obverse and symbol on reverse
Head of Apollo r. in high
relief, laureate ; hair long,
and in ringlets; behind,
letter q>
C. Tº ISO . L. F. FRVG below
Naked horseman gallop-
ingr., and wearing conical
shaped cap; above, Sym-
bol, sword with curved
blade.
[Pl. xlvii. 8.]
(Nott)
Type IV. var, a
With symbol on obverse and reverse
Head of Apollo r., laureate ;
similar to no. 3774 ; be-
hind, symbol, eagle.
C. Tº ISO. L. F. FRVG below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r, and bearing long
palm-branch over his
shoulder; above, symbol,
whip with triple thong.
(Nott)
With number or sign on obverse and symbol on reverse
Similar to no. 3774; behind Similar to no. 3775; C DIS.
laureate head of Apollo r.,
number or sign, 3%
Similar.
(sic) L. F. FRVGI; above
horseman, symbol, club.
Similar.
(Nott)
With fractional sign on obverse and symbol on reverse
Similar to no. 3774;
Apollo r., fraction, *2
be-
hind laureate head of
Similar to no. 3775; C. Tº ISO
L. F FRV; above horse-
man, symbol, trumpet (?).
(Nott)
CIRC. B.C. 64; A.U.C. 690
465
No.
3779
3780
3781
3782
3783
3784
3785
3786
3787
Weight
61.3
57.7
57.2
56-7
62'4
60-2
63.0
60-9
59.5
Metal
and Size
AR •7
AR. 75
AR •7
AR 7
AR 7
AR 7
AR 7
AR. 75
AR •75
Obverse
Reverse
TWith symbol on obverse and Greek letter on reverse
Similar to no. 3774;
hind laureate head of
Apollo r., symbol, olive-
branch.
Similar; symbol, lizard.
Similar; symbol, fly.
Similar; symbol, tablet in-
scribed, V
Similar ; palm-
branch.
symbol,
be- Similar to no. 3775; C.D ISO.
L. F. FRVG ; above horse-
man, letter M
[Pl. xlvii. 9..]
(Nott)
Similar; C . TISO . L. F.
FRVGI; letter E
(Nott)
Similar; C ſº ISO L F
FRVG ; letter Tl
(Nott)
Similar; same letter.
(Nott)
Similar ; letter X
With Roman or Greek letter on obverse and reverse
Similar to no. 3774; be-
hind laureate head of
Apollo r., letter R
Similar ; letter Tl
Similar to no. 3775; C.T ISO
L F FRVG ; above horse-
man, letter ſ
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; letter A
[Pl. xlvii. 10.]
With symbol on obverse and sign on reverse
Similar to no. 3774; behind Similar to no. 3775; C ſº ISO
laureate head of Apollo
r., symbol, camel (?).
L F FRVG ; above horse-
man, sign 36
(Blacas Coll.)
With symbol on obverse and fractional sign on reverse
Similar to no. 3774; be-
hind laureate head of
Apollo r., symbol, cadu-
CellS.
Similar to no. 3775; C. ſº ISO
L. F FRVG ; above horse-
man, fraction Sº
(Nott)
3 o
466
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
3788
3789
3790
3791
3792
3793
3794
3795
Weight
60-6
59-1
59.5
56-0
62-0
62.1
60-0
56.5
Metal
and Size
AR •75
AR 7
AR, 75
AR 7
AR, 7
AR 75
AR. 75
AR 7
Obverse
Head of Apollo r., laureate ;
similar to no. 3774; be-
hind, symbol, fibula.
Similar ; symbol, scorpion.
Similar to no. 3774; be-
hind laureate
Apollo r., number 1
Similar to no. 3774 ; be-
Apollo r., symbol, scor-
pion with butterfly in its
claws.
Head of Apollo r., laureate ;
similar to no. 3774; be-
hind, symbol, oak-branch.
Similar ; symbol, apex.
Similar ; symbol, crane.
Similar; symbol, anchor.
head of
hind laureate head of
Reverse
Type IV. var. b
With symbol on obverse and reverse
C. Tº ISO . L. F FRVG below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r. ; wearing conical
shaped cap, and bearing
long palm-branch over
his shoulder; above,
symbol, fish.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar ; same symbol.
[Pl. xlvii. 11.]
(Nott)
|With number on obverse and symbol on reverse
Similar to no. 3788; C. T. ISO
L. F. FRVGI; above horse-
man, symbol, staff with
double hook.
(Nott)
With symbol on obverse and letter on reverse
Similar to no. 3788; C ſº ISO
L F FRV; above horse-
man, letter T.
(Nott)
Type IV. var. c
With symbol on obverse and reverse
C T ISO L. F FRV below
Naked horseman gallop-
ing r., and holding whip'
in r. hand; above, symbol,
basket with strap.
Similar ; C T ISO L F FRVG;
symbol, grasshopper.
Similar ; symbol, lituus.
Similar ; symbol, lizard.
* The whip has sometimes a double thong.
CIRC. B.C. 64; A.U.C. 690
467
No.
3796
3797
3798
3799
3800
3801
3802
3803
3804
3805
3806
3807
3808
Weight
62.5
55-0
61-1
61:0
59.3
62-1
61-5
60-3
61.9
62-0
61-6
60.5
59-3
Metal
and Size
AR 7
AR 7
AR •7
AR 7
AR. 8
AR, 7
AR 75
AR 7
AR, 7
AR 7
AR 7
, R -7
Obverse
symbol, olive-
Similar ;
branch.
Similar ; symbol, arrow.
Similar ; symbol, lituus.
Similar ; symbol, camel.
Similar ; symbol, cornu-
copiae with fillet.
Similar ; symbol, wheel.
Reverse
Similar; same symbol.
[Pl. xlvii. 12.]
Similar ; symbol, spear.
Similar ; symbol, staff with
hook.
(Nott)
Similar ; C T ISO L F FRV;
symbol, strigil.
Similar ; same symbol.
(Nott)
Similar ; C . Tº ISO . L. F.
FRVG ; symbol, torque.
(Nott)
TWith Greek letter on obverse and symbol on reverse
Similar to no. 3774 ; be-
hind laureate head of
Apollo r., letter ſl
Similar ; letter 6
Similar to no. 3792; C. Tº ISO
L. F. FRVG ; above horse-
man, symbol, lituus.
(Nott)
Similar; symbol, lizard.
With symbol on obverse and letter on reverse
Similar to no. 3774; be-
hind laureate head of
Apollo r., symbol, lizard.
Similar; symbol, thunder-
bolt.
Similar ; symbol, tongs.
Similar ; symbol, head-
dress of Isis.
Similar to no. 3792; C.T ISO.
L. F. FRVG ; above horse-
man, letter A
(Nott)
Similar ; same letter.
Similar; C DISO L F FRV;
letter /\
(Nott)
Similar ; C . PISO L . F.
FRVGI ; letter I
TWith symbol on obverse and fractional sign on reverse
Similar to no. 3774;
hind laureate head of
Apollo r., symbol, butter-
fly.
be- Similar to no. 3792; C. PISO
L. F. FRVG; above horse-
man, fraction, 2
(Blacas Coll.)
468
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
3809
3810
3811
3812
3813
3814
3815
Weight
50-3
61:0
58-6
59.8
57.5
62.2
48.6
Metal
and Size
AR. 8
AR. 75
AR 7
AR 7
AR. 7
AR. 8
AR 7
(plated)
Obverse Reverse
Similar; symbol, caduceus Similar ; same fraction.
encircled by serpent. (Nott)
symbol, human Similar ; fraction, S
(Nott)
Similar ;
foot.
Type IV. var. d
With number on obverse and symbol on reverse
Head of Apollo r., laureate; C. PISO. L. F. FRVG below
similar to no. 3774; be. Naked horseman gallop-
hind, number 1 ing r., and holding lighted
torch in 1. hand; above,
symbol, star.
[Pl. xlvii. 13.]
Type IV. var. e
With symbol on obverse and reverse
Head of Apollo r., laureate; C. PISO L. F. FRVG below
similar to no. 3774; be- Naked winged horseman
hind, symbol, butterfly. galloping r. ; above, sym-
- bol, scorpion.
[Pl. xlvii. 14.]
(Nott)
With Greek letter on obverse and symbol on reverse
Similar to no. 3774; be- Similar to no. 3812; C ſº ISO
hind laureate head of L F FRVG ; above horse-
Apollo r., letter Y man, symbol, Scorpion.
With symbol on obverse and letter on reverse
Similar to no. 3774; be- || Similar to no. 3812; C ſº ISO
hind laureate head of L F FRVG ; above horse-
Apollo r., symbol, olive- man, letter F
branch.
Type W.
With symbol on reverse
C T ISO L. F FRV below
Naked horseman gallop-
Bust of Apollo 1., laureate
and draped; hair long,
and in ringlets; behind, ing 1., and holding
shoulders, bow and lighted torch in r. hand;
quiver. below, symbol, rudder.
[Pl. xlvii. 15.]
(Nott)
CIRC. B.C. 63; A.U.C. 691
469
Metal
No. Weight al., Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 63; A.U.C. 691 *
C. SEREIL. C. F
(CAIUS SERVEILIUS CAII FILIUS”)
Denarius
3816 61.5 | AR 75 | Head of Flora r., bound with C. SEREIL C. F in exergue
wreath of flowers, wear-
ing necklace of pendants,
and earring in shape of
cross; hair collected into
a knot, which is decorated
with jewels; string of
and field. Two warriors
armed with shields, stand-
ing facing each other ; in
their r. hands they hold
their swords, the hilts of
which are touching; the
boss of the shield of the
warrior on the r. is orna-
mented with a star of
five points.”
[Pl. xlvii. 16.]
pearls at back of head;
before, FLORA-. TRIAWS
(Floralia primus [fecit]);
behind, lituus.
1 The issues struck by C. Serveilius C. f. and M. Nonius Sufenas, and classed to this year,
appear to be both of a somewhat special nature. The types of the coins of the former relate
to the Floralia or Ludi Florales; those of the latter to the Ludi Victoriae. The presence of the
letters S., C (Senatus consulto) on the coins of Sufenas (see below, p. 470) shows that at least
that issue was a special one.
From this time to the end of this Period, circ. B. c. 50, there is a marked improvement in
the style of the coins, which appear to have been struck with much care. The dies were
very skilfully and carefully executed, the types are in low relief, and throughout there is a
great similarity of work, which alone would be evidence of the contemporaneity of the coins.
It is, perhaps, the finest period of art as displayed on coins of the Roman Republic. To the
treatment of the female head, a very frequent obverse type, much care in execution was
devoted, and though the heads may represent different divinities, there is throughout a similarity
of design, e.g. in the arrangement of the hair, in the forms of the necklace and of the diadern, and
in the shape of the earring, the last being usually like a cross. Frequently, too, in the case of male
heads, attempts were made at portraiture, but as the portraits were not of contemporary men, but
of ancestors of the moneyers whose deeds are recorded, they must be considered as traditional
only. True portraiture does not begin till B. c. 44, the first portrait being that of Julius Caesar.
* Caius Serveilius C. f. appears to be unknown except from his coins, but the augur's
staff on the obverse would lead us to suppose that he was a descendant of M. Serveilius Pulex
Geminus, the consul of B.C. 202, who was elected augur in B.c. 211, and exercised that office for
about forty years; he may also have been a son of C. Serveilius, who held the office of
Inoneyer circ. B. c. 93 (see above, p. 179).
* Mommsen (Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., p. 519) explains the obverse type as referring to the
institution of the Floralia, or Ludi Florales on the occasion of the dedication of the temple to
Flora, in the Circus Maximus, B.c. 240, by the aediles L. and M. Publicius Malleolus. In
B. c. 173 the festival was made an annual one, and as it was under the direction of the aediles
of the time it is quite possible that, though we are unacquainted with their names, one of them
was an ancestor of the moneyer. The warriors on the reverse may represent the Dioscuri, as
those divinities are shown on earlier coins of the Servilia gens (see coins of C. Serveilius M. f.,
Babelon, vol. ii., p. 444), but the type is more probably a reference to the numerous single
combats fought by M. Servilius Pulex Geminus (see above, p. 179), the two warriors being shown
measuring their swords before a duel. This view is somewhat confirmed by a denarius of this
issue in the possession of M. W. Froehner (Ann. de la Soc. franç. de Num., t. xiv., 1890, p. 234),
which came from the Riccio collection, and on which the swords of the warriors are represented
crossed (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 75).
In general style and treatment the head of Flora on the denarii of C. Serveilius may be
compared with those of Diana and Venus on the coins of Faustus Cornelius Sulla and C. Considius
Nonianus (see below, pp. 471, 473), and with that of Leuconoë on those of P. Plautius Hypsaeus
(see below, p. 477, no. 3845).
The denarii of C. Serveilius were restored by Trajan.
470 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight ... 6 Obverse Reverse
3817 | 56.9 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar; the shield of the
r. hand warrior is orna-
mented with a star of Sia:
points.
3818 63.5 | AR 7 || Similar. Similar; the shield is orna-
mented with a large star
of eight points.
(Nott)
3819 58.9 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
SVFENAS
(IMARCUS NONIUS] SUFENAS)
Denarius
3820 | 62-2 || AR 75 Head of Saturn r., bearded, SEX. NONI TR. L. V. P. F
h air long; be for e, (Seactus Nonius praetor
SVFENAS; behind, harpa ludos Victoriae primus
and conical stone (bae- fecit) in exergue and
tylus) and S. C (Senatus field. Roma, bare-headed
consulto). and draped, seated 1. on
pile of arms, holding
spear in r. hand, and
sword in 1. ; she is
crowned by Victory, who
stands behind her, and
holds palm-branch.”
[Pl. xlvii. 17.]
(de Salis Coll.)
| This moneyer was probably Marcus Nonius Sufenas, who was tribune of the plebs B.C. 56,
and who with his colleagues, C. Cato and Procillius, supported the candidatures of Pompey and
Crassus for the consulship. In B. c. 50, Sufenas was appointed propraetor in Asia, and at the
outbreak of the Civil war joined Pompey, was appointed one of his generals, and was present
at the battle of Pharsalia. The head of Saturn on the obverse, and the letters S. C. (Senatºws
consulto), render it not improbable that Sufenas struck those coins during his quaestorship,
which may have occurred circ. B. c. 63 (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 255).
* This reverse type is in honour of Sextus Nonius, possibly the father of the moneyer, who,
as praetor urbanus, inaugurated in B.C. 81 the Ludi Victo, ia e Sullanae in honour of Sulla's
victory at the Colline Gate. The type of Roma crowned by Victory renders the interpretation
of the letters L, V as Lºwdos Victoriae, as supported by Mommsen (Hist. mon. Yonn., t. ii.,
p. 487), more probable than Ludos Votivos, as proposed by Eckhel (Doct. ww.m. vet., t. v.,
p. 262). These coins may have been issued on the occasion of the holding of the Ludi Victoriae
in B.C. 63. Babelon (vol. ii., p. 256) describes Roma as wearing a helmet, but all the coins in
the National Collection show her bare-headed. Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 25) says that
on all specimens known to him Roma is without a helmet.
The small conical-shaped object behind the head of Saturn is somewhat uncertain.
Mommsen (loc. cit.) describes it as probably a vase for money or a cap; Babelon (vol. ii., p. 256),
as probably a vase for money. We would, however, suggest that it may be intended to represent
the conical stone, baetylus, which Rhea gave Cronos (Saturn) to swallow in place of the infant
Zeus; or in connection with the harpa it might relate to the unmanning of Uranus by his
son Cronos. The object on the coin resembles much more a conical stone than a vase
or a Cap. º
The obverse of the denarius of Sufenas forms a hybrid with the reverse of that of
P. Plautius Hypsaeus (see below, p. 476, no. 3841; aud Bahrfeldt, Zeit. f. Num., 1877, p. 40).
CIRC. B.C. 62; A.U.C. 692
471
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
3821 | 60-4 | AR 8 Similar. | Similar.
3822 || 58.4 || AR 8 Similar. Similar.
3823 58.3 | AR 75 | Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Circ. B.C. 62 ; A.U.C. 692."
FAVSTVS
(FAUSTUS CORNELIUS SULLA 9)
Denarius
Type I.
3824 59.7 | AR “75 | Bust of Diana r., draped, Sulla, togate, seated 1. on a
wearing diadem, earring raised seat ; before him
in shape of cross, and kneels Bocchus, king of
double necklace of pearls | Mauretania, offering an
and pendants; hair olive-branch ; behind is
collected into a knot, seen Jugurtha, king of
which is decorated with Numidia, with long beard,
jewels; others in hair also kneeling ; his hands
above forehead; string of tied behind him; above,
pearls at back of head; on r., FELIX
above, crescent ; behind, [Pl. xlvii. 18.]
lituus; before, FAVSTVS (Cracherode Coll.)
3825 | .58-3 || AR •8 Similar. Similar.
* The coins assigned to this year are those struck by Faustus Cornelius Sulla and C. Con-
sidius Nonianus, those of the latter being of a special issue. The history of the former is well-
known, and in consequence we are able to fix with some degree of certainty the date of his office
as a moneyer, but of C. Considius Nonianus our information is limited to that supplied by his
coins. The similarity of the obverse type of the coins of Nonianus, and of those of Faustus with
the head of Diana, is so striking that phe two issues must have been nearly contemporaneous,
and the dies for the two series must have been made by the same engraver. Attention has
already been drawn to the similarity of workmanship between the coins of the moneyers of
this year and those of C. Serveilius and P. Plautius Hypsaeus (see above, p. 469).
* Faustus Cornelius Sulla, son of the dictator, born B.C. 89, was at his father's death,
B.C. 78, placed under the guardianship of L. Lucullus. Accompanying Pompey into Asia
B.C. 63, he was present at the taking of Jerusalem, which occurred in that year. In B. c. 60,
he exhibited the gladiatorial games enjoined by his father's will; was quaestor urbanus B. c. 54,
having been elected augur shortly before ; rebuilt the Curia Hostilia B.C. 52; and was
appointed propraetor in Mauretania B. c. 49, by Pompey, whose daughter he had married. He
was present at the battle of Pharsalia, and, having subsequently joined the leaders of the
Pompeian party in Africa, was taken prisoner after the battle of Thapsus B.C. 46, and upon
his arrival in Caesar's camp was murdered in a tumult. These dates enable us to fix
approximately that of the coins, the issue of which took place shortly before or after Faustus’s
journey to Jerusalem. Babelon proposes B.C. 64; Count de Salis, B.C. 62. Faustus again
struck coins during his tenure of office as quaestor in B.C. 54 (see below, p. 489).
The types of the coins of Faustus are in honour of his father. The bust of Diana on
Type I., and the goddess in a chariot on Type II., refer to the special cult of that divinity by
Sulla during his residence at Ephesus in Asia Minor, and during his dictatorship (Well. Paterc.,
Hist, rom., ii. 25); and the lituus to the functions discharged by him when he filled the office
472 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight Metal Obverse Reverse
and Size
Type II.
3826 64.7 | AR 8 Diademed bust of young FAVSTVS below Diana in
Hercules r., with slight | biga r., horses galloping;
beard, wearing lion's she holds lituus in r.
skin ; behind, FEELIX hand, and reins in I. :
above her head, crescent ;
above and below horses,
two stars.
(de Salis Coll.)
3827 | 61.5 | AR, .75 Similar. Similar ; no crescent above
head of Diana.
[Pl. xlvii. 19.]
3828 60-0 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar ; crescent above
head of Diana, and One
star only under horses.
[Pl. xlvii. 20.]
(de Salis Coll.)
3829 || 48-0 | AF, 75 Similar. Similar.
(plated)
of augur. The reverse of Type I. illustrates one of the earliest and most remarkable events in
the life of Sulla, the submission of Bocchus, king of Mauretania, and his surrender to Sulla of
Jugurtha, king of Numidia, B.C. 106. This event was displayed on a gold tablet subsequently
sent by Bocchus to be erected in the Capitol. Valerius Maximus (viii. 14, 4) tells us that
Sulla was so proud of his share in this success that he had the scene engraved on his seal-ring :
L. Sulla . . . Jugurthae a Boccho rege ad Marium perducti totam Sibi lawdem tam cuſpide adserwit, wit
annulo, quo signatorio wtebatur, insculptom illam traditwonem haberet. Plutarch (Sulla, 3) also
relates that “Sulla let his ambition carry him so far as to give orders for a signet to be
engraved with a representation of this adventure, which he constantly used in sealing his
letters. The device was Bocchus delivering up Jugurtha, and Sulla receiving him.” It is
possible therefore that we have on these coins an accurate representation of the scene displayed
on the gold tablet sent by Bocchus, and reproduced on Sulla's ring. The diademed head on
the obverse of Type II. has been variously identified as representing Jugurtha (Mommsen,
Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 485) or Bocchus (Müller, Num, de l’ame. Afrique, vol. iii., p. 36), or
Hercules Callinicus (Cavedoni, Nuori Studi, p. 18, and Ripostigli, p. 75). We may dismiss at
once Müller's identification of the head as Bocchus, since it is not at all probable that Faustus
would desire to represent in such a prominent position one who had acted with so little
faith to his father, and it cannot well be the portrait of Jugurtha, who is shown on the coins as
an old man with a long shaggy beard. We must therefore accept Cavedoni’s view, and identify
the portrait as that of the young African Hercules, or Hercules Callinicus, which Faustus might
have placed on his coins as a record of his father’s campaign in Africa, and also of the circumstance
that his parent dedicated to that divinity a tenth of his substance, marking the occasion by a
magnificent entertainment to the Roman people (Plutarch, Sulla, 35). The representation
of Hercules as a youth, and wearing a diadem, is somewhat unusual, but instances are met
with on early coins of Italy, and especially on those struck in Campania (Babelon, vol. i.,
p. 13, no. 8). Sig. Camillo Serafini has discussed fully the identification of this head in
connection with these coins, and is strongly in favour of Cavedoni's opinion (Bull. del, comm.
arch. com. di Roma, 1897, pp. 23 f.). It may also be mentioned in connection with the coins of
Faustus that it was on the occasion of his splendid triumph in B.C. 81 for victories over Mithri-
dates that Sulla claimed for himself the title of Felia, as he attributed his successes in life to the
happy favour of the gods (Plutarch, Sulla, 34). In their adulation the Senate erected a gilt
equestrian statue to Sulla, bearing the inscription, Cornelio Sullae Imperatori Felici. It was
probably in reference to this title that he gave his twin son and daughter the names of Fawstus
and Fausta. The duplication of the vowel in the moneyer's name, as Feelia, for Felip, occurs
in only two other instances on Republican coins, viz., in those of C. Numonius Vaala (Babelon,
vol. ii., pp. 264, 265, nos. 1-3), and C. Weibius Vaarus (Ib., vol. ii., p. 44, no. 88).
Both types of the coins of Faustus were restored by Trajan. The obverse of Type I. is
found as a hybrid with the reverse of the denarius of L. Cornelius Lentulus Crus (Babelon,
vol. i., p. 425, no. 64; Bahrfeldt, Zeit. f. Num., 1877, p. 40).
CIRC. B.C. 62; A.U.C. 692 473
Metal
and Size Obverse Revcºse
Ly cº º
No. Weight
C. CONSID | . NONIAN
(CAII CONSIDII NONIANI)
Denarius
3830 61-5 | AR 75 Bust of Venus Erycina r., Temple on the summit of a
laureate and draped, mountain, surrounded by
wearing diadem, earring a rampart with gateway
in shape of cross, and in centre, and tower at
double necklace of pearls each side; * above the
and pendants; hair gateway, ERVC (Eru-
collected behind into a cina).
knot, which is decorated [Pl. xlvii. 21.]
with jewels; others in
hair above forehead;
string of pearls at back
of head; behind, C. CON
SIDI. NONIANI; before,
S. C (Senatus consulto).
3831 || 59.8 || AR 75 Similar; no jewels in hair Similar.
above forehead. (Nott)
3832 61-0 || AR 7 || Similar; plain band at Similar.
back of head of Venus. (Cracherode Coll.)
* The absence of any mention in history of this moneyer, and of any particular reference
in the type, renders it impossible to account for this special issue of coins (see the letters S. C.),
or to explain satisfactorily the association of the type with the family of the moneyer. It may,
however, be supposed that he was closely related to, if not a brother of M. Considius Nonianus,
who was praetor B.C. 52, is mentioned B. c. 49, as the intended successor of Julius Caesar in
the province of Nearer Gaul, and assisted Pompey in conducting his preparations at Capua.
Babelon (vol. i., p. 376) suggests that C. Considius Nonianus was a colleague of M. Nonius
Sufenas, whose coins Count de Salis has attributed to the previous year. The name of
C. Considius Nonianus is in the genitive case.
* The worship of Venus Erycina at Rome was derived from Eryx in Sicily, where the
goddess had a famous temple which was said to have been built by the hero Eryx, a son of
Aphrodite and king Butes, and of which a view is shown on the reverse of the coin. Her cult
was introduced in Rome about the beginning of the Second Punic War, and in B.C. 181 a temple
was built to her outside the Porta Collatina. It is not improbable that an ancestor of the
moneyer was in some way connected with the building of this temple or, as Babelon (loc. cit.)
suggests, with the restoration of the temple at Eryx itself.
The great similarity of the obverse type and fabric between the coins of C. Considius
Nonianus and Faustus Cornelius Sulla has been noticed (see p. 471).
The obverse of the denarius of C. Considius Nonianus forms a hybrid with the reverse of
that of L. Flaminius Chilo (Babelon, vol. i., p. 496, no. 2; and Bahrfeldt, Zeit. f. Num., 1877,
p. 41). Bahrfeldt (op. cit., p. 48) also mentions a plated denarius of this issue with some of
the letters in the moneyer's name reversed.
474 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 61; A.U.C. 693 *
CALDVS
(CAIUS COELIUS CALDUS”)
Denarius
Type I.
3833 61-3 || AR 8 | Head r., bare, of the consul, Head of Sol r., radiate, hair
Caius Coelius Caldus; be- long; before, CALDVS.
fore, C. COEL. CALDVS : | | | . VIR, and circular
below, COS (Consul); shield; behind, oblong
behind, tablet inscribed shield ornamented with
L. D (Libero: Damno). thunderbolt.
[Pl. xlvii. 22.]
(Blacas Coll.)
3834 || 60:1 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
3835 | 59.4 || AR 75 Similar. Similar ; above shield be-
hind head, S (Sol?).
3836 58.9 || AR 75 Similar ; before head, Similar.
• - countermark, XP (Ves-
pasianus (); behind, an-
nulet.
* The coins attributed to this year are of two issues: one ordinary, of Caius Coelius Caldus,
who styles himself a triumvir (i.e. of the mint); the other special, of Publius Plautius Hypsaeus,
as indicated by the letters S., C (Senatus consulto).
* The parentage of the moneyer Caius Coelius Caldus is suggested by the types and legends
of his coins. He was the son of L. Coelius Caldus, one of the septemviri Epulones ; the nephew
of C. Coelius Caldus, who was imperator, augur, and decemvir (sacris faciundis), and of whom
we have already had coins (see above, p. 212); and a grandson of C. Coelius Caldus, who was
consul B. c. 94, and the most influential member of his family during the period of the Republic.
Of the moneyer's official career it is only recorded that in B.c. 50 he was appointed quaestor in
Cilicia, which was then under the administration of Cicero, and that during the latter’s absence
he was left in charge of the province, though not fit for such a post either by his age or his
character. The fabric of his coins, and the nature of their types, which record recent events
connected with his father's, uncle’s, and grandfather's careers, render it very probable that
he filled the office of moneyer circ. B.C. 61.
The fine head on the obverse of all the coins of Caldus is that of his grandfather, who was the
first member of his family to obtain any high offices of state. During his tribuneship in B.C. 107,
he introduced a lea: tabellaria, which ordered that in courts of justice in cases of high treason
votes should be given by means of tablets. One of these tablets inscribed L. D (Libero :
Danno) is shown behind his head. The standards and the trumpet and spear refer to his
conquests in Spain, which province he received after his consulship in B.C. 94. The figure of
a boar was the symbol of the town of Clunia in Spain, where probably Caldus obtained some
successes (Heiss, Mom. ant. Esp., pl. xxix., nos. 7-8). The types of the reverse are somewhat
difficult to explain. Borghesi (CEwvres compl., t. i., pp. 319-322) having interpreted the letter S
as the initial of Sol, saw in the head of the sun a reference to some victory in the
East ; but there is no historical evidence that the consul of B.C. 94 ever served in the East.
Vaillant (Num. ant, fam. rom., t. i., p. 292) thought that it might be an allusion to the cognomen
CIRC. B.C. 61 ; A.U.C. 693 475
Metal
and Size Obverse Reverse
Type II.
No. Weight
3837 64.1 | AR 75 Similar; behind head of A lofty lectisternium sur-
Caius Coelius Caldus, mounted by a seated
standard (vea'illum) in- figure, and having at
scribed HIS (Hispania); each end a military
before, another standard trophy; the front is
in the form of a boar. inscribed k, CALDVS
*Soribed VII. Vº . ETV
(Lucius Caldus Septem-
wir Epulo); on 1., reading
downwards, C. CALDVS,
and on r., also reading
downwards, INAT . A : X
(Imperator, Augur, De-
cemvir); below, CN VS .
III.VIR (i.e. the moneyer's
name).
[Pl. xlvii. 23.]
3838 55-3 || AR 7 || Similar ; the standard is Similar; reading AV for A
inscribed H S only; the (Augur).
pole to which it is
attached dividing the
letters.
3839 58.8 || AR 75 Similar; the positions of Similar; reading A (Augur).
the standards are re- [Pl. xlvii. 24.]
versed ; that with HIS
being before the head ;
that with the boar
behind."
3840 63.9 || AR “75 Similar ; behind head, a Similar.
military trumpet and a [Pl. xlviii. 1.]
Spear.
Caldus, i.e. Calidus, “Quod Sol in coelo videatur et caldws sit,” and Eckhel (Doct. mum. vet.,
vol. v., p. 176) attempted to corroborate this interpretation by the following passage from
Varro (de Ling. Lat.) : Comitiis cum sole caldo ego et Q. Ascius senator tribulis suffragium,
tulissemus. The lectisternium on Type II. refers to the office of Epulo Jovis, which was held
by the moneyer's father. The Epwlones were first created in B.C. 196 to attend to the epulwin
Jovis, and the banquets in honour of the other gods, a duty which had originally been
performed by the Pontifices. They formed a collegium, which was one of the four great
religious corporations at Rome. The number of Epulones was originally three ; Sulla increased
them to seven, Septemviri Epulones, and Julius Caesar to ten, but the title of the college was
not changed. They were reduced to their original number, three, by Augustus. The
ceremony of the lectisternium, which comprised a sumptuous banquet offered to the gods, at
which their statues were brought and placed upon couches, was first celebrated at Rome in
B.C. 399, when the city was visited by a pestilence (Babelon, vol. i., p. 371). The epwlumn
Jovis in Capitolio took place on the 13th Sept. Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 506)
identifies the figure on the lectisternium as one of the Epwlones preparing the feast, but it is
more probably a statue of one of the gods, in whose honour the lectistermium was held. It is
only from the legends on Type II. that we know that the uncle of the moneyer, C. Coelius Caldus,
had been appointed Imperator, and held the office of augur and decemvir (sacris faciundis).
! Babelon (vol. i., p. 374, nos. 10, 12) figures varieties with this obverse, and with that of
the next coin, having a different disposition of the legends on the reverse; those down the
field being transposed. He also describes a specimen of Type I. without the legend COS on
the obverse (op. cit., p. 372, no. 6).
476 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
r Aſy A.
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
D. . YDSAE
(PUBLIUS PLAUTIUS HYPSAEUS)
Denarius
Type I.
3841 61-0 || AR 75 Head of Neptuner., bearded; Jupiter in quadriga I.,
before, P. YTSAE. S. C horses galloping; he
(Senatus consulto); be- hurls thunderbolt with
hind, trident. r. hand, and holds reins
in 1. ; below, and On r.,
C . YT-SAE . COS CET IT
DRIV
(Caius Ypsaeus consul
Privernum cepit).
[Pl. xlviii. 2.]
3842 || 59.9 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
- (Nott)
3843 61-6 | AR 7 || Similar. Similar ; below horses'
feet, scorpion.
3844 61-0 | AR “75 Similar. Similar.
[P1. xlviii. 3..]
* The history of this moneyer is sufficiently known to enable us to fix with some degree of
certainty the year in which the above coins were issued. At some time before B.C. 60,
Publius Plautius Hypsaeus was appointed quaestor to Cn. Pompey during his campaign in Asia,
Returning to Rome he became, in B.C. 58, curule aedile, having M. Aemilius Scaurus as his
colleague. In B.C. 54 he was elected a tribune of the plebs, and subsequently became a
candidate for the consulship, having the support of P. Clodius and his gladiators. Hypsaeus
took an active part in the tumults which ensued, and during which P. Clodius was slain, but
failed to obtain the honour he desired, and was banished.
Of Hypsaeus there are two series of coins : that described above, and that which bears
also the name of M. Aemilius Scaurus, and was issued during their joint aedileship in B.C. 58
(see below, p. 483). Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., pp. 489-492) was of opinion that both
series were issued in B.C. 58, but Cavedoni (Ripostigli, p. 210) thought that there was a slight.
interval between them, on account of the difference in the spelling of the moneyer's name,
YTSAE and HYD SAE, and of a great diversity in style and fabric. Count de Salis
appears to have shared this opinion with Cavedoni. The precise date of Hypsaeus's appoint-
ment as quaestor to Pompey is not known, but Mommsen (op. cit., p. 491) places it at
about B.C. 64; but it is very possible that it may have been a little later, and that his term of
office had not expired when he returned to Rome in B.C. 61 with Pompey, who in that year
received a triumph. These coins may therefore have been issued on that occasion by
Hypsaeus in his capacity as quaestor, and under a special order of the Senate.
As the Hypsaei traced their descent from Neptune and his daughter Leuconoë, the heads
of those divinities form the obverse types of the denarii (Leuconoë Neptuni filia ea. Themisto
Hypsei filia, Hyginus, Fab. 157; Cavedoni, Nuovi Studi, p. 21). The reverse type commemorates
the capture of Privernum by an ancestor of the moneyer, C. Plautius Decianus Hypsaeus,
during his consulship in B. c. 329, for which on his return to Rome he received a triumph.
Babelon (vol. ii., p. 321), however, suggests that the type “records the military exploits of the
consul C. Plautius Venno Hypsaeus, who took Privernum in B.C. 341, and thus broke up the
CIRC. B.C. 61; A.U.C. 693 477
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
Type II.
3845 63-1 | AR 7 | Bust of Leuconoë r., draped, Similar to no. 3841.
her head bound with [Pl. xlviii. 4.]
triple band ; her hair (Cracherode Coll.)
collected into a knot,
which is decorated with
jewels; others in hair
above forehead; string of
pearls at back of head;
she wears earring in
shape of cross, and
double necklace of pearls;
before, ſº . YTSAE . S. C.;
behind, dolphin.
3846 62-7 || AR 7 || Similar; no jewels in hair | Similar.
above forehead. (Cracherode Coll.)
3847 | 62-6 || AR 75 Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
3848 62-0 || AR 7 || Similar; jewels in hair Similar.
above forehead; no pearls
at back of head; single
necklace of pearls, and
S. C behind bust.
3849 || 63.8 || AR 7 || Similar; no jewels in hair | Similar; below horses’ feet
above forehead ; pearls scorpion.
at back of head.
3850 62.2 | AR 75 Similar; jewels in hair | Similar.
above forehead; no pearls [Pl. xlviii. 5.]
at back of head; necklace
of pendants, and S. C
before bust.
confederation of the Volscian cities against Rome, for which success he received the honour of
a triumph"; but Mommsen (loc. cit.) remarks that, as the triumphal lists do not include the
name of C. Plautius Wenno, the triumph recorded on the coins may be that of C. Plautius
Decianus. Eckhel (Doct. num. vet., t. v., p. 276) thought that the reverse type was a
representation of Zeus iſ biotos, an allusion to the cognomen of the moneyer. The absence of
the aspirate in the moneyer's name at so late a date is unusual. This appears to be the only
occurrence of the form Ypsaeus in connection with a member of the Plautia gens. The name
seems to be derived from the Greek word iſ/os. Borghesi (CEuvres compl., t. ii., p. 197) further
suggests that as the scorpion was the zodiacal sign of the city of Commagene, it is not impossible
that the moneyer Hypsaeus exercised some command in the army of Pompey when he invaded
that country in B.C. 65–64 (see Brit. Mus. Cat., Gr. Coims, Galatia, &c., p. xlv.). As, however,
the scorpion does not occur on coins of Commagene till imperial times, it may represent the
district in general. In either case the symbol would confirm the supposition that these coins
were struck on the return of Hypsaeus and on the occasion of Pompey’s triumph. The similarity
in fabric and in the forms of the female heads on the coins of Hypsaeus and of C. Serveilius
has been noticed (see p. 469), and the same resemblance is met with in the head of Neptune on
Type I., and in that of Saturn on the coins of M. Nonius Sufenas (see p. 470).
There are hybrids consisting of the reverse of Type I. without the scorpion and the
obverses of the denarii of Faustus Cornelius Sulla (see p. 471, no. 3824) and of M. Nonius
Sufenas (Bahrfeldt, Zeit. f. Num., 1877, p. 40). Denarii of this type, with and without the
scorpion, bear the countermark of Vespasian (op. cit., 1876, p. 365).
478 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight a. Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 60; A.U.C. 694
T , FONTEIVS T , F , CATITO
(PUBLIUS FONTEIUS PUBLII FILIUS CAPITO)
Denarius
Type I.
3851 63.2 | AR 75 Bust of Mars r., draped Warrior on horseback
and helmeted, and with galloping r., thrusting
slight beard; behind, his spear at an enemy
trophy; around, T , in Gaulish helmet, who
FONTEIVS. To . F. CAT holds sword and oval
|TO . || | . VIR shield, and is about to
slay a third combatant,
unarmed ; below, on r.
is a crested helmet and
an oval shield ; above,
AW . F O N . T R - NA I L
(Manius Fonteius tri-
bunus militum).
3852 | 62.4 || AR 75 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xlviii. 6.]
3853 59.9 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
(de Salis Coll.)
3854 || 57.2 AR “75 Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
3855 55-0 | AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
* The coins attributed to B.C. 60 are of one moneyer only, Publius Fonteius P. f. Capito, who
was a triumvir of the mint, and, according to Count de Salis's view, was the only member of
the triumvirate to exercise the privileges of the office. He has been identified with P. Fonteius,
whom P. Clodius Pulcher chose for his adoptive father, when, in order to qualify himself for the
tribunate of the plebs, he passed at the end of B. c. 60 from the patrician house of the Claudii
to the plebeian Fonteii (Mommsen, Hist. mom. roºm., t. ii., p. 509). It is said that at the time,
Fonteius, though married and having three children, was scarcely twenty years of age, whilst
Clodius was thirty-five. This identification of the moneyer is quite uncertain, but we may
gather from his coins that he was probably a nephew of Manius Fonteius, whose military
exploits during his government of Narbonese Gaul, between B. c. 76-73, are recorded in Type I.
of the denarius. Manius Fonteius himself struck coins as quaestor some years before (see
above, p. 322). Type II. is not so easily explained. The member of the Didia gens to whom
reference is made was T. Didius, who was consul B.C. 98, and subsequently obtained the pro-
consulship of Spain, and at the end of the war against the Celtiberians was awarded a
triumph at Rome, and given the title of Imperator. Though there is no historical record, it
would appear from the above coins that on his return from Spain in B.C 93, Didius restored
or embellished the Villa Publica in the Campus Martius. The moneyer was probably
related by marriage to the Didia gens, and the good feeling between the two families is
emphasized by the bust of Concordia on the obverse.
Mommsen (loc. cit.) attributes the issue of this coinage to circ. B.C. 54, but as Count de
Salis considered that it was struck a few years earlier, he evidently did not identify the
moneyer with the P. Fonteius above mentioned. The finds do not assist in determining the
precise date of this issue, but the great similarity of treatment and style of the head of Con-
cordia on Type II., and that of Westa on the coins of Q. Cassius, which are classed to B.C. 58,
is very noticeable (see below, p. 482, no. 3871). Babelon (vol. i., p. 455) remarks on the
resemblance between the head of Concordia on these coins and on those of Paullus Aemilius
Lepidus (see above, p. 418), and also on the analogy of the representation of the Villa Publica
to that of the Basilica Aemilia on the coins of M. Aemilius Lepidus (see above, p. 450).
CIRC. B.C. 59 ; A.U.C. 695 479
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
Type II.
3856 | 617 | AR 7 Head of Concordia r., veiled, The Villa Publica; a build-
and wearing diadem; ing consisting of two
before, CONCORDIA ; storeys, each with a row
behind and above, T . of columns; the lower
FONTEIVS . CAT ITO . columns are surmounted
| | | . VIR . by arches; the upper
ones support a sloping
roof; around, T. DIDI .
IMT : VI.L. DVB (Titus
Didius imperator villam
publicam (refecit)).
[Pl. xlviii. 7.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
3857 | 60:8 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
3858 60-0 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
3859 59-0 || AR 75 | Similar. Similar.
3860 61-0 || AR 8 Similar; moneyer's name, Similar.
Tº . FONEIVS. CAT ITo .
| | | . VIR .
Circ. B.C. 59 ; A.U.C. 695
BRVTVS
(QUINTUS CAEPIO BRUTUS)
Dermarius
Type I.
3861 | 635 | AR 8 | Head of Libertas r., hair BRVTVS (in exergue).
rolled back, and collected The consul, Lucius Ju-
into a knot behind, and nius Brutus, walking 1.,
falling over her neck; between two lictors, and
jewels in hair above fore- preceded by an accensus.
head; she wears earring [Pl. xlviii. 8.]
in shape of cross, and (Cracherode Coll.)
necklace of pendants;
behind, LIBERTAS
3862 62.1 | AR 75 Similar; no jewels in hair Similar.
above forehead. (Woodhouse Coll.)
3863 49.2 | AR, 75 Similar. Similar.
(plated) (de Salis Coll.)
* For this year we havé again only one issue, which belongs to the ordinary coinage of the
The moneyer was Quintus Caepio Brutus, better known in history as M. Junius Brutus,
mint.
one of the assassins of Julius Caesar, and a son of M. Junius Brutus and Servilia, sister of
480 COINAGE OF ROME
Metol
g * * ºn . •S
and Size Obverse Reverse
Type II.
No. Weight
3864 62-8 || AR 75 | Head r., bearded, of Lucius | Head r., bearded, of Caius
Junius Brutus, the An- Servilius Ahala; behind,
cient ; behind, BRVTVS AHALA
3865 62.3 | AR 75 Similar. Similar.
3866 61.7 | AR 8 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xlviii. 9..]
3867 59.9 || AR “75 Similar. Similar.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
Q. Servilius Caepio. Born B. c. 85, Brutus, on the death of his father, was adopted by his uncle,
and hence in public documents, in inscriptions, and on coins, he is usually called Q. Caepio
Brutus, or only Brutus or Caepio Brutus. In one instance on coins Brutus takes his birth-name,
Marcus (Junius) Brutus (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 117, no. 43). His adoption into the Servilia gens
took place before B.C. 59, as in that year he was denounced as an accomplice in a conspiracy
against Pompey’s life, in consequence of which, at the persuasion of Julius Caesar, he retired
in the following year with Cato to Cyprus, and later on to Cilicia. From that time till about
B.C. 49 he took no part in public affairs, but in that year, whilst professing strong democratic
views, he joined the aristocratic party under the leadership of Pompey, and fought against
Caesar at Dyrrhachium. After the battle of Pharsalia, he was pardoned by Caesar; became
governor of Cisalpine Gaul B.C. 46 ; praetor urbanus B. c. 44, and though promised by Caesar the
governorship of Macedonia, joined the conspiracy against him. Pardoned by the Senate, Brutus
in the same year proceeded to Macedonia to take up the governorship; was opposed by
C. Antonius, the brother of M. Antony, whom he took prisoner and put to death ; assumed the
title of imperator B.C. 43, and having joined his forces with those of Cassius at Sardis B.C. 42,
was defeated by Octavius and Antony at Philippi. He perished by his own hand.
From the above data, and from the evidence of finds, it is possible to fix the date of the
above issue. Babelon (vol. ii., p. 114) says that Cohen and other numismatists are wrong in
classing the above coins to circ. B.C. 58, as it was not till after the murder of Caesar that
Brutus struck money, and could glorify himself as the descendant of the assassin of kings.
This statement is not borne out either by the style or fabric of the coins, and is against the
direct evidence of finds. In style the coins resemble very closely others of the period
to which they are attributed, the head of Libertas being treated similarly to that of the
same divinity on the following coins of Q. Cassius, and we know that the issue must have
taken place before B.C. 44, as specimens occurred in no less than five finds, viz., Cadriano, San
Cesario, Carbonara (II.), Willola, and Collecchio, all of which were buried before that date (see
, Tables of Finds). These coins were therefore struck by Brutus as an ordinary officer of the mint,
and probably about B.C. 59, as he left Rome in the following year, and, as we have said, took
no further part in public affairs till B.C. 49. The coins struck by Brutus, and his legates
and others, after the murder of Caesar, B.C. 43–42, were not issued at Rome, and are therefore
attributed to the EAST under those dates. As Babelon (loc. cit.) has assigned these coins
to a date subsequent to the death of Julius Caesar, he considers that they were struck in
Macedonia ; the type of reverse being similar to that of the gold pieces issued by Brutus in
Thrace, and reading KOXQN (Brit. Mus. Cat., Gr. Coins, Thrace, p. 208).
The types of the coins of Brutus, whilst illustrating his strong republican views, are
records of his ancestry. Type I. is intended to recall the expulsion of the Tarquins from Rome
by Lucius Junius Brutus, who was consul B.C. 509, and who was the first to bear the cognomen
, Brutus. Type II. whilst tracing the descent of Brutus from the consul of B.C. 509, points also
to his connection through his mother with the Servilia gens, which claimed as an ancestor
C. Servilius Ahala, who in B.C. 439, when master of the horse, slew Spurius Maelius on the
ground that he was plotting against the state. This act is mentioned by later writers as an
example of ancient heroism, and is frequently referred to by Cicero in terms of the highest
admiration (in Catil., i. 1; pro Mil. 3; Cato, 16).
There is a hybrid consisting of the obverse of Type II. and of the reverse of the denarius
of Q. Pompeius Rufus with head of Sulla (see below, p. 484, no. 3883; Mommsen, Hist.
mon. rom., t. ii., p. 516). The denarius of Type I. was restored by Trajan.
The gold coin (aureus) of Type II. in the Vienna collection described and figured by
Riccio (Catalogo, p. 126, no. 106, and p. 185, no. 49, pl. ii. 18) cannot be genuine, as the issue
of gold money at the Roman mint was not revived till B. c. 49. Dr. Friedrich Kenner was
also of opinion that it is unquestionably false (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 167).
CIRC. B.C. 58 ; A.U.C. 696 481
Metal
No. Weight g
{} and Size
Obverse It everse
Circ. B.C. 58; A.U.C. 696 |
O. : CASSIVS
(QUINTUS CASSIUS [LONGINUs]*)
Denarius
Type I.
3868 65-0 || AR 75 Young male head (Bonus O. . CASSIVS below Eagle
Eventus?) r., with flow- with extended wings,
ing hair; behind, Sceptre. standing r. on thunder-
bolt between a lituus and
a sacrificial ewer with
handle (capis).
3869 63-0 || AR 8 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xlviii. 10.]
3870 59.1 | AR “7 Similar. Similar.
* The coinage of this year consists of two issues, an ordinary and a special one : the former
struck by the moneyer Quintus Cassius; the latter by the curule aediles, Marcus Aemilius
Scaurus and Publius Plautius Hypsaeus. As it is recorded that Scaurus and Hypsaeus were
curule aediles in B.C. 58, the date of their issue is certain, but that of Q. Cassius can only be
determined by fabric and by similarity of types to contemporaneous coinages.
* This moneyer was probably Quintus Cassius Longinus, who was quaestor to Pompey in
Spain B.C. 54, when his conduct was marked by cruelty and rapacity. He was tribune of the
plebs B.C. 49, in conjunction with Mark Antony, with whom he opposed the aristocratic measures
of the Senate, and, in consequence, having been driven out of the senate-house by the consuls,
he took refuge in Caesar’s camp. He commanded in the war in Spain against the partisans of
Pompey; in Africa against Juba, king of Mauretania; and again in Spain, where he narrowly
escaped a conspiracy formed against him at Corduba. Pursued by the quaestor M. Marcellus
Aeserninus, he took refuge in the town of Ulia, and later on at Malaca, where he embarked,
but his ship sank and he perished. He evidently filled the office of moneyer a few years before
that of quaestor, and the similarity of the head of Vesta on Type II. to that of Concordia on
coins of P. Fonteius (see p. 479), and of the head of Libertas to that of the same divinity on the
coins of Q. Caepio Brutus (loc. cit.), shows that all these issues belong to about the same time.
The types of the coins of Cassius record events connected with his family. Of Type I., no
satisfactory explanation has so far been suggested, but as the subject of the reverse resembles
so very closely that of the coins of Perseus, king of Macedon, it is very possible that it refers
to Q. Cassius Longinus, the consul of B. c. 164, who as praetor urbanus in B.C. 167 conducted
that conquered monarch to Alba. Though not recorded, it is probable, from the lituus and the
one-handled jug, that he held also the office of augur.
Type II., with the head of Westa on the obverse and her temple on the reverse, relates to
the investigation held in B. c. 113, and over which L. Cassius Longinus Ravilla presided, to
inquire into certain cases of incest, because the pontiffs were thought to have improperly
acquitted two of the vestal virgins, Licinia and Marcia, while they condemned one, Aemilia.
Longinus condemned not only Licinia and Marcia, but also several other persons. The curule
chair within the temple represents the seat of the judge. On one side is seen the urn for
3 Q
482 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
amd Size Obverse Reverse
Type II.
No. Weight
3871 61.2 | AR 7 | Head of Westa r., veiled, The temple of Vesta,
wearing diadem, and circular, surmounted by
earring of single drop figure holding sceptre
in shape of cross; be- and patera, and flanked
fore, VEST ; behind, by ante-fixes; within the
O. : CASSIVS i temple, curule chair; on
l., urn with two handles,
and on r., tabella in-
scribed, A C (Absolvo :
Condemno).
[Pl. xlviii. 11.]
3872 59.4 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
(Nott)
Type III.
3873 || 65.5 AR “75 | Head of Libertas r. ; hair Similar.
collected into a knot, [P1. xlviii. 12.]
which is decorated with (Cracherode Coll.)
jewels, and falling down
her neck; others in hair
above forehead; she wears
earring of single drop in
shape of cross, and neck-
lace of pendants; be-
hind, LIBERT ; before,
O. : CASSIVS
3874 58-4 || AR 75 | Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
3875 56-6 || AR “75 Similar ; no jewels in hair
above forehead. Similar.
•ºms-
receiving the votes, and on the other, the tabella or voting tablet, inscribed with the letters A. C.,
(Absolvo : Condemno), which were used at the trial. Mommsen (Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 504)
says that the urn and the voting tablet do not allude, as usually supposed, to the Lea, Cassia.
which was passed in B. c. 137, and which introduced the ballot in the Judicia Populi; because,
in the comitia, the tablets were placed in a cista, and not in an urn, as shown on a later
coin of the Cassia gens (see p. 494), and were inscribed with the letters A V (Antiquo and
Vti rogas). They represent rather the sitella and the sorticula, which were employed at the
qwa'estiones, and which had been used in the trial of the vestal virgins. The head of Libertas on
Type III. may illustrate generally the efforts of the Cassia gens for the preservation of the
public liberties.
* A variety of this type reads VESTA for VEST (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 83).
Another example in the Fontana collection reading IOCVS for VEST is probably a barbarous
copy (Fontana, Descriz., pl. i. 10).
There are restorations by Trajan of the last two types.
CIRC. B.C. 58; A.U.C. 696 483
No. Weiqi, Metal * * * * * * * * § 4 º' & &
O. Weight (Intl Size Obverse Reverse
NA. SCAVR . Tº . HYTYSAEVS
(MARCUS AEMILIUS SCAURUS: PUBLIUS
PLAUTIUS HYPSAEUS )
Dernarius
SERIES I.
3876 62-0 || AR 7 King Aretas kneeling r., Jupiter in quadriga I.,
holding in extended r. horses galloping; he
hand an Olive-branch, to hurls thunderbolt with r.
which is attached a fillet, hand, and holds reins in
and with 1., camel, with 1. : ab T. HYDSAEVS
saddle, by the bridle; * : *** AED cVR
above, M . SCAVR (Mar.- . (Publius Hypsaeus aedilis
cus Scaurus); at sides, curulis); below and on r.,
EX SC (Ea senatus con- C. HYDSAE COS CATT
sulto); in exergue, AED T REIVER
CVR (aedilis curulis). (Caius Hypsaeus, comsul ;
Preivermum captum).
(Cracherode Coll.)
3877 || 59.4 || AR 7 Similar. Similar ; reading CADTVNA
for CAT T
[Pl. xlviii. 13.]
* As it is recorded that the curule aedileship of Marcus Aemilius Scaurus and Publius
Plautius Hypsaeus took place in B.C. 58, this is one of the few instances at this period when
we are able to fix from historical evidence the precise date of the issue of a particular coinage
(Cicero, pro Sest., liv. 116; Drumann, Gesch. Roms, 2nd ed., vol. i., p. 21).
Of Publius Plautius Hypsaeus some particulars have already been given, as he struck coins
a few years earlier, in B.C. 61 (see above, p. 476), and in the present issue he only repeats,
with slight modifications, the reverse type of his earlier pieces, giving his cognomen as
“Hypsaeus’’ for “Ypsaeus,” and the name of Preivernum with El for I to denote the
long vowel. In the person of his colleague, Marcus Aemilius Scaurus, we meet with one of
the most noted men of the time. Son of M. Aemilius Scaurus, consul B.C. 115, and stepson of
Sulla, he served as quaestor to Pompey in the third Mithridatic war ; was appointed by him
governor of Syria ; and in B.C. 64 entered Judaea to settle the disputes between the brothers
Hyrcanus and Aristobulus. After that he repressed the incursions of the Nabathean Arabians,
compelling their king, Aretas, to submit and pay a fine of 300 talents to Pompey. On his return
to Rome in B.C. 58, he was elected curule aedile, having Publius Plautius Hypsaeus as his
colleague, and in his year of office celebrated the public games with a splendour never previously
witnessed in the capital. It was to meet the expenses of this celebration that the Senate granted
to Scaurus and his colleague permission to strike coins in their own names. In B. c. 56 Scaurus
was praetor, and in the following year he was appointed governor of Sardinia. Returning to
Rome, he was a candidate for the consulship in B.C. 54, but failed, as he was accused of ambitus
in that year, and again in B.C. 52; on the second occasion being found guilty, and exiled. On
the coins the name of Scaurus is placed on the obverse, and that of Hypsaeus on the reverse.
The type used by Hypsaeus, as already mentioned, was copied from the reverse of the coins
which he issued a few years before, in B.C. 61; whilst Scaurus records the submission of King
Aretas. This is the first instance in which a moneyer commemorates on his coins an event
connected with his own history.
Borghesi (CEuvres compl., t. ii., p. 186) has remarked that the saddle of the camel is
varied in form. In one form he could recognize the ephippium or the centumculum, a war-
saddle from which the Arabs discharged their arrows against their enemies (Appian, de Reb.
Syr., c. xxxii.); in the other, the sagma cameli or pack-saddle, from which the camels were
called sagmarii and onerarii. On the specimens in the British Museum the only difference in
the saddle is that on some specimens it has a double belly-band instead of a single one.
484 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
- Ol) : 7°S6 º "S
and Size Q’6 Reverse
No. Weight
SERIES II.
3878 58-0 | AR 7 King Aretas kneeling r., Jupiter in quadriga 1.,
with camel at his side, hurling thunderbolt, &c.;
&c.; similar to no. 3876; similar to no. 3876; below
* ab M SCAVR . t horses’ feet, Scorpion ;
9V9, AED CVR * love. T : HYDSAEVS
sides, EX S C ; in ex- | *** AED CVR
ergue, REX ARETAS be low a n d on r.,
C HYDSAE COS
RRENER CAPTV
3879 63-0 | AR 7 Similar. Similar ; legend reading,
- Tº HYT AEVS
[Pl. xlviii. 14.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
3880 62-0 || AR 7 Similar. Similar ; legends reading,
D. HYDSAE and
C HYTSAEOS
| T REIVE .
(Nott)
3881 61.2 | AR 7 Similar. Similar ; legend reading,
C . HYTSAE COS
RRENE * CATT'
3882 60-3 || AR 7 Similar. Similar.
Circ. B.C. 57 ; A.U.C. 697 °
O. : [YONADE|. RVF
(QUINTUS POMPETUS RUFUS)
Denarius
Type I.
3883 62-0 || AR 75 | Head r., bare, of the consul, Head r., bare, of Sulla ;
Quintus Pompeius Rufus ; before, SVLLA . COS
behind, RVFVS. COS; [Pl. xlviii. 15.]
before, O.. PONA. RVFI
3884 61.3 | AR 75 Similar. sº
(Cracherode Coll.)
1 A further variety reads T R El VI and CAPTVNA. There is a restoration of the denarius
of this series by Trajan.
Hybrids consisting of the reverse of the denarius of Series I. reading AID for AED and
CAPTV, and of the obverse of that of Series II. are in the Berlin and Haeberlin collections
(Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 16). -
* Quintus Pompeius Rufus, whose coins only are attributed by Count de Salis to B.C. 57, was
an ordinary moneyer of the mint. His coins of Type I. are similar in style and fabric to those of
Q. Caepio Brutus with heads of Brutus and Ahala (see above, p. 480); whilst those of Type II.
may be compared in this respect with the preceding issue of M. Scaurus and P. Hypsaeus.
Q. Pompeius Rufus was the son of Q. Pompeius Rufus and Cornelia, daughter of Sulla,
and grandson of Q. Pompeius Rufus, who was consul with Sulla B.C. 88. Elected tribune of
the plebs B.C. 52, he became the great partisan of Pompey, and took an active part in the
prosecution of Milo for the murder of Clodius. At the termination of his office as tribune he
was himself accused of violating the law De Vi, in the passing of which he had taken an
active part, was condemned, and died at Bauli in Campania.
The types of his coins do not need much explanation. In Type I, we have the portraits
CIRC. B.C. 56 ; A.U.C. 698 485
No. Weight dº. Obverse It everse
Type II.
3885 62-0 | AR 75 A curule chair between an A curule chair between a
laurel-branch on the r. ; wreath on the r. ; above,
above O. DONATEI.O.F. SVLLA. COS; below, on
2 RVFVS
below, on tablet, COS
5
tablet, O. DONATEI.R.VF
|
arrow on the 1. and a lituus on the 1. and a
3886 620 AR 7 |Similar. Similar.
3887 61.5 AR 7 | Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
3888 60.5 AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
3889 601 | AR 7 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xlviii. 16.]
(de Salis Coll.)
Circ. B.C. 56; A.U.C. 698"
DHILIT TVS
([LUCIUS MARCIUS] PHILIPPUS)
Denarius
3890 62-0 || AR 8 | Head of Ancus Marcius Equestrian statue r., on an
r., diademed ; below, arcade of five arches, with-
ANCVS ; behind, lituus. in which is the inscrip-
tion, A O. V. A WR (Aqua
Marcia); behind the
statue, PHILIT TVS; and
under it, a flower.
(Nott)
of his paternal and maternal grandfathers, and the curule chairs, the arrow and the branch, and
the lituus and the wreath in Type II., are emblematic not only of the offices they filled, but
also of their careers.
The reverse of Type I. forms a hybrid with the obverse of the denarius of Q. Caepio Brutus
with the head of Brutus, the Ancient (see above, p. 480; and Bahrfeldt, Zeit. f. Num., 1877, p. 41).
1 The only coins classed to this year by Count de Salis are those which bear the name of
Philippus, whose identification is somewhat uncertain. The coins undoubtedly belong to the
period to which they are assigned, but whether they were actually struck in this particular year is
somewhat conjectural. Examples occurred in the Compito, Cadriano, and San Cesario hoards.
The moneyer may be L. Marcius L. f. L. n. Philippus, the son of L. Marcius L. f. Q. n.
Philippus, who was praetor B.C. 60, and consul B. c. 56. He was tribune of the plebs B.C. 49,
and praetor B. c. 44. If the attribution of these coins to B.C. 56 is correct, he would have held
the office of moneyer during the year of his father's consulship. The coins could not have
been struck by the consul himself.
The Marcia gens claimed descent from Ancus Marcius, the fourth king of Rome, who is said
to have been the first to bring water to Rome by means of an aqueduct (Pliny, Hist. Nat.,
xxxi. 3). The lituus may refer to the priestly offices and ceremonies instituted by the early
kings of Rome. The equestrian statue on the reverse is that of Q. Marcius Rex, who, when
praetor B. c. 144, was commissioned by the Senate to repair the old aqueducts and to build one
which would give a supply of water to the Capitol. This aqueduct is known as the Aqua Marcia,
and in order that Q. Marcius Rex might complete it his imperium was prolonged for another
year. In commemoration of the great benefit derived from this new water supply, the Senate
486 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
3891 60.7 AR 75 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xlviii. 17.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
3892 558 AR “75 Similar. Similar.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
3893 62-0 | AR 75 | Similar. Similar ; legend reading,
A O. V. A /\A& C
3894 57.4 AR 75 | Similar. Similar.
3895 || 54-0 || AR 7 | Similar. Similar ; arcade of seven
arches, and legend read-
ing, A Q. V A NA R C
[Pl. xlviii. 18.]
Circ. B.C. 55; A.U.C. 699 °
L. FVRI CN . F. BROCCH!
(LUCII FURII CNAEI FILII BROCCHI’)
Dermarius
3896 62-6 AR 75 Bust of Ceres r., draped, A curule chair between two
and wearing wreath of fasces with axes; above,
corn ; before, grain of L. FVRI
barley; behind, ear of CN . F
wheat; below, BROCCH | ; [Pl. xlviii. 19.]
above, divided by head, (Cracherode Coll.)
||| VIR
placed an equestrian statue of Marcius on the aqueduct (Mommsen, Hist. "non. rom., t. ii.,
p. 513). Longpérier (CEuvres, t. ii., pp. 235, 236) has identified the flower beneath the horse
as the Martialis, a punning allusion to the name Marcia. It is related that Juno became
pregnant of Mars by touching this flower, of which the secret was told her by Flora (Ovid,
Fasti, v. 258).
* Another variety reads AOVA NASCI. There is a restoration by Trajan of the denarius
of this issue (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 197).
* As in B.C. 58, and on several previous occasions, there appear to have been two issues in
B.C. 55; one struck by an ordinary moneyer of the mint, L. Furius Brocchus; the other, of
P. Crassus, being a special issue, as shown by the inscription S. C (Senatus comsulto).
* Lucius Furius Ch. f. Brocchus was a triumvir of the mint, and, according to Count de
Salis, he may have been the only member of the triumvirate who issued coins during his year
of office. He is only known from his coins. His father's praenomen was Cnaeus, and Valerius
Maximus (vi., i. 13) mentions a Cnaeus Furius Brocchus who was severely punished for a criminal
offence. The cognomen Brocchus was originally applied to a man with prominent teeth.
As so little is known of L. Furius Brocchus it is difficult to explain the types of his denarii.
The curule chair between the two fasces would appear to be an allusion to the duties of the
plebeian aediles, and the head of Ceres recalls the special function of those officers, who
had charge of the storehouses and granaries of corn for the provisioning of Rome (Babelon,
vol. i., p. 527). Cavedoni (Bull. dell' Inst. arch., 1852, p. 60) has recognized in the
types the subject of the anecdote of the freedman, C. Furius Cresimus, related by Pliny
(Hist. Tat., xviii. 6, 41). Cresimus, who occupied himself with agriculture, produced crops
far more luxuriant than his neighbours, who thereupon accused him, through jealousy, of having
poisoned their fields. When he was summoned by the curule aedile, Spurius Albinus, to answer
the charge against him, he appeared in the forum surrounded by his implements of labour, his
fine teams of cattle, and his family, consisting of robust youths, and cried out in defence :—
“ Veneficia med, Quirites, haec sumt, mec posswºm vobis ostendere awt in forwm adducere
lucubrationes meas vigiliasque et sudores.”
For similarity of work and fabric the reverse type of the coins of Brocchus may be
compared with Type II. of the coins of Q. Pompeius Rufus (see above, p. 485). The accent on
CIRC. B.C. 55; A.U.C. 699 - 487
No. Weight a.º. Obverse Reverse
3897 60-3 || AR 75 Similar. Similar.
3898 || 59.8 || AR -75 Similar. Similar.
down the neck.
‘75 Similar. L. FVRI
3899 || 612 || AR 75 Similar; lock of hair falling Similar.
AR. Similar; legend, cri's
3900 || 51.4
Tº . CRASSVS NA . F
(PUBLIUS LICINIUS CRASSUS MARCI FILIUS)
Dernarius
3901 | 66.4 || AR 75 Bust of Venus r., draped, A warrior standing towards
laureate, and wearing l., holding Spear in 1.
diadem, earring in form hand, and horse by the
of cross, and necklace of bridle with r. ; at his
pearls; hair collected feet, shield and trophy;
into a knot with locks around, P : CRASSVS.
falling down her neck; M. F
jewels in hair above [Pl. xlviii. 20.]
forehead; behind, S - C
(Senatus consulto).
3902 || 62-0 || AR 75 Similar ; drapery, slight. Similar.
3903 || 58.9 || AR 75 Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
the letter V in the moneyer's name supplies another instance of accentuation as found on
inscriptions of that time. It has already been noticed as occurring in the name of “Musa’’
on the coins of Q. Pomponius Musa (see above, pp. 441-2). It should also be mentioned that
this is one of the few instances in which the moneyer's name is in the genitive, not nominative
CàS62.
A forgery of this denarius, probably ancient, in the British Museum, has the obverse type
repeated on the reverse.
1 This moneyer was the second son of M. Licinius Crassus Dives, the triumvir, who was
slain at Sinnaca, near Carrhae in Mesopotamia, in the war against the Parthians B.C. 53. The
moneyer was quaestor B.C. 59; Caesar’s legate in Gaul B.C. 58, and on his return to Rome in
B.C. 55, he brought with him a troop of 1,000 Gaulish horsemen, which he had enrolled for service
against the Parthians. He was also killed at Sinnaca.
Babelon (vol. ii., p 133) considers that Crassus struck these coins under a special
senatorial order, ea senatus consulto, during his quaestorship, and that the warrior and his
horse on the reverse relate to the censorships of his father, B.C. 65, and of his grandfather,
P. Licinius Crassus, B.C. 89, since the public inspection of the horses of the Equites was one of
the duties of the censors. Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 512) gives the issue to B. c. 59 or
B. c. 55–54. Count de Salis, in attributing these coins to B.C. 55, evidently connected the type
with the actual raising by Crassus of the troop of 1,000 Gaulish horsemen which he conducted
to Rome. In that case Crassus would have received a special permission to issue these coins
to defray the expenses of the levy. The commemoration by moneyers of recent events on their
coins has been noticed on several previous occasions. In B.C. 62, Faustus Cornelius Sulla
records an event of his father’s life; in B.C. 58, M. Scaurus depicts an event connected with
his own life; and in B.C. 55, if Count de Salis's classification is accepted, Crassus illustrates
the actual circumstance which led to the issue of his coins. iº
The head of Venus on the obverse may have been intended as a compliment to Julius
Caesar, who claimed descent from that divinity, and under whom Crassus had served in Gaul.
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 3) describes a plated example of this issue, formerly in the
Bignami collection, now in the Capitoline Museum, with the head of Venus on the reverse as
well as on the obverse, but not of precisely the same design. It has scratched on it the letters
in Oscan characters T1Aſl IV.
488 COIN AGE OF ROME
No. Weight º, Obverse - - If everse
3904 || 52-6 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
3905 || 59.5 | AR 8 Similar; more drapery, and Similar.
- necklace of pendants.
3906 || 54-5 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
Circ. B.o. 54; A.u.c. 700
SER . SVT,
(SERVIUS SULPICTUS [GALBA]*)
Dermarius
3907 || 617 | AR 85 Head of Apollo r., laureate; A naval trophy,” on the r.
behind, SER , ; before, of which stands a naked
SVT, captive, his hands tied
behind him ; on his head
is a petasus, above which
appears the point of a
spear; on the 1. Of the
trophy is another figure,
clothed, and also wearing
a petasus.
(de Salis Coll.)
3908 || 47-0 || AR, 8 || Similar. Similar.
(plated) [Pl. xlviii. 21.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
* We may conclude from the absence of any special mark that Servius Sulpicius held the
office of an ordinary moneyer of the mint. This would therefore give us for the year B c. 54
one ordinary issue and two special ones; the latter being struck by the quaestor, Faustus
Cornelius Sulla, and by the curule aediles, Aulus Plautius and Cnaeus Plancius. As to the
character of the types of the coins attributed to this year, it may be noticed that whilst the
ordinary moneyer continues to record an event of somewhat remote time, the extraordinary
ones depict scenes of more recent dates, and two of them, A. Plautius and Cnaeus Plancius,
events connected with their own careers.
* This moneyer has been identified by Mommsen (Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 519) with
Servius Sulpicius Galba, the great grandfather of the emperor Galba, who, having served in
Gaul B.C. 58, was praetor urbanus B c. 54, and an unsuccessful candidate for the consulship
B.C. 49. According to Suetonius (Galba, 3) he was one of the conspirators against the life of
Julius Caesar. Babelon (vol. ii., p. 473) would assign this issue to circ. B. c. 64. In classifying,
however, the above coins to B.C. 54, Count de Salis must have attributed them to some other
member of the family; for if Servius Sulpicius had struck them in his capacity of praetor
urbanus, some indication such as S. C (Senatus consulto) or PR, VRB (Praetor wrbis) would
have been placed on them, as in the case of the other issues classed to this year. The moneyer
may have been his son, who was devoted to literary pursuits, and never rose to a higher office
in the state than the praetorship (Suetonius, loc. cit.). These coins of Servius Sulpicius are
rare, but their presence in the Cadriano hoard shows that they must have been struck
before B.C. 49.
* Cavedoni (Saggio, p. 180) offers an ingenious explanation of the reverse type as
relating to the expedition of the ancestor of the moneyer, P. Sulpicius Galba Maximus,
proconsul in Greece B.C. 209—208, against the island of Aegina, in the course of the war
with the Aetolians and Philip W. of Macedon. The trophy would refer to the destruction of the
enemy’s fleet, and the prisoner to the captives who were sold sub hasta, and repurchased by
their fellow-citizens, the latter being represented by the draped figure on the left of the
trophy. The head of Apollo on the obverse still needs explanation; but the cult of that
divinity may have received special attention from the Sulpicia gens.
CIRC. B.C. 54 ; A.U.C. 700 489
Metal
No. 'eight &
Weiq and Size
Obverse Reverse
<&
(FAUSTUS CORNELIUS SULLA )
Dernarius
Type I.
3909 630 || AR 8 Bust of Venus r., draped, Three military trophies
laureate, and wearing side by side between one-
diadem, earring in form handled jug (capis) on
of cross, and necklace ; 1., and lituus on r. ;
3.
hair collected into a knot, in exergue, monogram,
which is decorated with
jewels; string of pearls «Ks (FAVSTVS)
at back of head; behind, [Pl. xlviii. 22.]
sceptre and S. C (Senatus
consulto).
3910 56.5 AR 75 Similar. & Similar.
3911 551 AR 8 Similar. Similar.
| (Woodhouse Coll.)
* Of Faustus Cornelius Sulla, the son of the dictator Sulla, some particulars have been
given under the date B.C. 62 (see above, p. 471) when he filled the office of an ordinary
moneyer at the mint. The coins now described were struck during his quaestorship in
B.C. 54, for some of the types record events which took place after B. c. 62, and so recent as
B.C. 55, and they must have been issued before B.C. 49, as specimens were met with in the
Compito, Cadriano, and San Cesario hoards (see Tables of Finds). The types of the coins of this
issue are in honour of Pompey, the father-in-law of Faustus. The head of Venus alludes to
the consecration of the temple of Venus Victrix by Pompey in B.C. 55; the three trophies to
the three triumphs which were accorded him, and on account of which he received the
title of aitokpátap to Tpírov ; and the one-handled jug and the lituus to his office as augur.
This last subject Pompey is said to have had engraved on his seal (Dion Cass., xlii. 18). On
Type II. the head of Hercules recalls the circumstance that Pompey when still young had, like
that hero, his protector, extended his conquests over the world. At a later date, his watchword at
Pharsalus was Hercules invictus (Appian, de Bell. Civ., ii. 76). The three lower wreaths arranged
around the globe allude to the three triumphal wreaths which were granted to Pompey for his
victories in three continents, and which seem to be a paraphrase of the passage in Cicero (pro
Balbo, vi. 16—Cujus tres triumphi testes essent totum orbem terrarum mostro imperio teneri); and
in the aplustre and the ear of corn a reference is seen to the appointment of Pompey in B.C. 57,
as Praefectus Amnonae, which gave him the control of the supply of corn to Rome for five
years (see Babelon, vol. i., pp. 422, 423; Mommsen, Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., pp. 492, 493). It is
not improbable that these coins were specially struck for some extraordinary expenditure
connected with that appointment. Lastly, the jewelled wreath above the globe is the large
golden chaplet which was conferred on Pompey by the Roman people in B. c. 63, and which he
was authorized to wear at great public functions (Well. Paterc., ii. 40).
It is not known who was the colleague of Faustus in the quaestorship, but Babelon (loc. cit.)
suggests that it may have been M. Valerius Messalla, whose coins are attributed by Count de
Salis to the next year (B.C. 53). The striking resemblance between the head of Venus on the
coins of Faustus, and that of the same divinity on those of P. Licinius Crassus (see p. 487),
shows that the two series were struck within a short time of each other, and that the dies were
probably made by the same engravers.
There is a hybrid consisting of the obverse of the denarius of Faustus (Type I.) and of the
reverse of that of P. Plautius Hypsaeus (see above, p. 476, no. 3841; Bahrfeldt, Zeit. f. Num.,
1877, p. 41).
3 R
490
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
3912
3913
3914
3915
3916
3917
3918
3919
Weight
59.4
57.7
60.5
59.1
62.1
60.4
59.1
58.8
Metal
and Size
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR, 8
AR. 75
AR, 7
AR 7
AR, 75
AR. 75
Obverse Reverse
Type II.
Head of young Hercules r., A terrestrial globe, on
wearing lion's skin, paws which land and Sea.
knotted below his chin; appear to be idiº
behind placed within OUII’
...; * *Kr wreaths, the lower One
e flanked by an aplustre
and an ear of corn; the
upper one is jewelled,
and tied with a broad
fillet.
[Pl. xlviii. 23.]
Similar. Similar.
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar ; without mono- || Similar.
gram of moneyer. [Pl. xlix. 1.]
Similar. Similar.
A . TYLAVTIVS
(AULUS PLAUTIUS )
Denarius
Head of Cybele r.,” turreted, Bearded figure, Bacchius,
wearing earring in shape in Eastern dress, kneel-
of cross; hair collected ing r., with camel at his
into a knot behind, and side ; he holds in ex-
falling down her neck; tended r. hand an olive-
before, A. T LAVTIVS ; branch, and bridle of
behind, AED . CVR . S. C camel in 1. ; in ex-
(Aedilis Curulis ; Senatus ergue, BACCHIVS; on r.
consulto). |VDAEVS
(Woodhouse Coll.)
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar.
[Pl. xlix. 2.]
Similar. Similar.
* Aulus Plautius and Cnaeus Plancius were curule aediles in B.C. 54, and received the
order from the Senate to strike these coins.
They had previously been colleagues as tribunes
of the people in B.C. 56, and as the Plautia and Plancia gentes were closely connected by
marriage, the two curule aediles were probably related to each other.
Aulus Plautius was
subsequently praetor urbanus in B.C. 51, and propraetor in Bithynia and Pontus, where he died
in B.C 48 (Mommsen, Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., p. 494).
- * The head of Cybele, as on the coins of M. Plaetorius Cestianus (see p. 439), may
refer to the Megalesian games which were under the direction of the curule aediles, and on the
CIRC. B.C. 54 ; A.U.C. 700 491
Metal
* * * \! “S &
and Size Obverse Reverse
No. Weight
CN . Tº LANCIVS
(CNAEUS PLANCIUs)
Denarius
8920, 57-0 | AR 75 | Female head r., Diana” The Cretan goat standing
Plancian a (?), wearing r. ; behind, bow and
petasus, earring in shape quiver.
of cross, and necklace [Pl. xlix. 3..]
of pendants; hair in (Woodhouse Coll.)
long locks; before, CN .
T L A N C IVS ; behind,
AED. CVR. S. C (Aedilis
Curulis ; Senatus con-
Sulto).
3921 56.5 | AR 75 Similar. - Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
3922 55-0 | AR 7 | Similar. Similar.
celebration of which these coins were probably struck. The reverse type is adapted from
the coins of M. Aemilius Scaurus and P. Plautius Hypsaeus, issued a few years previously, in
B.C. 58 (see p. 483), and the event to which it refers bears some analogy to the submission of
King Aretas, and may have occurred during the campaign of Pompey in Asia, in which
Plautius took part as a commander. It relates to the subjection of Judaea, but as the name
of Bacchius is not known in history as connected with that event, the Duc de Luynes (Rev.
Num., 1858, p. 284) has suggested that this may be the Jewish name of Aristobulus.
Mommsen (Hist. mon. rom., t. ii., p. 495) does not admit this explanation, for he says the
title of Reſe does not accompany the name, and also because Aristobulus made his submission
to Pompey and not to Plautius. Babelon (Rev. Belge, 1891, p. 21) would interpret the legend
as “the priest of the Jewish Bacchus,” i.e. the high priest of the temple of Jerusalem, who was
no other than Aristobulus himself. In this manner the type would refer to the actual surrender
of Aristobulus to Pompey. At all events it seems to relate to a circumstance connected
with the career of Plautius in Judaea, and it is quite possible that Bacchius may have held a
high command in the army of his sovereign, or may have been a petty Syrian prince, and that
he actually did make his submission to the Roman general Plautius. This would be another
instance of a moneyer recording a personal event on his coins.
* Cnaeus Plancius, the colleague as curule aedile of Aulus Plautius, B.C. 54, first served
in Africa under the propraetor A. Torquatus; subsequently, in B.C. 68, under the proconsul
Q. Metellus in Crete ; and next, in B. c. 62, as military tribune in the army of C. Antonius in
Macedonia, in which province he was quaestor in B.C. 58, under the propraetor L. Appuleius.
It was there that the friendship began between Plancius and Cicero when the latter was in exile.
Plancius was tribune of the plebs B.C. 56, and in B.C. 55 in the second consulship of Pompey and
Crassus, he became a candidate for the curule aedileship, but was not elected till the following
year. He had, as we have seen, Aulus Plautius as his colleague. It was then that he struck the
above coins. Before entering office Plancius was accused by Q. Metellus Creticus of electoral
corruption (sodalitium), but being defended by Cicero (pro Plancio) was acquitted. He
subsequently espoused the cause of the Pompeian party, and after the triumph of Caesar lived
in exile in Corcyra. He is the only member of the Plancia gens of whom coins are known.
* Plancius followed the example of his colleague Plautius, and selected types for his coins
which illustrate events connected with his own career. The head on the obverse may be that
of Diana Planciana, a divinity mentioned in an inscription published by Orelli (Inscrip.,
no. 2880; C.I.L., vi., no. 2210), who, wearing the petasus, would commemorate the military
command of Plancius in Macedonia. A similar representation of the Genius of Macedonia is
seen on later coins of C. Antonius struck in the East circ. B.C. 44–43 (Babelon, vol. i., p. 206,
no. 148). The type of the Cretan goat was, no doubt, chosen by Plancius to illustrate his
connection with that island. This species of goat peculiar to Crete is represented on its coins,
as well as similar forms of the bow and quiver (Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 316, 317).
These denarii sometimes bear the countermark of Vespasian.
492 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
* - Wºw ! e?"S
and Size Obverse Reverse
No. Weight
Circ. B.C. 53; A.U.C. 7014
L. VINIC|
(LUCIUS VINICIUS)
Denarius
3923 || 61-3 || AR 75 | Head of Concordia r., | Victory flying r., and bear-
laureate, wearing earring ing over her shoulder a
in shape of cross, and | palm - branch, to which
necklace of pearls; hair four wreaths are attached;
collected into a knot before her, L. VIN |Cl
behind, and falling down (Nott)
her neck; before, CON
CORD IAE
3924 58.5 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
3925 62-0 || AR 75 Similar ; necklace of Similar.
pendants and legend, [Pl. xlix. 4.]
CONCORDIA|
3926 49.5 | AR 75 Similar. Similar.
| The coinage attributed to B. c. 53 is similar to that of the preceding year, there being an
ordinary issue by Lucius Vinicius, and a special one by M. Valerius Messalla. The inscription
on the reverse of the coins of the latter supplies us with the date of their issue, as they appear
to have been struck in the year of the consulship of M. Valerius Messalla (B.C. 53), who may
have been the father of the moneyer. For style and treatment, the head of Concordia on the
coins of Vinicius may be compared with that of Ceres on those of C. Memmius (see below,
p. 495), and that of Salus on those of Mn. A cilius (see below, p. 496).
* Lucius Vinicius was probably a son of the tribune of the same name, B.C. 51, who put
his veto upon a senatus-consultum directed against Caesar. The son was consul suffectus
B C. 33, but nothing appears to be known of his later career. He was, probably, the father of
the moneyer of the same name who held office under Augustus circ. B.C. 16 (see Babelon, vol. ii.,
p. 552). Babelon (vol. ii., p. 551), who assigns the above issue to circ. B.C. 58, has identified
the moneyer with the tribune of B.C. 51.
The obverse and reverse types of his coins relate to events, then somewhat recent. The
Victory with a palm-branch decorated with four wreaths can only refer to the victories and
rewards granted to Pompey, and already illustrated on the coins of Faustus Sulla (see above,
p. 490), while the head of Concordia is a reference either to the triumvirate of Pompey,
Caesar, and Crassus, B.C. 59, or to the good feeling still existing between those generals.
Crassus was not slain till some time later in B. c. 53 (Cavedoni, Ripostigli, p. 214).
CIRC. B.C. 53 ; A.U.C. 701 493
No. Weight gº Obverse Reverse
NMESSA . F
(IMARCUS VALERIUS] MESSALLA FILIUS )
Dermarius
|
3927 64.8 AR 75 Bust, undraped, of Roma, Curule chair between the
turned from the spectator, letters S. C. (Senatus com-
head r., wearing crested Sulto); below, sceptre
helmet, ornamented at with royal diadem; above,
the side with feather; hair | PATRE. COS (Patre con-
long; over l. shoulder, sule).
spear; before head,
NMESSA . F
3928 60-5 | AR 75 Similar. Similar.
- [Pl. xlix. 5.]
* From the inscription on the reverse we learn that these coins were issued during the
consulship of Messalla. About this period there were three members of the Valeria gens
with the cognomen Messalla who were consuls : M. Valerius M. f. M. n. Messalla, B.C. 61 ;
M. Valerius Messalla, B.C. 53; and M. Valerius M. f. M. n. Messalla Corvinus, B.C. 31. As
the coins could not have been struck so late as B.C. 31, they belong either to B.C. 61 or to
B.C. 53. Their absence from the San Gregorio di Sassola, Compito, Cadriano, and San Cesario
finds, and all of later date down to B. c. 37, except in the case of that of Arbanatz, leaves the
question doubtful; but Count de Salis and Borghesi (CEwvres compl., t. i., pp. 402 f.) both
attributed them to B.C. 53. The presence of the letters S. C shows that the coins belong to a
special issue, and were not therefore struck by an ordinary moneyer of the mint.
There is some question as to the identification of the moneyer. Borghesi (loc. cit.) says
that the consul of B.C. 63 had no sons old enough to hold office in that year, and that we do not
know the name of the son of the consul of B.c"53. Others, however, have identified him as
M. Valerius Messalla Corvinus, the historian and grammarian, who was himself consul B. c. 31.
The date of his birth is uncertain. According to Eusebius (Hieron., in Euseb. Chron.
O, ymp., 180, 2) he was born in B.C. 59, in the same year as Livy the historian ; but the date
assigned by Scaliger (ad loc. Euseb.) for his birth, circ. B. c. 70, seems preferable, since
Messalla had gained some reputation for eloquence before the breaking out of the Civil war
in B.C. 43, and also because at the time of his death in the middle of the reign of Augustus,
B.C. 3–A.D. 3, he is said to have attained the age of 77 or 72 years. He could, therefore, well
have struck these coins in B. c. 53, and probably as quaestor.
Babelon (vol. ii., p. 513) thinks that the curule chair on the reverse shows that Messalla
was quaestor with Faustus Cornelius Sulla (see above, p. 489), and that he struck money by
order of the Senate ; the sceptre recalling the circumstance that one of his ancestors,
P. Valerius Publicola, assisted in banishing the kings from Rome, and was consul with Brutus
during the first year of the Republic. Mommsen (Hist. mom. roºm., t. ii., p. 496) sees in the
curule chair and the sceptre below a reference to the kings who had submitted “to the
Roman consul.” This could only be to Pompey, who, in B.C. 61, was accorded a triumph at
Rome, on which occasion the procession was headed by soldiers carrying tablets specifying the
nations and the kings whom he had conquered. This explanation would rather suggest that
the coins may have been struck on that occasion, as the triumph took place in the year that
M. Valerius M. f. M. n. Messalla was consul, but, nevertheless, Mommsen himself attributes
the issue to B.C. 53. The fabric and style of the coins would suit either date.
Cavedoni (Ripostigli, p. 139; Nuovi Studi, p. 26) has recognized in the obverse type the
head of young Mars, which would be appropriate if the coins were struck in B.C. 61; but
Babelon (vol. ii., p. 514) identifies it with the goddess Roma, a not unusual obverse type for
money issued by the quaestores urbani or the aediles under the authority of the Senate.
The great rarity of these denarii.may in some degree account for their absence in nearly
all the finds of this and the next Period.
494
COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 52; A.U.C. 702 |
LONGIN
(ILUCIUS CASSIUS] LONGINUS)
Denarius
|With letter on obverse
3929 60-0 | AR 75 |Head of Vesta 1.,” veiled, A male togate figure stand-
and wearing diadem ; ing to l., and dropping
behind, cup with two a tablet inscribed V (Uti
upright handles (kylia); rogas) into a cista; behind
before, letter A figure, LONGIN. IIIV
[Pl. xlix. 6.]
3930 61.1 | AR 8 |Similar ; letter C Similar ; moneyer's name,
LONGIN . I || . V
3931 62-3 || AR 8 |Similar ; letter L Similar; moneyer's name,
LONGIN || IV
(Cracherode Coll.)
3932 59.8 || AR 8 Similar ; same letter. Similar ; moneyer's name,
LONGIN . I ||V
(Woodhouse Coll.)
3933 60.5 | AR 8 |Similar ; letter S Similar; moneyer's name,
LONGIN . I || . V
3934 || 61-0 | AR 75 Similar ; same letter. Similar ; moneyer's name,
LONGIN . I I IV
3935 | 59-0 | AR 75 Similar ; same letter. Similar ; moneyer's name,
- LONGIN || IV
3936 614 | AR 8 Similar ; letter 2 Similar ; moneyer's name,
LONG|N . I || . V
* The only coins attributed to this year by Count de Salis are those which bear the moneyer's
name, Longinus, who was a triumvir of the mint, and is usually identified as Lucius Cassius
Longinus, the younger brother of C. Cassius, one of the murderers of Julius Caesar. Longinus
was one of the accusers of Cn. Plancius, the curule aedile in B.C. 54 (see above, p. 491), and of
M. Saufeius in B.C. 52 for his share in the murder of Clodius. He joined the party of Caesar;
was sent as legate by him to Thessaly B.C. 48; was tribune of the plebs B.C. 44, but took no
part in the murder of Caesar; after which he espoused the side of Octavius in opposition to
Antony, to whom, however, he was reconciled after the battle of Philippi, B.C. 41. Babelon
(vol. i., p. 331) places the issue at circ. B.C. 54. As it was in that year that Longinus brought
the accusation against Cn. Plancius, and in B.C. 52 against Saufeius, this moneyer may have
been his son, who was made governor of Syria in B.C. 43 by his uncle C. Cassius, when the latter
departed to unite his forces with those of Brutus. He fell in the battle of Philippi in the
following year. These are the latest coins that occurred in the San Gregorio di Sassola hoard.
They were present also in the other hoards, the burials of which are attributed to this Period.
* The obverse type of the head of Westa has already been explained as referring to the
trial of the vestal virgins in B.C. 113 (see above, coins of Q. Cassius, pp. 481, 482). In this
instance the reverse type commemorates the passing of the Lea Cassia tabellaria which was
proposed in B. c. 137 by L. Cassius Ravilla, and which extended to the comitia the right of
voting by ballot in the Judicia, Populi, that form of voting having been adopted two years
previously in the election of magistrates under the Lea Gabiºvia. The tablets used were
inscribed A (Antiquo) and V (Vti. rogas), and in this instance were placed in a cista and not in
an urn (Mommsen, Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 504).
Babelon (vol. i., p. 333, no. 13) figures a variety with the head of Vesta turned to the right,
and not to the left. He describes it as plated, and gives the moneyer's name, LONG IN | | | and
the mint-letter S. Bahrfeldt (Zeit. f. Num, 1877, p. 47) mentions two specimens in the Gotha
CIRC. B.C. 51; A.U.C. 703 495
Metal
- bvers A4
and Size Obverse Reverse
No. Weight
Circ. B.C. 51; A.U.C. 703 *
C. NMENANA|. C. F
(CAIUS MEMMIUS CAII FILIUs)
Denarius
Type I.
3937 61-0 || AR “75 | Head of Ceres r., with A naked captive, his hands
wreath of corn, and ear- tied behind, kneeling r.,
ring in shape of cross; on r, knee, at the foot of
hair collected into a knot a trophy of arms with a
behind, and falling down Greek shield; in the
the neck; before, C. field, C , NAE NAM IVS
NAENANA|. C. F INAT, ERATOR
[Pl. xlix. 7.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
3938 60.5 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
3939 59.9 || AR 75 Similar. Similar.
(Nott)
Cabinet and in the Jungfer collection in Berlin, on which the name of the moneyer and the
mint-letter C are transposed. They are both plated coins.
This revival of mint-marks in the form of letters is quite exceptional. These letters
appear to extend throughout the alphabet.
* Count de Salis has classed only one issue to this year, that of C. Memmius, who appears
to have been an ordinary officer of the mint. Before considering the identification of Memmius
attention should be drawn to the strong similarity in fabric and in the obverse types of his
coins and those of L. Vinicius (see above, p. 492) and also those of Mn. Acilius (see below, p. 496),
especially in connection with the heads of Ceres, Concordia, and Salus. The precise similarity
of treatment of these heads on the respective issues shows that these three moneyers must
have struck their coins within a short period of each other.
The C. Memmius who struck the above coins is usually identified as the son of Caius
Memmius L. f. Gemellus, who married Fausta, the daughter of Sulla ; was tribune of the
plebs B.C. 66; praetor B. c. 58; and propraetor in the following year in Bithynia, when he
appears to have assumed the title of imperator, as we learn from the above coins. His son is
said to have been tribune of the plebs in B.C. 54, and he is also identified with the consul-
suffectus of B.C. 34. If, however, the above coins are rightly attributed to B. c. 51, and the
moneyer is correctly identified as the son of C. Memmius Gemellus, it is evident that he
was not the tribune of the plebs of B. c. 54, as he could not have filled the office of
moneyer of the mint after holding that of tribune. We have already noticed that there
is much confusion in the identification of the earlier members of the Memmia gens (see above,
pp. 204, 307) owing to the similarity of their praenomina, and this appears to be the case in
this instance. Babelon (vol. ii., p. 218) whilst identifying the reverse design of Type I. as
recording the imperatorship of the moneyer's father, yet ascribes the issue of these coins to circ.
B.C. 60, which was three years before that event occurred. It is therefore clear either that this
moneyer was not the son of C. Memmius Gemellus and Fausta, or, if so, that he has been
confused with another member of the Memmia gens who was tribune of the plebs in B.C. 54.
From the evidence of the coins we are disposed to consider that the moneyer was the son of
C. Memmius Gemellus, and that the tribune of the plebs of B.C. 54 was another member of
the family.
The reverse of Type I. is a record of the assumption of the title of imperator by the
moneyer's attributed father, and the head of Ceres and the seated figure of that divinity on Type
496 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight Cºnd Size Obverse Reverse
Type II.
3940 612 || AR 8 | Head of Quirinus (Romulus) |Ceres seated r., holding
r., laureate, hair long, ears of corn in r. hand,
beard in formal ringlets; and torch in 1. ; at her
behind, O.V IR INVS; feet, serpent ; around,
before, C. NMENANA) . C. F. NMENANAIVS . AED . CER
|ALIA. T REINAVS. FECIT!
- [Pl. xlix. 8.]
3941 59.7 | AR 8 || Similar; legend concentric Similar.
with the edge of the coin.
3942 59.8 || AR -75 Similar. Similar.
Circ. B.C. 50 ; A.U.C. 704 *
/VV . ACILIVS
(MANIUS ACILIUS [GLABRIO]*)
Denarius
3943 60:8 AR 75 Head of Salus r., laureate, Figure of Valetudo, draped,
wearing earring in shape standing 1., resting 1. arm
of cross, and necklace; on column, and holding
hair collected into a serpent with r. hand;
knot behind, and falling around, W . ACILIVS .
down the neck; behind, III. VIR . VALEV (Vale-
SALVTIS, reading down- tudinis).
wards. [Pl. xlix. 9..]
(Nott)
II. relate to the institution at Rome of the Ludi Cereales; but as the date of the inauguration
of these games is somewhat uncertain, it is not possible to identify the member of the Memmia
gens, who, as aedile, superintended their first celebration. According to Livy (xxx. 39) the
Cerealia first appear as fully established in Rome in B.C. 202; so Memmius's aedileship was
anterior to that date. The head of Quirinus (Romulus) refers to the ancient origin of the
Memmia gens, which claimed to be descended through Romulus from the Trojan Menestheus.
! In this inscription we have in the word T R El NAVS another instance of the late survival of
the ancient form E i for I to denote the long vowel (see also coins of M. Aemilius Scaurus and
P. Plautius Hypsaeus, pp. 483, 484).
There are restorations of Type II. by Trajan.
* Again we have only one issue, the moneyer of which signs himself as “triumvir’ of the
mint. Count de Salis has not assigned to this year any other issue. The similarity of the
head of Salus to that of Concordia on the coins of L. Winicius (see above, p. 492) and to that of
Ceres on the preceding issue has already been noticed, and, in this respect, this type may be
compared with the coinages classed to the next year, B. c. 49. The coins of Mn. Acilius are
the latest that occurred in the Cadriano and San Cesario hoards, both of which appear to have
been buried about the same time, i.e., at the end of B.C. 50 or early in the following year.
* At the time of the issue of these coins there were several members of the Acilia gens
with the praenomen Manius, but this moneyer is usually identified with Manius Acilius Glabrio,
One of Caesar's lieutenants, and the son of Mn. Acilius Glabrio, consul B.C. 67, and Aemilia,
daughter of M. Aemilius Scaurus, whom Sulla, in B.C. 82, compelled him to divorce. Born in
the house of Cn. Pompey B. c. 81, who had married his mother after her divorce, Acilius
espoused the cause of Caesar; served for him in Sicily B.C. 46, and two years later, when
preparations were being made for the Parthian wars, he was sent forward to Greece, and
succeeded P. Sulpicius Rufus in the government of Achaia. From this time there is no
CIRC. B.C. 50 ; A.U.C. 704 497
No. Weight ºrs. Obverse Reverse
3944 61.4 || AR 85 Similar; SALVTIS reading Similar. *
upwards. (Woodhouse Coll.)
|
3945, 59.3 | AR 75|Similar; the knot of hair is Similar.
ornamented with jewels.
i
3946 61-3 | AR 8 Similar; jewels also in the Similar; the tail of the
hair above the forehead. serpent encircles the
column.
further record of him. Besides the above coins which were issued at Rome, Acilius struck
bronze money during his service in Sicily, on which he bears the title of quaestor; and also at
Agrigentum ; and later on at Corinth, when governor of Achaia (see Babelon, vol. i.,
pp. 106-107, nos. 9-11). These coins are remarkable illustrations of the career of Acilius in
Rome, Sicily, and Greece.
Mommsen (Hist, mom. rom., t. ii., p. 498) has suggested the following explanation of the type
of the denarius of Acilius. Pliny (Hist. Nat., xxix. i. 6) relates that a Peloponnesian named
Archagathus, a practitioner of medicine, was the first person who made it a distinct profession
in Rome, where he came during the consulship of L. Aemilius and M. Livius in B.c. 219.
Having received the right of citizenship, he was given a shop at the public expense in the
cross-way or street Acilia (in compito Acilio). In consequence the Acilia gens claimed to have
introduced the first physician into Rome, and, moreover, traced the etymology of its name to
the Greek word &céopal (to heal). As Salus and Waletudo are practically synonymous
divinities, it would appear that the same divinity is figured on the obverse and on the reverse
of the coins, but under different names. There was a famous statue by Niceratus of Salus
in the temple of Concord at Rome, which represented the goddess feeding a serpent which she
holds (Babelon, vol. i., p. 105). The figure on the coins may be a reproduction of that statue.
There are several hybrids of these coins (Bahrfeldt, Zeit. f. Num., 1877, pp. 35, 41, 43).
The obverse occurs with the reverse of the denarius of P. Furius Crassipes (see above,
p. 332), and the reverse with the obverse of the denarius of P. Clodius M. f. (Babelon, vol. i.,
p. 355, no. 15), and with the obverse of the quinarius of C. Egnatuleius C. f. (see above,
p. 164).
498
PERIOD XIII.
Circ. B.C. 49–44; A.U.C. 705–710
" This Period is the most important epoch in the history of the Roman
Republican coinage since the institution of the silver money in B.C. 268. It
extends from the year in which Julius Caesar arrived in Rome after his Gallic
campaign, and compelled Pompey to take flight to the East, till his death
in B.C. 44. The chief historical events which bear upon the coinage of this time
are: 1. the Civil war between Caesar and Pompey B.C. 49–48, which ended in
the defeat of the latter at the battle of Pharsalus, and his death; 2. the Alex-
andrine war B.C. 48–47; 3. the war in Africa and the defeat of the Pompeians at
Thapsus B.C. 47–46; 4. the war in Spain and the battle of Munda B.C. 45;
and, 5. the death of Caesar and the temporary break-up of his party B.C. 44.
These years witnessed several important changes in the coinage of the
State –
1. The revival of the gold money; none of which had been struck at Rome
since the middle of the third century B.C. (see above, p. 12).
2. The re-issue of the quinarius and sestertius in silver.
3. An attempt to revive the bronze money.
4. The increase in the college of moneyers from three to four members.
5. The resumption of the military coinages outside Italy.
The gold coinage, which consisted of the aureus (nummus aureus) and
half-aureus (quinarius aureus), was revived by Julius Caesar on his arrival in
Rome, in B.C. 49, for a special purpose (see below, p. 505); the first pieces
being struck in his own name only. During Caesar's lifetime all the gold
coins were of an exceptional nature, and their issue was committed to special
officers of the State, and not to the ordinary moneyers of the mint, whose
powers were still limited to the coinage of silver only. Immediately after his
death the Senate reasserted their right, but the gold money of the year B.C. 44
still continued to be a special issue (see below, p. 552). After B.C. 44, as
we shall see, the right of striking gold coins was delegated to the ordinary
moneyers. The new gold coinage instituted by Julius Caesar now became
continuous, and was struck not only at Rome, but also in the provinces, where
mints for issuing money of the Roman standard were re-established. The weight
of the aureus varied somewhat in the earlier stages of its issue. Those struck
by Julius Caesar in B.C. 49 were minted at 38 to the Roman lb.; those subsequent
to B.C. 49 to circ. B.C. 37 at 40 to the lb., and those from that date at 42 to the lb.
The revival of the quinarius and the sestertius was again only temporary, and
the issue of these denominations at the Roman mint does not appear to have ex-
tended beyond B.C. 44; from which circumstance it may be inferred that they were
only struck on special occasions and for some particular purpose. They are, how-
ever, occasionally met with in the coinages of the provincial mints after that date.
CIRC. B.C. 49—44; A.U.C. 705–710 499
An attempt to revive the bronze money during B.C. 45–44 does not appear
to have been attended with success (see below, p. 538), and we have to wait
nearly another thirty years, till B.C. 15, before it is permanently re-established.
The college of moneyers who controlled the mint at Rome had hitherto, as
we have often had occasion to mention, consisted of three members, who thus
formed a triumvirate. In B.C. 44 Caesar increased the number to four, who
were designated quatuorviri. This increase in the college does not appear to
have been due to any changes either in the issues of the coinages or in the
working of the mint, but it is only another instance of the policy of Caesar of
augmenting the number of officers who composed the lesser magistracies. This
reform instituted by Caesar remained in force till B.C. 36, when for a consider-
able time the names of the moneyers are no longer placed on the coins. There
is no evidence that any change was made in the personnel of the mint after that
year, but when the moneyers' names recur at a later date, circ. B.C. 16, their
number is again reduced to three, though on two occasions (B.C. 4, 3) four appear
to have been appointed.
One of the most important circumstances connected with the coinage at
this time is the revival of the military issues outside Italy. It has been shown
(see above, p. 317) that the attempt to relieve in this manner the strain on the
central mint at Rome was first made circ. B.C. 82, and that coinages in gold
and silver after the Roman standard were issued in Gaul, Spain, and the East,
but this innovation was only of short duration. The first to resuscitate these
military issues was Julius Caesar, who, after his campaigns in Gaul (B.C. 50–
49) struck denarii in his name only, and having for their types on the obverse
an elephant, and on the reverse the emblems of the pontificate (Babelon, vol. ii.,
p. 10, no. 9). When Caesar arrived in Rome in B.C. 49 he continued, apparently
without authority, to strike money in his own name. The example set by him
in Gaul was quickly followed by the chief partisans of Pompey; so that in
B.C. 49 there are denarii issued by the consuls L. Cornelius Lentulus and
C. Claudius Marcellus, at first in Sicily (Babelon, vol. i., p. 425, no. 64), and
then in the East (ib., vol. i., p. 426, nos. 65-68); by the praetor C. Coponius,
also in the East (ib., vol. i., p. 381, nos. 1, 2); and by the proquaestors of
Pompey, Cn. Calpurnius Piso and Terentius Varro in Spain (ib., vol. ii., p. 343,
nos. 7, 8). The practice, now well established, of issuing these military coinages
at first in silver, and later in gold and bronze, was so extensively carried out,
that during the remaining years of the Republic, and even after the accession of
Augustus to imperial power, they constitute the chief currency of the State
outside Italy. Caesar himself struck coins in Spain, the East, and Africa,
between B.C. 49—44, in which districts his armies were stationed, and where he
carried on active campaigns. Besides these there were special issues of Cnaeus
and Sextus Pompey in Spain, of the proconsul Aulus Allienus in Sicily, of
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato in Africa, and
of others (see TABLES OF FINDs). During B.C. 46–44 Cnaeus and Sextus Pompey
struck bronze money of the Roman standard and types as well as silver in
Spain. After the formation of the triumvirate between Antony, Octavius, and
Lepidus, the chief coinages of the provinces were issued in their names, and in
the respective districts which they had assigned to themselves. These coins,
•+-
500 COINAGE OF ROME
and also those of other generals, are attributed to Spain, Gaul, the East, Sicily,
Africa, and Cyrenaica, under which districts they are separately classified and
described.
At this point we have only indicated the lines on which the coinages of this
Period struck in Rome and the provinces have been classified. In dealing with
the issues of later years a more detailed account will be given of those struck in
the provinces, in consequence of their increased number, historical importance,
and occurrence in finds.
DENOMINATIONS AND TYPES.—The denominations struck during this Period
at the Roman mint are—in gold, the aureus and the half-aureus; in silver, the
denarius, the quinarius, and the sestertius; and in bronze, the as of the
Semuncial standard.
The element of change which occurred in the case of the denominations is
also met with in the types. Hitherto, with some occasional exceptions, the
types have referred to events connected with the more or less remote history of
the moneyers' families. From this time current events are often recorded,
which very materially assist in ascertaining the chronological sequence of the
issues. The traditions of the moneyers' families, however, still find a con-
spicuous place in the designs of the coins. Of recent events Julius Caesar
records his campaigns in Gaul, the East, Africa, and Spain, and on special
occasions they are illustrated by the ordinary moneyers of the mint. From
these materials it is possible to construct a triumvirate of the mint for two
years, B.C. 46 and 45, and a quatuorvirate for B.C. 44. During the other years of
this Period it would seem that, as before, only certain members of the college of
moneyers placed their names on the coinage, if it be assumed that the appoint-
ment of the triumvirate was annual.
The greatest innovation in regard to the types was the introduction of
portraits of living persons, an innovation which caused the coinage of this
Period to lose its general character and to become personal. This change was
first occasioned by the express command of the Senate, who, in B.C. 44, ordered
that the portrait of Julius Caesar should be placed on the coinage. It was an
honour never before accorded to a Roman citizen; but when once introduced it
soon became so general that from that time we have a series of portraits of
those who filled the highest positions in the State, and of others.
There is little to be noticed in respect of the forms of the moneyers' names.
In a few instances greater variety occurs, the same moneyer giving either his
praenomen and momen, or his praenomen, momen, and cognomen, and in others
only his momen or cognomen. Some also, as before, employed the genitive case
instead of the nominative, and one, C. Cossutius Maridianus (B.C. 44), added
after his name the official description of his duties in the form of initials, A. A.
A. F. F = Aere, Argento, Auro, Flando, Ferīundo. In the inscriptions the
closed P for P occasionally occurs.
CLASSIFICATION.—After the disorganization caused by the events of B.C. 49,
the officers of the mint at Rome appear to have resumed their usual duties.
The only exceptional issues after that date are those of Julius Caesar and the
praefect: Urbi. Added to the important evidence afforded by the coins them-
selves in their types and fabric, we have still that of finds to guide us for
CIRC. B.C. 49–44; A.U.C. 705–710 501
chronology. Those which were buried during B.C. 49—44 were unearthed at
Carbonara (Prov. di Bari), San Niccolò di Villola (Prov. di Bologna), Collecchio
(Prov. di Modena), and Liria (Prov. di Valencia). Thus three were discovered
in Italy, and the fourth in Spain.
The Carbonara II. hoard was found in August, 1903, during excavations
for the foundations of a house. Some years before, in 1882, a similar find of
Republican coins had taken place in the same locality, but as that one contained
pieces of a later date it will be mentioned in our next Period. To distinguish
between the two finds, that of 1882 is designated as Carbonara I., and that of
1903 as Carbonara II. The latter consisted of about 450 silver coins of the
Republic, which were sold clandestinely; but of these, 426 were recovered, and
were deposited in the Museo Archeologico at Taranto. They have been de-
scribed by Sig. Q. Quagliati (Scavi, 1904, pp. 53 f.). Of this number there were
43 quinarii, issued under the provisions of the Lea. Clodia, circ. B.C. 104, of the
coinages of the Egnatuleia, Cloulia, Vettia, Porcia, Titia, Rubria, and Cornelia
families. The remaining 383 pieces were denarii, 15 of which were of the early
period without moneyers' names, and one with a moneyer's symbol only; the
rest with moneyers' names represented 88 issues. The latest pieces struck at
the Roman mint are those of Mn. Acilius (B.C. 50); of Q. Sicinius and C. Vibius
Pansa (B.C. 49), and of L. Hostilius Saserna (B.C. 48). Of the provincial issues
there were denarii of Julius Caesar (elephant and pontifical implements), struck
in Gaul (B.C. 50–49); and of Q. Sicinius, the triumvir of the mint (see p. 503),
and C. Coponius, the praetor and partisan of Pompey, who in B.C. 49 com-
manded the fleet at Rhodes. These last were struck in the East. The date of
the burial of this hoard must therefore be placed at Some time during B.C. 48.
Sig. Quagliati having adopted Babelon's attribution of the coins of M. Junius
Brutus with the head of Libertas and the consul Brutus with the lictors (see
above, p. 479) to a period after the death of Caesar, has in consequence assigned
the burial of the hoard to a later date, i.e. B.C. 43–42. This is clearly too late,
as shown by the evidence of other finds, and by the absence of coins of all the
other issues which took place after B.C. 48 to B.C. 44.
The San Niccolò di Villola hoard discovered in 1817 consisted of about
1,000 Republican silver coins. This place is situated near Cadriano, where, as
we have already seen, another considerable hoard had been discovered, the burial
of which was of a slightly earlier date (see above, p. 414). Prof. Filippo Schiassi,
in his work, Del ritrovamento di Medaglie Consolari e di famiglie fatto a Cadriano
mel Bolognese, l'anno 1811, ed. sec., Bologna, 1820, noted in his account of the
Cadriano find such pieces as were present in that of Willola, but were absent
at Cadriano. It is unfortunate that Prof. Schiassi did not give a complete
description of both hoards. The information supplied, however, shows that
the Willola hoard was of a slightly later date. Amongst the more recent coins
which were not present at Cadriano, and which were struck at the Roman
mint, were those of L. Plautius Plancus (B.C. 47); of L. Papius Celsus,
C. Antius Restio, and Mn. Cordius Rufus (B.C. 46); and of T. Carisius and
C. Considius Paetus (B.C. 45). Of the provincial issues the following later
ones were represented: Spain—Pompey, in the names of his proguaestors,
Cn. Calpurnius Piso and Terentius Varro (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 343, nos. 7, 8) of
502 COINAGE OF ROME
B.C. 49; and Julius Caesar (bust of Venus with Cupid and trophy; ib., vol. ii.,
p. 11, no. 11) of B.C. 45; the East—Julius Caesar (head of Venus and Aeneas and
Anchises ; ib., vol. ii., p. 11, no. 10) of B.C. 48; and Africa—Q. Caecilius Metellus
Pius Scipio (ib., vol. i., pp. 278, 280, nos. 47, 51); M. Porcius Cato (ib., vol. ii.,
p. 375, no. 10) of B.C. 47–46; and Julius Caesar (head of Ceres and emblems of
the pontificate ; ib., vol. ii., p. 14, no. 16) of B.C. 46. From these it will be seen
that the dates of the latest coins of provincial issues correspond to those of the
coins of the Roman mint. The burial of the Willola hoard must therefore have
happened either during B.C. 45 or early in B.C. 44. This is also the date assigned
to it by Cavedoni (Ripostigli, p. 34), who notes that there were no coins of the
triumvirs, Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus.
The Collecchio hoard, which consisted originally of about 1,000 Republican
denarii, was discovered in 1815. This place is near Spilamberto, about twelve
miles south of Modena. Of these coins, Cavedoni, in 1828, examined and
described about 500 pieces which were in the possession of various persons or in
the Este collection (Ripostigli, p. 34). It will be seen from the Tables of Finds
that the burial of this hoard must have taken place about the same time as that
of Willola, the only late piece not present being that of Julius Caesar struck in
Spain B.C. 45 (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 11, no. 11), but, on the other hand, there were
coins of M. Poblicius, the legate of Cnaeus Pompey (ib., vol. ii., p. 335, no. 10),
which are attributed by Count de Salis to the same locality, and to B.C. 46–45.
Cavedoni (loc. cit.) thought that on account of the presence of the denarius of
Lollius Palikanus, the Collecchio hoard was hidden slightly after that of Willola ;
but Count de Salis has assigned that issue to B.C. 47. The Collecchio hoard
was therefore buried about B.C. 45.
The Liria hoard was one of the most important of those found in Spain
which have been recorded. This town is situated in the province of Valencia.
The hoard, discovered in 1806, consisted of about 2,000 denarii, which were
catalogued, at the request of the Academy of Madrid, by Don Giuseppe Canga
Argüelles, who, though not a numismatist, appears to have accomplished his
task with great care. Mommsen (Amm. dell' Inst. arch., 1863, pp. 69 f.) besides
stating particulars of the whole find with others also discovered in Spain
supplies a special list of the coins which were issued between B.C. 49–43, and
which alone were 186 in number. There were not many pieces of the early
period, but the Spanish issues from the time of Sulla and the war with Sertorius
were present in considerable numbers. The latest pieces of the Roman mint
were those of L. Papius Celsus, C. Antius Restio, and Mn. Cordius Rufus
(B.C. 46); of T. Carisius, C. Considius Paetus, and L. Valerius Acisculus
(B.C. 45), and of P. Sepullius Macer (B.C. 44). The coins of the last two
moneyers had not occurred in any previously mentioned hoard. Of the pro-
vincial issues there were coins struck in Africa by Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius
Scipio, M. Porcius Cato, and Julius Caesar, as in the Willola hoard. All the
Spanish issues were represented down to the time of Sextus Pompey (B.C. 45–
44), whilst of those of the East the latest pieces were of Julius Caesar (B.C. 48),
as in the Willola and Collecchio finds. The burial of this hoard took place some
time during B.C. 44, and was, no doubt, due to the military movements under
Sextus Pompey or under Caesar's general, C. Asinius Pollio.
CIRC. B.C. 49 ; A.U.C. 705 503
No. Weight Metal Obverse Reverse
and Size
Circ. B.C. 49 ; A.U.C. 705 !
| O . SIC|N|VS
(QUINTUS SICINIUS 2)
| Denarius
wn 62.5 | AR “75 Head of Fortuna r., dia- || || | . VIR 2. º
demed, wearing earring O. . SICINIVS (in the field).
| in shape of cross; hair | A winged caduceus and a
| collected into a knot palm-branch, bound with
behind, and falling in fillet, in saltire; above,
two locks down her neck; wreath with fillet.
jewels in hair above fore- [Pl. xlix. 10.]
| head ; before, FORT
(Fortuna); behind, T. R.
(Populi Romani).
3948 59.9 || AR 75 Similar. Similar.
3949 59.5 AR 75 Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
' The coinage struck at Rome during this year is of two groups: one issued before the arrival
of Julius Caesar and the flight of Pompey; the other after Caesar's arrival at the beginning of
March. To the former group belong the issues of Quintus Si, inius, the triumvir of the mint,
and of Cnaeus Nerius, the quaestor urbanus; and to the latter, the coinages in gold and silver
bearing the name of Julius Caesar only, and those of his two moneyers, D. Albinus Brutus and
C. Vibius Pansa. Besides the practical establishment of a gold currency, this year also
witnessed the revival of the quinarius, which had not been struck since B. c. 85 (see above,
coins of Mn. Fonteius, p. 323, and L. Julius Bursio, p. 332).
* This moneyer appears only to be known from his coins, and he is the only member of his
family who filled that office. It is possible, however, that he was related to L. Sicinius, who
was tribune of the plebs B.C. 76, and who was the first to attack the law of Sulla relating to
the powers of his office, and that he may have been the person who is mentioned by Cicero, but
only by his gentile name Sicinius (ad. Att., v. 4, 3). From his coins we are, however, able to
glean some particulars of his life during his year of office as moneyer. From them it would
seem that early in B c. 49 Sicinius was appointed a triumvir of the mint by the party of
Pompey, which was then in power, but who his colleagues may have been we do not know, as
their names are not met with on the coinage of that time. On the arrival of Caesar, Sicinius left
Rome, evidently in the company of C. Coponius, who was one of the praetors at the breaking
out of the Civil war, and who, having espoused the side of Pompey, followed him into Greece,
and had command of the Rhodian ships conjointly with C. Marcellus; for we find Sicinius during
the same year issuing coins in the East in his own name and in that of C. Coponius. On those
which are classed to the EAST by Count de Salis, Sicinius still styles himself “triumvir.”
After this time we do not again meet with the name of Sicinius, but these data enable us to
fix the year of 1,is appointinent as a moneyer at the Roman mint.
The types chosen by Sicinius for his coins struck at Rome were in honour of Pompey, the
chief of his party. The palm-branch refers to Pompey’s numerous victories in all parts of the
Roman state ; the caduceus to the restoration of commerce after the destruction of the fleets of
the pirates; and the wreath to the golden chaplet which was conferred on him by the citizens of
Rome, and which he was commanded to wear at all great functions (see above, p. 489). These
great deeds were effected by the special favour of the goddess Fortuna, whose head there-
fore is the subject of the obverse type.
In support of the attribution of these coins to B.C. 49, attention should be drawn to the
similarity in treatment and style of the head of Fortuna to those of other divinities portrayed
504 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight aſ al Size
Obverse Reverse
| NER |
(CNAEUS NERIUS 1)
Denarius
|
3950 62.5 AR 75 Head of Saturn r., bearded;2 L - LEN C : A R C COS
behind, harpa ; before, (Lucius Lentulus, Caius
NERI. O. wb (Nº. Marcellus, consules) in
quaestor urbanus). the field. The legionary
| eagle (aquila) between
two standards; one in-
scribed, H (Hastati), the
other, T (Principes); the
whole within radiate
circle.
3951 60-3 || AR 7 Similar. Similar.
(Nott)
3952 60-0 || AR -75 Similar. Similar.
| [Pl. xlix. 11.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
in the preceding issues, especially in the form of the earring, which is in the shape of a cross,
and in the decoration of the hair above the forehead with jewels as on the coins of Mn.
Acilius (see p. 497, no. 3946). It may also be noticed that the coins of this issue were amongst
the most recently struck which were met with in the Carbonara II. hoard.
Bahrfeldt (Numv. Zeit. 1897, p. 76) mentions hybrids in his own collection, in the Gotha
Cabinet, and in the Bignami collection now in the Capitoline Museum, with the reverse of the
above denarius and with the obverse of that struck by Sicinius for Coponius (Babelon, vol. ii.,
p. 459, no. 1). He also mentions a variety of the above denarius in the Berlin collection which
shows only one lock of hair on the neck of Fortuna.
* The history of Cnaeus Nerius during the year B.C. 49, so far as it is connected with the
coinage, is very similar to that of Q. Sicinius, the triumvir of the mint. His name is first met
with in B. c. 56, when he accused P. Sestius of bribery (Cicero, ad Q. Fr., ii. 3, 5). In B.C. 49
he was appointed quaestor urbanus by the Pompeian party during the consulships of
L. Cornelius Lentulus and C. Claudius Marcellus, and in virtue of his office, and under special
conditions, struck the above coins. On the approach of Julius Caesar to the capital, Nerius
fled with the consuls, first to Sicily, and thence to Dyrrhachium (Illyricum), and to Asia Minor;
the journey being marked by issues of coins which bear the names of the consuls, but not that
of the moneyer, except in one instance where it is indicated by the letter O = quaestor (see
coins attributed to SICILY and the EAST under date B.C. 49; Babelon, vol. ii., p. 254, no. 2).
After Pharsalus Nerius fled to Egypt, where he was captured, and being imprisoned died shortly
afterwards. The date of the issue of the above coins may therefore be fixed between January
and March of B. c. 49. Cn. Nerius is the only member of his gens of whom coins are known.
* The head of Saturn refers to the temple of that divinity at Rome which was under the
special charge of the quaestores urbani, as it contained the public treasury; and the standards
on the reverse to the Roman army, its legions and the companies of the Hastati and the
Principes, to which the Pompeian party looked specially for support. This reverse type is
evidently copied from the denarii ef C. Valerius Flaccus, which were struck by him in Gaul in
B. c. 82 (see coins attributed to GAUL, and Babelon, vol. ii., p. 513, no. 12). The occurrence of
the names of the consuls for the year is exceptional, but in unsettled times such as prevailed
then at Rome they served to show on whose authority the quaestor urbanus struck these coins.
This issue was no doubt intended for military purposes.
A variety reads on the obverse O only, instead of O. VRB (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 254).
CIRC. B.C. 49 ; A.U.C. 705 505
No. Weight ...". Obverse Reverse
CAESAR
(CAIUS JULIUS CAESAR ')
: Aureus
3953, 133:1 A '85 Head of Pietas r., wearing Trophy of Gallic arms, con-
wreath of Oak-leaves, ear- sisting of an oval shield
ring in shape of cross, and and a carnyx; the trunk
necklace; jewel above her draped and surmounted
ear; hair collected into a by a helmet with horns;
knot behind, which is or- on r., an axe surmounted
namented with jewels, and by an animal’s head ; at
falling in locks down her base of trophy, CAE SAR
neck; behind, LII (=52). (Wigan Coll.)
3954 1312 AW -8 Similar. Similar.
. | [Pl. xlix. 12.]
| (Bladas Coll.)
* These coins in gold and silver were struck by Julius Caesar at Rome in B.C. 49, soon
after his arrival there after the flight of Pompey. There can be no question that they were
issued for special distribution to the army, through whose support Caesar had now almost
obtained supreme authority in the State, and which had so faithfully served under him
during his long and arduous campaign in Gaul. The issue of these gold coins by Caesar
in his own name had a precedent in the case of Sulla, who also, in B. c. 82, in his own name
only or conjointly with his produaestors, had caused similar pieces to be struck for the use
of the victorious troops which had served under him in the East. These coins of Sulla,
like his denarii, appear to have been issued outside Italy, and are therefore classed with the
coinage of the EAST (see Babelon, vol. i., p. 406, nos. 28, 29; vol. ii., pp. 177-179, nos. 3-10;
and coins attributed to the EAST, B.C. 82). Another coincidence is that in each instance the
gold and the silver coins are of the same types. In the history of the Roman coinage these
gold pieces of Caesar are of far greater importance than those of Sulla ; for in the former we
have the establishment for the first time since the foundation of the Roman Republic of a
gold currency, which was to become permanent, and which continued till the downfall of the
Roman Empire. The attempt to introduce a gold coinage at the Roman mint not long after
the institution of a silver currency was, as we have shown, only sporadic, and had no lasting
effect (see above, p. 13). The gold coins struck by Caesar were issued at 38 to the Roman
pound, and were current for 100 sesterces, i.e. 25 demarii. The value of gold appears to have
fallen at this time on account of the large quantity which Caesar obtained in Gaul, where he
had rifled the temples of the gods which were filled with rich offerings. By this means gold
became so plentiful that it was exchanged through Italy and the provinces for 3,000 sesterces
to the pound (Suetonius, Caesar, liv.). This booty, together with the bullion which Caesar
took from the public treasury, provided him with the means of awarding to each foot soldier of
his legions the sum of 2,000 sesterces, which he received at the beginning of the Civil war, and,
in addition, he promised 300 sesterces to every citizen. Plutarch (Caesar, 35) and Appian (de
Bell. Civ., ii. 41) give interesting accounts of Caesar's forcing his way into the public treasury
in opposition to the protests of the tribune, L. Caecilius Metellus. Though these gold coins of
Caesar were probably struck in great quantity, they are now of extreme rarity. This may be
due to the circumstance that in subsequent issues of this Period the standard was reduced to 40
to the pound, which no doubt occasioned the withdrawal of the heavier pieces from circulation.
Orosius (Hist., vi. 15) states the amount of gold seized by Caesar at 4,135 lbs. = about
170,000l. ; the Roman pound of gold = 40 aurei or about 42l., and nearly 90,000 lbs. of silver.
Pliny (Hist. Nat., xxxiii. 17) gives the amount in ingots: C. Caesar primo introitu urbis civili
bello suo ea aerario protulit laterum aureorum Xv, argenteorum XXX et in numerato Hs|ccC|
(= 15,000 gold-, 30,000 silver-bars, and thirty millions of sesterces). It seems, however, that
this estimate of the amount of treasure existing in the temple of Saturn was much exaggerated.
Besides the aureus in gold Caesar struck also the denarius and the quinarius in silver, and
in the same year we meet with the revival of the sestertius. The revival of these two silver
coins of smaller denominations than the denarius was not merely temporary, though not lasting,
as they are not infrequently met with in issues of the following years. They were intended,
no doubt, to provide a small currency, the dearth of which must have caused considerable
inconvenience, especially as there was also a scarcity of bronze money, none having been
minted for over thirty years. These were not the first coins that Caesar had struck in his
own name, for he had already issued denarii of a similar character, for the payment of his
soldiery during his Gallic wars (see above, p. 499).
3 T
506 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight *.. obverse W- Reverse
Denarius
- . - * Type I.
3955 | 61.5 | AR “75 Similar Similar.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
3956. 61.5 | AR 7 Similar; hair above fore. Similar.
head of Pietas, decorated
with jewels. *
3957 60-5 | AR, 8 Similar. Similar.
3958 58-3 || AR 8 || Similar, - Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Type II.
3959 || 52-0 || AR 8 Similar; no jewel above | Trophy of Gallic arms,
ear of Pietas; and knot similar to no. 3953 ;
of hair also not jewelled. before it is seated r, a
captive, Wercingetorix,"
with large head turned to
r., and long beard, his
hands tied behind him ;
in the field, and divided
by trophy, CAE SAR
[P1. xlix, 14.]
(Blacas Coll.)
The type of reverse chosen by Julius Caesar for both his gold and silver coins was one
which would commend itself to his troops, as it is a record of the nine years’ struggle in
Gaul, in which they had earned great success, and which had culminated in the capture of
Vercingetorix, the celebrated chieftain of the Arverni, who had carried on the war with
ability, and who himself is represented on some of the denarii seated or kneeling at the foot
of a trophy. The identification of the head on the obverse is somewhat uncertain. Eckhel
(Doct. num. vet., t. vi., p. 6) describes it as that of Venus, the divinity specially honoured by
the Julia gens, but Babelon (vol. ii., p. 17, nos. 25-28) and others would see in it a representa-
tion of Pietas, the personification of faithful attachment, love, and veneration among the
Romans. A similar female head with the accompanying legend T | ETAS occurs on the coins
of Decimus Brutus (see p. 508). In style and general treatment this head may be compared
to those of other divinities which appear on coins struck during the preceding years, especially
in connection with the ornamentation of the hair at the back and above the forehead.
The explanation of the letters or numbers Lll, TI I, or I IT on the obverses of both the
gold and silver money has also proved a difficulty. Eckhel (loc. cit.) interprets them as the
initials of “I’mperator ITerum,” a title which Caesar did not, however, receive till B. c. 45, the
date to which Eckhel would assign the coins. Cavedoni (Rev. Num., 1857, p. 356) reads
Lll (= 52), and thinks that this number refers to the successful engagements which
Caesar had fought during his active career, but this view seems too subtle and fanciful; and
that expressed by Count de Salis (Rev. arch., 1866, p. 20) that they mark Caesar's age, thus
placing his birth at B.C. 102, seems a more probable solution, since they would bring to the
knowledge of the Roman people that in the next year (B.C. 48) he would be entitled to hold
the consulship for the second time. His first consulship was in B.C. 59, and the Lea, ammalis,
which at this time was strictly adhered to, enjoined an interval of eleven years before he could
be appointed to the same office again. Drumann (Gesch. Roms, 2 ed., p. 126) gives the year
B.c. 100 as that of the birth of Caesar. He would thus have completed his fifty-first year in July,
B.C. 49, and from that date would enter on his fifty-second year. If the coins were not struck
before July, B.C. 49, the number Ll I might still indicate Caesar's age. A further suggestion has.
been made by Borghesi (CEuvres compl., t. i., p. 499), who thought that the number indicated
Caesar's age at the time of the battle of Pharsalus. A few years later Mark Antony indicated
his own ages, XL and XLI, on coins struck by him at Lugdunum (Babelon, vol. i., p. 169;
see also Madden, Num. Chron., 1865, pp. 5 f.). The problem of these letters or numbers has
evidently not been satisfactorily solved.
* After Wercingetorix fell into Caesar's hands, at the capture of Alesia, he was kept in
CIRC. B.C. 49 ; A.U.C. 705 507
Metal
and Size Obverse Reverse
No. Weight
Type II. var.
3960 53.5 || AR “75 Similar. Similar; the captive, with
small head and not
bearded, is kneeling r.,
but his head is turned to
l, and looking upwards.
[Pl. xlix. 15.]
Quinarius'
3961 293 || AR 6 | Head of Pietas r., veiled; Trophy of arms, consisting
behind, simpulum and of a round shield and a
Lll short broad sword; the
trunk draped and sur-
mounted by a helmet
with horns; on 1., a
wreath ; on r., an oval
shield ; at base, CAE SAR
[Pl. xlix. 16.]
(Nott)
ALBINVS BRVTI F
(DECIMUS POSTUMIUS ALBINUS BRUTI
FILIUS )
Denarius
Type I.
3962 602 || AR 8 | Head of . Mars r., with Two Gaulish trumpets
slight beard, wearing (carmyces) in saltire; in
crested helmet. the upper angle, an oval
shield; in the lower one, a
round shield; at the sides,
ALBI NVS BRVT1 . F
[Pl. xlix. 17.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
3963 60.2 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
chains, and subsequently taken to Rome, where he adorned the triumph of his conqueror in
B. c. 46, and was then strangled in the subterranean dungeon in the Mamertine prison.
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1900, p. 54) says that he has only met with three specimens of this
denarius: that in the British Museum, and those in the Vienna and Haeberlin collections. A
fourth example is in the D’Ailly collection, Paris.
1 From these coins we are able to fix the absolute date of the revival of the quinarius, the
issue of which had been in abeyance since circ. B. c. 85. Caesar does not appear to have struck
the sestertius, although this denomination also made its reappearance during this year (see
below coins of C. Vibius Pansa, p. 511).
2 Decimus Junius Brutus, who was one of the assassins of Julius Caesar, and who struck
coins separately and jointly with C. Vibius Pansa, was of the Junia gens, but, being adopted
by Aulus Postumius Albinus, the consul of B. c. 99, he joined to his own name that of his
adoptive father. He must not be confounded with the more celebrated M. Junius Brutus.
He served in Gaul under Caesar, receiving a special command against Wercingetorix in B.C. 52,
508 COIN AGE OF ROME
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
Type II.
3964 60:8 || AR 75 Head of Pietas r., wearing Two right hands, joined,
earring in shape of cross, holding winged cadu-
and necklace ; hair col- ceus; below, ALBINVS :
lected into a knot behind, BRVTI . F
which is ornamented with [Pl. xlix. 18.]
jewels, and falling in (Cracherode Coll.)
one lock down her neck;
behind, DIETAS
3965 59.8 || AR 75 Similar; hair above fore- Similar.
head of Pietas decorated (Nott)
with jewels. -
and two years later returned to Rome, when he married Paulla Valeria. At the outbreak of
the Civil war in B.C. 49, he was recalled to active service, and later, perhaps in the same year,
was placed by Caesar over the fleet which was to besiege Massilia. After this he had the
command of Further Gaul, and did not return to Rome till B. c. 45, when, though receiving
special marks of favour from Caesar, who promised him the government of Cisalpine Gaul with
the praetorship for B.C. 44, and the consulship for B. c. 42, he joined in the conspiracy against
his benefactor. After Caesar's death Decimus Brutus took up the governorship of Cisalpine Gaul,
but being besieged by Antony in Mutina, was relieved by the consuls Hirtius and Pansa, who both
perished in an engagement before the city. Being outlawed as one of Caesar's murderers under
the provisions of the Lea, Pedia, Brutus, deserted by his soldiers, attempted to escape into
Macedonia, but he was overtaken near Aquileia, and was slain by order of Antony, B.C. 43.
These data, taken in conjunction with those of the career of C. Vibius Pansa given below
(see p. 509), enable us to solve the question when these coins and those of Pansa were struck.
The only occasions when Brutus and Pansa could have met at Rome after B.C. 50 were in
B.C. 49, on the arrival of Caesar; in B. c. 48, when Brutus may have returned for a short
time from Gaul; and in B.C. 44, at the time of Caesar’s murder. Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom.,
t. ii., p. 548) was at first of opinion that these coins were struck after Caesar's death, and
about the time of the siege of Mutina, i.e. in B.C. 44 or 43, but the evidence of the Ossolaro
find (Zeit. f. Num., 1884, p. 155) compelled him to modify this view, and to date their issue
before Caesar's death, and, in consequence, he fixes on the year B.C. 48, when Pansa may
have been praetor, and Brutus may have returned to Rome after the siege of Massilia, but
there is no historical evidence that either of these events occurred. Count de Salis, on the
other hand, attributes the coins to B. c. 49, and concludes that they were struck under Caesar's
orders soon or immediately after his arrival in Rome, and that he appointed for that purpose
two of his most trustworthy adherents. It was a special coinage issued for a special purpose,
as will be noted in explaining the types. To place this issue as Babelon has done (vol. ii.,
p. 353) to the time of the siege of Mutina in B.C. 43 cannot be right, as Brutus was inside the
city, and Pansa, who was consul, was attempting to relieve him. It will also be seen from
the Tables of Finds that the coins of C. Vibius Pansa were amongst the latest in the
Carbonara II. hoard, the burial of which could not have occurred later than B.C. 48. -
In Type I. the head of Mars and the trumpets and shields are a record of the campaign in
Gaul, in which Decimus Brutus had taken such an active part. The shields there shown are of
precisely the same forms as those which occur on the trophies on the coins struck by Caesar
himself. The head of Pietas and the clasped hands on the reverse of Type II. denote the good
feeling which existed between Caesar and the citizens of Rome, and in the caduceus may be
seen a reference to the special distributions of corn which took place in B.C. 49, as Caesar had
practically to feed the population of the capital, since all the revenues of the East were in the
hands of Pompey. It was probably to meet this special outlay that these coins were struck.
Babelon (vol. ii., p. 384) thinks that two joined hands holding the caduceus were the special
emblems of the Senate. The reverse of Type III. is of the same import, whilst the head of the
consul, Aulus Postumius Albinus, on the obverse has special reference to the moneyer's adoptive
father, a precedent for which is to be found frequently on the coinages of previous years.
Babelon (loc. cit.) notes that the word BRVTI in Type III. has an accent denoting a long
vowel on the letter V, as in the case of NAVSA on the coins of Q. Pomponius Musa (see above,
p. 442), and of Furius on the coins of L. Furius Brocchus (see above, p. 487); but he has
mistaken for an accent a dot or pellet, probably caused by the point of a compass in connection
with the making of the dies. It occurs also in the centre of the reverse of coins of Type I. of
Decimus Brutus and on others of C. Vibius Pansa (see pl. xlix., nos. 17, 22). Bahrfeldt (Num.
Zeit.; 1897, pp. 61, 62) questions whether the pellet or dot is an accent, or whether it may
only be a point to centre the die.
CIRC. B.C. 49 ; A.U.C. 705
509
No.
3966
3967
306S
3969
3970
3971
3972
Weight
64:0
63.9
58-9
f
}
Metal
and Size
AR 7
AR. 75
AR. 8
AR, 7
AR 75
AR 7
AR 7
AR. 8
AR 85
AR. 75
Obverse
Type
Head of the consul, Aulus
Postumius Albinus r.,
bare ; around, A. TOSTV
NAVS. COS
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
v C . VIB|VS C. F
(CAIUS WIBIUS CAII
Reverse
III.
Within wreath of corn, tied
..., ALBINVS
above, Bºyº
[Pl. xlix, 19.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar ; moneyer's name,
ALBINV.
BRVTI . F
(Nott)
Similar.
[Pl. xlix. 20.]
(Nott)
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
Similar ; moneyer's name,
ALBI N
BRVT , F
[Pl. xlix. 21.]
. C. N. DANSA
FILIUS CAII NEPOS
PANSA )
Denarius
Type I.
Head of young Bacchus r., Ceres, wearing wreath of
tied with fillet ; hair fall-
ing in two locks down his
neck; behind, TANSA
|
h
wearing wreath of º:
corn, in biga r., drawn
by two serpents; she
holds reins in r. hand,
and lighted torch in
1. ; below, and on r.,
C. VIBIVS. C. F. C. N.,
reading outwards.
[Pl. xlix. 22.]
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar ; moneyer's name
reading inwards.
[Pl. 1. 1.]
(de Salis Coll.)
3974
3975
57.7
Similar.
Similar.
| Caius Vibius Pansa, who struck coins separately and also jointly with Decimus Junius
Brutus, was the son of C. Vibius C. f. Pansa, who held the post of moneyer some years
510 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight *"... Obverse Reverse
Type II.
3976 || 62-7 || AR 7 | Head of young Bacchus r., Ceres wearing wreath of
&c.; similar to no. 3973. corn, and draped, walk-
ing r., and bearing
a lighted torch in each
hand; before her, a
plough ; behind, C .
VIB|VS. C. F. C. N
3977 60.8 || AR 75 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. 1. 2.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Type III.
3978 599 || AR 8 || Mask of Pan r., bearded; Jupiter Axurus seated l.,
below, TANSA laureate, and naked to
the waist ; he holds
patera in r, hand, and
sceptre in 1. ; before,
IOVIS. AXVR . ; behind,
C. VIB|VS. C. F. C. N
[Pl. 1. 3..]
(Cracherode Coll.)
previously, and whose coins are described under date B.C. 87 (see above, p. 289). The younger
Pansa, a faithful adherent of Caesar, was tribune of the plebs in B.C. 51. He does not appear
to have been employed by Caesar in any important military command during the Civil war,
but was made governor of Bithynia and Pontus in B.C. 47, when he struck coins at Apamea
and Nicaea (see Brit. Mws. Cat., Gr. Coins, Pontus, &c., pp. 110, 153). Returning to Rome in
B. c. 46, he was appointed governor of Cisalpine Gaul in B.C. 45, but was again at Rome about
the time of Caesar’s death. He was elected consul with A. Hirtius in B.C. 43, and fell in the
same year before the town of Mutina in the attempt to relieve Decimus Brutus, who was
besieged there by Mark Antony.
The date and circumstances under which Pansa struck these coins have already been
discussed (see above, p. 508), but there is nothing to show in what capacity he and Decimus
Brutus were invested with the right of issuing money, whether as praetors or otherwise. There
is one special feature connected with this coinage of Pansa, which is the renewal of the issue of
the sestertius in silver. As we have seen, this coin was first revived by the Lew Plautia, Papiria,
in B. c. 89, but its issue only lasted for a short time. This second revival was, however, more
permanent, and for some years to come we shall meet with examples, though mostly of great
rarity. As in the case of the quinarius this denomination was, no doubt, again brought into
use to relieve the dearth of small money.
The types of Bacchus, Ceres, and Pan were practically copied from the coins of Pansa's
father, in which instance some explanations have been given. The representation of Jupiter
Anxurus or Axurus suggests that the Vibia gens, the early history of which is but little
known, originally dwelt at Anxur (Tarracina), a city of Latium, which was situated on the
Tyrrhenian Sea about sixty-two miles from Rome. In that place there was a special cult of
Jupiter, whose temple was situated on the highest point of the city, and who was represented
as a youth, handsome in features, and of perfect form ; a representation suggested by the type
of the coins. The head of Libertas and Roma seated on a pile of shields in Type IV. refer to
the deliverance of Rome by Caesar from the hands of the aristocratic party under Pompey,
and to the recent war in Gaul; and the bust of Mercury, the tortoise and the caduceus on the
sestertius to the special distribution of corn which occurred at Rome during this year.
CIRC. B.C. 49 ; A.U.C. 705
511
No.
3979
3980
3981
3982
3983
3984
3985
3986
Weight
59.7
61-0
60-3
60-3
59.3
58-2
55-0
13.8
Metal
and Size
AR 7
AR, 75
AR •75
AR 75
AR, 75
AR 7
AR, 8
AR '4
Obverse Reverse
Similar. | Similar.
Similar ; behind mask of Similar.
Pan, pedum. [Pl. 1. 4.]
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar. Similar,
(Nott)
Similar ; the mask is orna- Similar.
mented with berries. [Pl. 1. 5.]
Type IV.
Head of Libertas r.,
laureate, wearing earring
in shape of cross, and
necklace of pendants;
hair collected into a
knot, and falling down
her neck; behind,
LIBERTAS
Similar ; knot of hair
decorated with jewels.
Similar.
Seste
Roma, crowned by Victory,
seated towards r. on heap
of Gaulish shields, and
looking back; she wears
crested helmet and tunic,
which leaves the r. breast
bare, and is armed with
a short sword (para-
zonium); her r. hand
holds a sceptre, and her
l, foot rests on a globe,
near which is a cuirass;
behind, C. PANSA . C.
F . C. N
[Pl. 1. 6.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
rtius'
Bust of Mercury r., draped ; Tortoise, upwards; on T.,
head bound with laurel-
wreath, to which is
attached a wing.
caduceus; on 1., C .
T ANSA
[Pl. 1. 7.]
(Nott)
1 There appear to be only two specimens recorded of this rare sestertius; the other one
was in the Borghesi collection, and is figured by Avellino, Giorn. Nu'm., vol. i., 1808, pl. iv.,
no. 17. The above specimen, as stated, was obtained from the Nott collection ; the Borghesi
coin passed into the Sarti collection in Rome, but has since been acquired by Dr. Haeberlin
(Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 100; 1900, p. 88).
Babelon (vol. ii., p. 547, no. 21) described the head on the obverse as that of Mercury
wearing a winged petasus, but there is no sign of a petasus.
and is similar to that of the genius on the quinarius of L. Julius Bursio (see above, p. 332).
Mercury is here represented as the inventor of the lyre and the protector of commerce.
It wears a winged laurel wreath
512 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
C. TYANSA : ALBINVS BRVTI F
(CAIUS VIBIUS PANSA : DECIMUS POSTUMIUS
ALBINUS BRUTI FILIUS)
Denarius'
3987 54.1 | AR 75 Mask of Pan r., bearded ; Two right hands, joined,
plain band edged with holding winged cadu-
berries at back ; below, ceus; below, ALBI NVS.
C. T ANSA ; similar to BRVT1 . F.; similar to
. no. 3978. no. 3964.
3988 519 R 8 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. 1. 8.]
(Nott)
Circ, B.C. 48 ; A.U.C. 706 °
L. HOST|L!VS SASERNA
(LUCIUS HOSTILIUS SASERNA")
Dernarius
Type I.
3989 60:8 || AR 7 Female head, Pietas (?) r., |Victory walking F., draped,
wearing wreath of oak- bearing winged caduceus
leaves, diadem, earring and trophy of Gallic arms
in shape of cross, and and palm - branch es;
necklace; jewel above around, L. HOSTILIVS
her ear ; hair collected SASERNA
into a knot behind, and [Pl. 1. 9..]
falling down her neck.
* In this joint coinage of Pansa and Brutus the reverse design is a close copy of Type II. of
the denarius of the latter; but that of the obverse slightly differs from Type III. of the
denarius of the former, the praenomen being added, and the mask of Pan slightly varied in
having a plain band edged with berries confining the hair. These differences show that these
coins are not hybrids.
* The coins attributed to this year appear to be of two series, special and ordinary; the
former issued by Lucius Hostilius Saserna ; the latter by Aulus Licinius Nerva as a member
of the triumvirate of the mint.
* Of this moneyer there appears to be no record beyond what we learn from his coins.
P. Saserna and his brother, whose praenomen is not given (Hirtius, de Bell. Afr., 573)
served under Julius Caesar in the African war, B.C. 46; and one of them is mentioned by
Cicero (Phil. xiii. 13; ad Attic.., xv. 2) as a friend of Antony and Octavius. Eckhel (Doct.
num. vet., t. V., p. 226) identifies L. Hostilius Saserna with the brother of P. Saserna.
It is possible that the moneyer was related to these commanders, but it is only from coins
that we learn that Saserna was a cognomen of the Hostilia gens. These coins appear to
CIRC. B.C. 48 ; A.U.C. 706 513
Metal
and Size
3990 62.8 AR 7 Similar; jewels in hair Similar.
above forehead and in
knot at back.
- -
399 || || 58.2 | AR 7 |Similar; without diadem Similar.
and jewels above fore- (Woodhouse Coll.)
head and in knot.
No. Weight Obverse Reverse
3992 59-0 || AR 75 Similar; with jewels above . Similar.
|
|
forehead and in knot.
3993 60.2 | AR 7 Similar. Similar; legend, SASERN
for SASERNA
Type II.
3994 | 63-6 || AR 7 |Male head of Gaul, Ver.- Naked warrior in biga, r.,
cingetorix, r., with long horses galloping; he is
pointed beard, and hair turned from the horses,
flowing back; a chain and holding shield on 1.
around his neck; behind, arm, hurls spear with r.
a long shield pointed at hand; the horses are
the ends. driven by a naked
charioteer, who is seated
in front of the car;
above, L. HOSTILIVS;
below, SASERN
i (Cracherode Coll.)
39.95 60-4 || AR 8 similar Similar.
[Pl. 1. 10.]
have been struck on some special occasion as their types all seem to relate to recent events in
Gaul, and are not personal to the moneyer himself. -
Eckhel (Doct. num, vet., t. v., p. 226) has recognized in the male and female heads on
Types II. and III. those of Pavor and Pallor, to whom Tullus Hostilius, an ancestor of the moneyer,
had dedicated a temple in memory of the victory of the Romans over the Veii; but it seems
more probable that all the types of this issue relate to more recent events, viz., to the war in
Gaul and to Julius Caesar himself. In Type I. the female head on the obverse is precisely
similar to that on the coins struck in the previous year by Julius Caesar, and the Victory on
the reverse can only refer to the Gaulish war, and the caduceus which she holds to the
largesses which followed Caesar's entry into Rome. In Type II. we have representations of
Wercingetorix; the portrait on the obverse being similar to that of the figure seated at the foot
of the trophy of Gaulish arms on coins of the previous year (see above, p. 506, no. 3959),
whilst the reverse depicts him in his valiant struggle against the Romans. In Type III. we
may see in the head with dishevelled hair the portrait of Gallia, who is represented not unlike
Hispania on previous coins of A. Postumius Albinus (see above, p. 352), and the figure of
Diana may relate to the recent siege of Massilia by the generals of Caesar, as the cult of that
divinity was specially honoured there; the principal temples being dedicated to the Ephesian
Artemis and to Apollo Delphinios (Head, Hist. Num., p. 8). It is evident therefore that, as
none of the types relate to the moneyer himself, this issue was a special one.
The types of these coins of L. Hostilius Saserna have been discussed at various times : by
Babelon (vol. i., pp. 549-552); by Fröhner (Kritische Analekten, Philologus, Suppl., Band v.,
1884, p. 84); by Saglio (Rev. num. franç., vol. ix., 1891, pp. 7-16); by Mowat (ib., pp. 270-282);
and by Blanchet (Congrès internat. de Num. de Bruacelles, 1891, Mém., pp. 105-106). These
writers mostly agree in identifying the heads on Types II. and III. with those of a male and
female Gaul, but Babelon (loc. cit.) associates the former with Wercingetorix, and the latter
with Gallia. The reverse type of Diana was, however, considered to be generally representative
of the worship of that divinity at Rome and in Italy, but it has not hitherto been identified as
connected with Massilia as suggested above.
The coins of L. Hostilius Saserna appear to have been the latest in point of date in the
Carbonara II. hoard (see Tables of Finds).
- 3 U
514 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
Type III.'
3996 || 64.1 | AR “75 Head of Gallia r., hair | Diana standing, facing,
long and dishevelled; in long flowing robes,
behind, Gaulish trumpet laureate, and with long
(carnya). hair falling down her
shoulders; she holds
spear in l. hand, and with
r. grasps a stag by the
h or n s; a round, L •
HOSTILIVS SASERNA
(Townley Coll.)
3997 || 61.2 | AR 75 Similar. Similar.
3998 || 58.2 | AR 75 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. 1. 11.]
(Nott)
A , LICINI : NERVA
(AULUS LICINIUS NERVA*)
Dernarius
3999 || 60-0 || AR 75 | Head of Fides r., laureate, Horseman galloping r., look-
wearing earring in shape ing back, and dragging,
of cross, and necklace ; by the hair of his head,
hair collected into a a naked captive, who
knot behind, and falling holds sword and shield;
in locks down her neck; below, A - LICINI ; in
before, FIDES; behind, field, III VIR
NERVA
1 Babelon (vol. i., p. 553) figures a variety with the carnyx before as well as behind the
head of Gallia, and with the inscription on the reverse blundered. He also illustrates (vol. i.,
p. 552, no. 3) another variety which has for reverse type three togate figures passing to r. over
a bridge, and below, HOST, and explains it as depicting a voting scene similar to that on
the coins of P. Licinius Nerva (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 129, no. 7). As both these varieties are
of rude fabric, and the inscriptions are blundered in each case, they are probably barbarous
imitations of the time.
Another variety mentioned by Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 14.1) has SASE RNA for
SASE RN on Type II. ; and on Type III the countermark of Vespasian, MP \{S, occurs. The
head of Pietas is very similar to that of Fides on the following coins of A. Licinius Nerva.
(Type I.), except that the latter wears a laurel-wreath.
* This moneyer appears only to be known from his coins, from the types of which it may
be assumed that he was a descendant of Aulus Licinius Nerva, who was praetor B. c. 143, and
governor of Macedonia in the following year. From the legends we also learn that he was a
member of the triumvirate of the mint, but as Count de Salis has not associated with his
coinage any other issues of ordinary moneyers, he evidently was of opinion that he alone of
the triumvirate actually exercised the right. It is not impossible that he may have been a
colleague of L. Plautius Plancus and M. Lollius Palikanus, whose coins are attributed to the
following year, but in that case there would not have been any ordinary issue of money for
the present year, which is not in accordance with Count de Salis's view of the working of the
mint at Rome. None of these coins nor any of the following issues were in the Carbonara II.
hoard. -
Like the types of the ordinary moneyers of this date, those of the coins of A. Licinius
Nerva record events connected with the early history of his family. The reverse types of the
CIRC. B.C. 48; A.U.C. 706 515
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
4000 || 58.4 || AR -75 Similar. Similar; || | . . VIR .
J [Pl. 1. 12.]
(Nott)
4001 || 58-3 || AR 75 Similar; jewels in hair Similar.
above forehead. (Townley Coll.)
4002 || 59.4 || AR 7 || Similar; behind head of Similar ; below horseman,
Fides, A. LICINIVS NERVA ; behind and
above, || | . VIR
[Pl. 1. 13.]
(Townley Coll.)
Quinarius
28.4 || AR 5 | Head of Roma r., wearing | Victory walking r., bearing
crested helmet ; hair wreath and palm-branch ;
long; behind, NERVA before her, A. LICINI
[Babelon, vol. ii., p. 137, no. 25.]
Sestertius
Type I,
4003 || 13-1 | AR 5 | Head of Apollo r., laureate; Similar.
hair in ringlets; behind, [Pl. 1. 14.]
NERVA (Nott)
horseman on the denarii, and Victory with wreath and palm-branch on the quinarii, wonld
therefore appear to illustrate the successes of Aulus Licinius Nerva in Macedonia in B. c. 142
over Andriscus, who, claiming to be a natural son of Perseus, had usurped the throne of
Macedonia. The horseman appears to be one-armed, i.e. his left one missing. The motive for
using the head of Fides for the obverse type of the denarius has not been satisfactorily
explained, but Babelon (vol. ii., p. 136) suggests that perhaps one of the ancestors of the
moneyer may have been a priest of that divinity, who under the empire is designated Fides
Publica. It may be a representation rather of the Fides Eaſercitus or Fides Militum. The
head of Apollo and the horseman on the sestertius of Type II. are an allusion to the Ludi
Apollinares, which, in B.C. 208, when P. Licinius Warus was praetor, were made permanent
and fixed for July 13 in consequence of a pestilence (Livy, xxvii. 23). The sestertius of Type I.
is composed of the obverse of Type II. and the reverse of the quinarius.
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, pp. 3, 4) mentions varieties, in the Vienna and Haeberlin
collections, of the denarius like no. 3999, reading A. LICI NIVS and A. LICINIV; and of
the quinarius, in the Paris and Haeberlin collections, reading A. Ll Cl NIV. Babelon (vol. ii.,
p. 136, no. 23) also figures a denarius like no. 3999 with a different disposition of the legend
on the reverse.
The illustration of the sestertius of Type II. (see next page) is from the example in the Palagi
collection in the Museo Civico at Bologna. It was formerly in the Nott collection, which was
sold in London in 1842 (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1900, p. 62).

516 COINAGE OF ROME
Metcſl.
No. Weight a..., Obverse Reverse
Type II.
AR 5 Similar. A . LICINI below Horse-
i man galloping r., holding
whip.
[Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1900, pl. iv., no. 88.]
Circ. B.C. 47; A.U.C. 707
L. [\LAVTVS T LANCVS
(LUCIUS PLAUTIUS PLANCUS*)
Denarius
4004 63-7 || AR 75 Mask of Medusa, head Aurora, draped and winged,
facing ; on each side of and with palm-branch,
the face a coiled serpent ; encircled with wreath,
below, L. PLAVTIVS in 1. hand, flying F.,
and conducting the four
horses of the Sun; below,
TLANCVS
(Nott)
1 The attribution of the coins of L. Plautius Plancus and Lollius Palikanus to B.C. 47
rests mainly on their style and fabric, and on the evidence of finds. No specimen of either
issue occurred in the Carbonara II. hoard, but coins of Plancus were met with in those
discovered at Willola and Collecchio, and of Palikanus in the latter only. Their absence from
the Liria hoard is somewhat unaccountable. In the Santa Anna find there were nineteen
specimens of the coinage of Plancus. These moneyers appear to have been ordinary officers
of the mint, and the types of their coins refer to events connected with the history of their
families, and not to contemporary ones, as in the case of the extraordinary moneyers. It
has been suggested above that A. Licinius Nerva may have been the third member of the
triumvirate, but this view does not appear to have been shared by Count de Salis.
* Lucius Plautius Plancus was of the Munatia gens and a brother of L. Munatius Plancus
(see below, p. 537), T. Munatius Plancus, and Cn. Munatius Plancus. He was adopted
by a L. Plautius, and therefore took his praenomen as well as nomen, but retained his
original cognomen. Before his adoption his praenomen was Caius. Nothing appears to be
known of him in history beyond that he was included in the proscription of the triumvirs
B. c. 43, and having taken refuge in the neighbourhood of Salernum, was discovered and put to
death. His brother Lucius Munatius, who was a praefectus Urbi in B.C. 45 (see his coins of
that date), was a party to his proscription.
The types of the mask of Medusa and of Aurora with the horses of the Sun have
been explained by Eckhel (Doct. num. vet., t. V., pp. 276 f.) as referring to an event
connected with the moneyer's family, told by Ovid (Fasti, vi. 651 f.)., who relates that
during the censorship of C. Plautius Venox and Ap. Claudius Caecus, B. c. 312, the latter
quarrelled with the tibicines, who retired to Tibur. As the people resented their loss,
the other censor, Plautius, caused them to be placed in waggons at night when they were
intoxicated, and conveyed back to Rome, where they arrived early in the morning, and in order
that they should not be recognized their faces were covered with scenic masks. The chariot of
Aurora is an allusion to the early arrival of the tibicines, and the mask to the concealment of
their faces. In commemoration of this event the fêtes called Quinquatrus Minusculae were
celebrated yearly at Rome on the 13th June, at which those who took part in them wore masks.
Though Eckhel’s explanation may appear fantastic, we are unable to accept that of
Panofka (Zur Erklärung des Plinius, pp. 14 f.), who would see in the reverse type a representa-
tion of the picture of Nicomachus, which Pliny (Hist. Nat., xxxv. 10, 36) relates that Plancus

CIRC. B.C. 47; A.U.C. 707 517
No. Weight º#. Obverse Reverse
4005 || 580 AR 85, Similar. Similar.
[Pl. 1. 15.]
4006 61.1 : AR 75 Similar; head smaller. Similar.
| [Pl. 1. 16.]
(Blacas Coll.)
4007 || 510 AR 75 Similar. Similar.
(Nott)
4008 || 62-6 || AR “75 Similar. Similar ; moneyer's name,
T LANCV
(Cracherode Coll.)
4009 || 61°1 | AR 85 Similar ; head larger as on Similar ; moneyer's name,
no. 4004; no serpents at PLANCVS
sides of face. [Pl. 1. 17.]
(Nott)
4010 || 55-0 || AR 75 Incuse of reverse type. Similar.
TALIKANVS
(ILOLLIUS] PALIKANUS’)
Denarius
Type I. -
4011 || 62-6 || AR 8 Head of Tibertas r., wear- |View of the Rostra in the
ing diadem composed of Forum surmounted by a
pearls, earring in shape | Sella ; the Rostra consist
of cross, and necklace; of a platform supported
hair collected into a knot by an arcade; each
behind, one lock falling column being orna-
down her neck; jewels mented with a ship's
in hair above forehead; beak (rostrum); above,
behind, LIBERTATIS T ALIkANVS
[Pl. 1. 18.]
i (Nott)
placed in the Capitol, showing Victoria quadrigam in sublime rapiens. L. Munatius Plancus,
the imperator, who placed the picture there, did not go to Greece, where probably he obtained
it, till some years after the above coins were struck (see below, p. 537). Also, at this time
none of the moneyers record contemporary events connected with their families.
The aurei of similar type to the denarius figured by Babelon (vol. ii., p. 326, no. 16) are
forgeries. Mommsen (Hist. mom. Tom., t. iii., p. 291) states that four specimens, three of which
are in the Vienna cabinet, were found in 1713 at Siebenbürgen, in Transylvania, with other
coins also in gold, and chiefly of imperial types. One, with a male head and the legend I NAP .
SPONSIAN I, had for reverse type two men standing near a column and the legend C, AVG, a
copy of the denarius of C. Minucius Augurinus struck circ. B. c. 150–125 (see above, p. 135; and
Eckhel, Doct. num, vet., t. vii., p. 340). The others were of Gordian III. and Philip I., all being
of barbarous fabric. The fact that the gold pieces of Plautius varied in weight from about 106 to
234 grs., that one piece shows a mixture of republican and imperial types, and that these and the
later pieces in the hoard were separated by a period of over three centuries, is sufficient evidence .
of their spuriousness. This view was held by Cohen (Méd. imp. , t. v., p. 184), and is shared
by Dr. Kenner, of Vienna, and Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, pp. 41, 42).
1 This moneyer is uncertain, but from the types of his coins it is possible that he was a
son of M. Lollius Palicanus, who was a tribune of the plebs B.C. 71, and a candidate for the
consulship B. c. 67. He has been somewhat doubtfully identified with M. Lollius M. f., who
518 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight .*. Obverse Reverse
4012 || 59.2 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
4013 || 57-0 || AR “75 Similar; knot of hair at Similar; moneyer's name,
back of head, decorated TALIKANVS
with jewels. (Nott)
Type II.
4014 || 55.8 || AR 8 | Head of Honos r., laureate, Curule chair between two
hair long; behind, HON ears of corn; above,
ORIS TALIKANVS
4015 62-7 || AR 8 || Similar. Similar ; moneyer's name,
TALIKANVS
[Pl. 1. 19.]
(Nott)
Quinarius
4016 || 23-6 || AR 5 | Head of Felicitas r., dia. | TALIKANI (in exergue).
demed, and wearing ear- || Victory in biga r., horses
ring and necklace; hair galloping ; she holds
collected into a knot wreath in r. hand, and
behind, one lock falling reins in l.
down her neck; behind, [Pl. 1. 20.]
FELICITATIS
•e Sestertius
4017 | 12-0 || AR 5 | Urn without handles. A voting tablet with ring
attached to the upper
end (tessera ansata);
around, TALIKANVS
[Pl. 1. 21.]
(Bank Coll.)
was consul B.C. 21 ; held various commands under Augustus, and in B.C. 2 accompanied Caius
Caesar to the East, where he shortly afterwards died. It would seem more probable that he
was the L. Lollius who struck bronze coins which are attributed to Cyrenaica, and which bear
the legends AOAAIOY or L, LOLLIVS, and which have for types, head of Jupiter Ammon and
curule chair, head of Diana and camel, or head of Diana and stag, &c. (see Müller, Num. de
l’anc. Afr., vol. i., pp. 154-156). Borghesi (CEuvres compl., t. ii., pp. 397 f.) thinks that the
Lollius who struck these coins was one of the legates of Pompey during the war against the
pirates, and that their date of issue was about B.C. 67–66. The style of those with the bust
of Diana and a stag seems to belong to a somewhat later date, more to the same period as
the above issue. The member of the Lollia gens who some time later struck coins also for
Cyrenaica with his own name PALl K . T R and that of Augustus, may possibly be the consul of
B.c. 21 (Müller, op. cit., vol. i., p. 167). They"are certainly of a later date than those which
bear the name of L. Lollius. The date of issue of the above denarii with PALI KANVS is
ascertainable from the evidence of finds (see Tables of Finds).
The types of the coins of Palikanus (or Palicanus) are somewhat difficult to explain. Those
with the heads of Libertas, Honos, and Felicitas, and the representation of the Rostra, the voting
urn and the tablet, may relate to the vigorous and successful exertions of the tribune, M. Lollius
Palicanus, during his year of office to obtain for the tribunes the restoration of those powers
and privileges of which they had been deprived by Sulla, and the curule chair to his
candidature for the consulship, when the consul Piso, who presided at the comitia, refused to
announce his name should he be elected. If the curule chair does actually refer to this
circumstance, this would be an additional reason for assigning the coins of L. Lollius struck at
Cyrene to a date later than B. c. 67–66, as contemporary events were not at that period
recorded on coins.
A variety of the denarius of Type I. in the Berlin collection reads DALI KANI, and
CIRC. B.C. 46 ; A.U.C. 708 519
Metal
* Obverse Revers
and Size €
No. Weight
Circ. B.C. 46; A.U.C. 708 |
L. TAT IVS CELSVS
(LUCIUS PAPIUS CELSUS 2)
Derharius
Type I.
4018 63-6 || AR 7 | Head of Juno Sospita r., A she-wolf r., bearing in her
wearing goat's skin, tied mouth a brand which she
in front. is about to place on a
brazier, near it stands an
eagle fanning the flames
with its wings; in exergue,
L. TAT IVS ; above, CEL
SVS. I || . VIR .
4019 63-0 || AR “7 | Similar. Similar.
[Pl. 1. 22.]
4020 | 61-7 || AR, 75 | Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
4021 60:1 | AR 75 Similar. Similar.
4022 59-2 || AR 65 Similar. Similar.
another of the quinarius, TALIKANVS. The letters S : C which are sometimes given on
representations of the sestertius do not occur on any of the few specimens known. Bahrfeldt
(Num. Zeit, 1897, p. 6) says he has only met with three specimens of the sestertius; one in
the Museo Olivieri in Pesaro; one in the Paris Cabinet; and the third in the British Museum.
There was also an example in the Jarry collection sold in Paris in 1878. It is interesting to
note that this moneyer struck both the quinarius and the sestertius, which are now becoming
more general (see issues of the following years).
1 The coinage of this year is again of two classes, ordinary and special. The former was
issued by L. Papius Celsus, C. Antius C. f. Restio, and Mn. Cordius Rufus, who appear to
have formed a mint-triumvirate, and who each strike denarii of more than one type. Some of
the types relate to their own family history; others illustrate contemporary events, and are of
a special character. The special coinage is that which was issued in the name of A. Hirtius,
who was a praefectus Urbi, and records the third consulship of Julius Caesar. This money
was of gold only, and, as will be shown, was probably struck on the occasion of the great
triumph of Caesar, one of the principal events which occurred at Rome during the year. The
special types used by the triumvirs of the mint may also relate to this event. Each of these
moneyers struck quinarii and sestertii, as well as denarii.
2 This moneyer appears only to be known from his coins, but it is very probable that he was
a son of L. Papius, who filled the same office circ. B.C. 80 (see above, p. 370). His companions
at the mint were, as already stated, probably C. Antius C. f. Restio and Mn. Cordius Rufus,
there being many points of resemblance between their coinages. Specimens of the coinage of
each moneyer occurred in the Willola, Collecchio, and Liria hoards (see Tables of Finds).
Like the coins of the elder Papius, some of the types of those of the younger relate to the
early history of his family in connection with the cities of Latium, more especially Lanuvium.
The types of Juno Sospita on the denarius, and of the virgin feeding a serpent on the sestertius,
have already been noticed as they occurred on previous coinages (see coins of L. Papius,
p. 370, and of L. Roscius Fabatus, p. 422); but in the reverse type of the denarius we meet with
an interesting illustration of the following legend connected with the founding of Lavinium
(Lanuvium ?), as related by Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Ant. rom., i. 59). When Aeneas with
520 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight dº. Obverse I'everse
Type II.
4023 64-0 | AR 7 | Head of Triumphus r., Similar.
laureate; behind, trophy; [Pl. li. 1.]
below, TRIVMTVS (Blacas Coll.)
4024 585 | AR 75 Similar; Triumphus is Similar.
slightly bearded. [Pl. li. 2.]
- (Cracherode Coll.)
Quinarius
4025 31-2 || AR 6 | Bust of Victory r., winged, Female figure standing r.,
wearing earring in shape and feeding, from her
of cross, and necklace ; dress, a serpent erect
hair collected into a knot, before her; on 1., L.
which is decorated with TAT IVS; on r., CELSVS
jewels, and falling in one [Pl. li. 3..]
lock down her neck. (Blacas Coll.)
4026 29-8 || AR, "5 Similar. Similar.
(de Salis Coll.)
4027 25.2 | AR 55 Similar. Similar ; the name CELSVS
omitted.
[Pl. li. 4.]
Sestertius *
4028 12:4 || AR '45 Head of Mercury r., wear- || Lyre. -
ing winged petasus; be- [P1. li. 5.]
hind, winged caduceus; (Nott)
before, CELSVS
his Trojan companions were engaged in the building of the city, they were startled by an
adjoining wood being on fire. This, they perceived, was caused by a she-wolf which placed
pieces of wood on a brazier, fanned by an eagle with its wings. A fox seeing the fire vainly
attempted to extinguish it by dipping his tail in a neighbouring stream, and then scattering
the water over the flames, but he was driven off by the wolf and the eagle. Aeneas reflecting
on this prodigy, foretold to his companions that the new colony, which they were founding,
would in future be famous, but it would have to contend against the jealousy of its neighbours,
yet in the end it would prevail. As a record of this legend the inhabitants of Lavinium
placed in the forum of their city bronze figures of the wolf and the eagle, who had thus
foretold its future destiny. This tradition was in all probability connected with Lanuvium,
its name in inscriptions being often written Lanivium ; hence the confusion of ancient authors
between it and Lavinium. The two names are so frequently interchanged as to leave constant
doubt which of the two is really meant.
! It is not improbable that the head of Juno Sospita was changed for that of Triumphus
with the trophy on the occasion of the triumph of Julius Caesar, and the bust of Victory on
the quinarius may also refer to the same event; but we hesitate to trace in her features a
portrait of Calpurnia, the wife of Caesar, because it is a question whether contemporary portraits
would occur on Roman coins so early (see below, the aureus of Caesar, p. 527). The type of
the sestertius, head of Mercury, and the lyre, like similar pieces of C. Pansa (see above, p.
511) may refer to a special distribution of corn.
* Varieties of the sestertius have the name of CELSVS repeated on the reverse, or
that of L. PAPI (Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 284, 285, nos. 6, 7). The Borghesi specimen, with the
moneyer’s name CELSVS on the reverse as well as on the obverse, was in the Sarti collection
at Rome, which was purchased by Dr. Haeberlin (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1900, p. 68).
CIRC B.C. 46 ; A.U.C. 708 521
Metal
= Obverse el" 'S
and Size Reverse
No. Weight
C. ANTIVS C. F. RESTIO
(CAIUS ANTIUS CAII FILIUS RESTIO )
Denarius
Type I.
4029 62.4 AR 75 Head of the tribune, Antius Hercules Triumphalis
Restio, r., bare ; behind, naked, walking r. ; he
RESTIO holds club in upraised
r. hand, and trophy in 1. ;
lion's skin over 1. arm ;
on r., C. ANTIVS. C. F
(Nott)
4030 || 59.4 || AR 7 | Similar, Similar.
[P1. li. 6.]
4031 58-6 || AR 8 Similar. Similar.
º (Cracherode Coll.)
* From the evidence of the coins it may be concluded that this moneyer was a son of
Antius Restio, the tribune who was the author of a sumptuary law, circ. B.C. 74, which had for
its chief object the limitation of the cost of entertainments. C. Antius Restio, the moneyer,
was proscribed by the triumvirs in B.C. 43, but was saved by the fidelity of a slave, who enabled
him to escape to Sextus Pompey in Sicily. He is the only member of the Antia gens of whom
coins are known.
The head on the denarius of Type I. is a portrait of the tribune of the people, Antius Restio,
of whom it is related that after the passing of his sumptuary law he was compelled to seek
refuge at Lavinium, in which city there existed a special cult of the Dei Penates. Babelon
(vol. i., p. 154) thinks that as a souvenir of that event the moneyer placed the heads of those
divinities on his coins (see Type II.). The representation of Hercules Triumphalis may have
a double interpretation, as it may relate not only to the reputed descent of the Antia gens from
Antiades, the son of Hercules and Aglaia, but also to the triumphs of Caesar in Rome during
this year. The trophy which Hercules bears is decorated with two shields, a round one and
an oblong one, such as are figured on the coins of Decimus Brutus, which commemorate
the Gaulish campaign (see above, p. 507). It may therefore be suggested that the heads of
the Dei Penates do not record the flight of the tribune Restio to Lavinium, but refer to the
sacrifices which Caesar would offer to those divinities on his return to Rome.
The types of the quinarius and those of the sestertius are somewhat difficult to explain.
Babelon (loc. cit.) suggests that whilst the denarii were struck in Rome, the smaller denominations
appear to have been issued in Mysia, since most of their types are met with on the autonomous
coinages of that district, and he therefore supposes that C. Antius was appointed a moneyer at
Rome in B.C. 49, and that on the approach of Caesar he left the city with Pompey, and accom-
panied him to the East, where he held the post of quaestor or that of a triumvir mometalis. We
cannot accept Babelon's suggestion to separate the issues of the various denominations of this
coinage and to distribute them to different localities: first, because they are all of Roman fabric ;
and, secondly, because they correspond to the coinages of the other moneyers holding office at
Rome at this time. Also, the date B. c. 49 seems top early for C. Antius Restio’s tenure of
office as a triumvir of the mint. We would therefore propose other interpretations of the
types of these smaller pieces. That of the quinarius, head of Diana and stag, may be
connected with some special cult of that divinity in either the Julia or the Marcia gens, as
similar types are met with on sestertii of T. Carisius (see p. 531) and L. Buca (see p. 547),
both of whom recorded the triumphs of Caesar; and on the denarius of Augustus struck by
C. Marius Tromentina (see coinage of B c. 8; and Babelon, vol. ii., p. 207, no. 17), in which
instance Julia, the daughter of Augustus, is represented as Diana. The bucranium and the altar
* 3 x
522 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight ..º. 62 Obverse Reverse
Type II.
4032 60:1 | AR 7 Jugate heads of the Dei | Similar.
Penates r., diademed ; [Pl.-li. 7.]
behind, DEl PENATES (Nott)
Quinarius
4033 || 31-6 || AR 5 | Head of Diana r., diademed, Stag r., with tall antlers;
wearing earring in shape before, RESTIO
of cross and necklace [Pl. li. 8.]
of pendants; hair turned (Nott)
back, and tied on the -
top of her head ; behind
shoulders, bow and quiver,
and legend, C. ANTIVS
Sestertius
Type I.
4034 || 15.2 | AR '45 Head of ox (bucranium) Garlanded and lighted
facing, garlanded ; below, altar, dividing legend,
C. ANTIVS RES TIO
[Pl. li. 9..]
(Cracherode Coll.)
4035 | 13-1 | AR '45 Similar. Similar.
Type II.'
8-6 || AR '45 Bust of Mercury r., wear- Similar.
ing winged petasus;
behind, caduceus and
C. ANTIVS
[Babelon, vol. i., p. 156, no. 5.]
on the sestertii may be a reference to the sacrifices which Caesar offered on his return,
possibly to Diana in her temple on Mons Aventinus (see above, coins of A. Postumius Albinus,
with symbol of the bucranium, p. 351), and the helmet, owl, and shield (the attributes of
Minerva) may be a record of the prudence, courage, and perseverance with which he had
conducted his numerous campaigns. It was evidently with some such intent that Mn. Cordius
Rufus, the colleague of C. Antius Restio, adopted a similar type for some of his denarii (see
below, p. 524). The head of Mercury may relate to some special largess of corn, as in the
case of L. Papius Celsus.
* The only specimen of the sestertius of this type known to Bahrfeldt is in the D'Ailly
collection, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris.

CIRC. B.C. 46 ; A.U.C. 708
5
2
3
Metal
and Size
Type III.'
No. Weight Obverse Reverse
4036 8-6 AR 5 Crested Corinthian helmet Owl standing r. on shield;
- r. ; behind and below, behind, RESTIO
i C. ANTIVs [Pl. li. 10.]
| (Nott)
/VV .. CORDIVS RVFVS
(MANIUS CORDIUS RUFUS”)
Denarius
Type I. '
4037 62-0 || AR 7 Conjoined heads of the Venus Verticordia” stand-
Dioscuri r. ; each wear- ing l., holding balance in
ing laureate pileus Sur- r. hand, and sceptre in
mounted by star; behind l, ; behind her shoulder
and below, R. VFVS hovers Cupid ; on r.,
|||. VIR | W. CORDIVS'
[Pl. li. 11.]
| * (Nott)
* Riccio (Mon. fam. rom., p. 14, pl. 52, no. 2) describes and figures a variety of this type
having on the obverse Fortuna standing 1. and holding a rudder and a cornucopiae ; below,
C. ANTIVS (see also Babelon, vol. i., p. 157, no. 7). If authentic, this coin would probably
be a quinarius and not a sestertius, but its existence is in question, for Avellino (Bull. arch.
map., iii. 37, 14), whom Riccio quotes as his authority for describing the coin, said that he
had never seen such a piece, and that Riccio's assertion was without foundation. No specimen
of this sestertius is now known (Bahrfeldt, Nwmv. Zeit., 1896, p. 27).
* Of this moneyer we appear to have no certain record beyond his coins. He is not
mentioned by any ancient writer, and he is the only member of the Cordia gens whose
name is associated with the Roman mint. Borghesi (CEuvres compl., vol. i., p. 269), however,
refers to an inscription found at Tusculum, which gives the name of Manius Cordius Rufus,
who was the son of another Manius, and who bore the titles of praetor, proconsul, aedilis
lustrando Monti Sacro. As the inscription belongs to quite late republican times, it is possible
that this Manius may be our moneyer, and that the family originally came from Tusculum,
where there was a special cult of the Dioscuri : hence the representation of their heads on the
coinage. The same heads of the Dioscuri occur on the gold coins of L. Servius Rufus struck
four years later (see below, p. 566).
* Venus Verticordia, the goddess who “turns the hearts of men,” to whom a temple was
specially dedicated at Rome after the corruption of the vestal virgins, may not only be a punning
allusion to the name of the Cordia gens, but may also refer to the Julia family, which claimed
its descent from Venus herself (see below, p. 542). This, and also the other types of Venus and
Cupid, and of Sol and the eagle, may have been selected in honour of Julius Caesar, especially as
the occurrence of the letters S. C (Senatus consulto) shows that at least part of this coinage was
an exceptional one, probably issued on the occasion of his triumph. The types of the helmet,
owl and aegis or shield (attributes of Minerva) have already been explained in discussing the
coinage of C. Antius Restio, the colleague of Manius Cordius.
Like Babelon in the case of the coinage of C. Antius Restio, Cavedoni (Saggio, p. 102) has
suggested that as some of the types used by Manius Cordius occur on autonomous coins of the
cities of Pontus they were struck there, and more particularly at Amisus, on the money of
which place are figured the owl, the aegis, and the eagle with extended wings. He therefore
concludes that Cordius was a moneyer appointed by Pompey in B.C. 49, that he struck coins
with types relating to his own family at Rome, and that when his patron left he followed him
to the East. For reasons similar to those stated in the case of the money of Antius we are
unable to accept Cavedoni’s views.
* Varieties read coRDIV and coRDI (Bahrfeldt, Nun. Zeit., 1896, p. 92).
524
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
4038
v 4039
4040
4041
4042
4043
Weight
60-0
62-7
63.9
60-9
65.3
60.5
Metal
wnd. Size
AR. 75
AR. 6
AR. 75
AR 75
AR 75
AR •75
Obverse
Similar.
Similar; the pilei of the
Dioscuri are not laureate,
but are ornamented with
a thin double band."
Reverse
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
[P1. li. 12.]
(Nott)
Type II.
Head of Venus’r., diademed,
wearing earring in shape
of cross, and necklace of
pearls; hair collected into
a knot, which is decorated
with jewels, and falling in
one lock down her neck;
a row of pearls passes
behind from the diadem
to the knot of hair; be-
hind, RVFVS. S. C
Similar ; necklace formed
of pendants; the knot of
hair is not decorated with
jewels, and it falls in two
locks down the neck.
Cupid seated on dolphin “r.
which he conducts with
a bridle; below, WV.
CORDIVS
[Pl. li. 13.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
[Pl. li. 14.]
(de Salis Coll.)
Type III."
Corinthian helmet r., with
crest, on which stands an
owl; behind, RVFVS
Similar.
The aegis with head of
Medusa in centre ; it is
octangular, and has ser-
pents at the angles, which
separate the letters of the
legend, W C O R D | VS
[Pl. li. 15.]
(Nott)
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
~ * This coin is thick and lumpy, and may be a forgery of the time.
* The head of Venus is treated in a very similar way to those of other divinities
represented at this time on coins.
* Cupid or Eros on a dolphin was a common attribute of Venus in ancient sculpture, vase
paintings, and gems.
* For an explanation of this type sce above, p. 522.
CIRC. B.C. 46 ; A.U.C. 708 525
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
Quinarius
4044 282 | AR 5 | Head of Sol r., radiate; Eagle standing l., looking
behind and below, WW. r., wings extended; in
CORDIVS 1 exergue, RVFVS
[Pl. li. 16.]
| (Nott)
Sestertius
Type I.
4045 | 16.5 | AR 5 | Head of Venus r., dia- Cupid walking r., bearing
demed, wearing earring wreath in r. hand, and
and necklace; hair col- palm-branch in l.; before,
lected into a knot, &c.; RVFVS
similar to no. 4040; be- [Pl. li. 17.]
hind, WV. CORDI
4046 | 11-0 | AR '45 || Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
4047 8-3 || AR '45 Similar. Similar.
(Nott)
4048 || 153 | AR ‘45 Similar ; legend, Similar; legend, RVFl”
AW. CORDIVS [Pl. li. 18.]
(Sir G. Musgrave Coll.)
Type II.
4049 || 137 || AR ‘45 | Crested helmet r.; behind Similar; legend, RVFVS8
and below, W. CORDIVS [Pl. li. 19.]
(Nott)
A . HIRTVS
(AULUS HIRTIUS )
Aureus
4050 | 124.6 AW -8 Head of Pietas r., veiled; Sacrificial implements; litu-
around, C. CAESAR COS. us, jug with handle (capis),
TER (Consul tertium) and axe ; on 1., and below,
A. HIRTIVS. T.R. (Prae-
fectus).
[Pl. li. 20.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
* A variety reads MV. CORDI (Bahrfeldt, Num, Zeit., 1896, p. 92; and 1900, pp. 39, 40).
The coin figured by Babelon (vol. i., p. 384, no. 5) shows the eagle standing to r. This
variety is very rare.
* Other varieties read RVFV and RVF (Ib., 1900, p. 40).
* There are varieties with RVFI and RVF (Ib.).
4 Aulus Hirtius throughout his life was a personal and political friend of Julius Caesar.
In B.C. 58 he was appointed by Caesar his legate in Gaul. At the outbreak of the Civil war in
B.C. 49 he returned to Rome, and was one of the praefecti Urbi in B.C. 46, in which year, in the
month of August, Caesar celebrated his quadruple triumph for victories in Gaul, Egypt, Pontus,
and Africa (Dion Cassius, xliii. 19; Plutarch, Caesar, c. 55). He is also supposed to have been
the author of the Lea Hirtia, which excluded all the followers of Pompey from the magistracies.
In B. c. 45 he joined Caesar at Narbo after the Spanish campaign; was appointed governor of
526 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
and Size
4051 1248 AW -8 Similar ; of somewhat in- Similar; letters of legend
ferior style; letters of larger.
| | legend larger. [Pl. li. 21.]
: (Wigan Coll.)
4052 1220 AW 8 Similar ; of coarse work; Similar; of coarse work,
No. Weight Obverse Reverse
- Pietas is represented and letters of legend
with old features, and still larger.
the letters of the legend [Pl. li. 22.]
are still larger. (Bank Coll.)
4053 121-0 || AV '85 Similar; head smaller. Similar.
4054 124-0 || AV 8 || Similar. Similar ; legend reading,
/\|||RTIVSPR
[P1. li. 23.]
Belgic Gaul in B.C. 44, but administered the province by deputy, and in the same year was
nominated by Caesar, with C. Vibius Pansa, consul for B. c. 43. He perished in the year of his
consulship with his colleague Pansa in the attempt to relieve Mutina when besieged by Antony.
He is the only member of his family of whom we possess coins, struck at the Roman mint.
The aurei which bear the name of Hirtius were struck by him as praefectus Urbi, and
in the third consulship of Julius Caesar, B. c. 46, so that the precise date of their issue is
certain. The reverse type is in honour of Julius Caesar as Pontifex Maximus, an office to
which he was appointed in B.C. 63, and the head of Pietas on the obverse occurs, as we have
already seen, on the gold and silver coins issued by Caesar himself in B. c. 49 (see p. 505). As
they also bear the name of Caesar, it may be concluded that these gold pieces were struck on
the occasion of his quadruple triumph in B.C. 46, which was accompanied by largesses of corn,
by distribution of money to the people and the soldiers, by public banquets, and by all kinds of
entertainments. The first triumph was for his conquest of the Gauls; the second, for his defeat
of Ptolemy; the third for his victory over Pharnaces II. of Pontus; and the fourth, for the over-
throw of Juba in Africa. The four triumphs were celebrated with an interval of a few days
between each. Suetonius (Caesar, xxxviii.) relates that on this occasion Caesar gave to every
foot-soldier in his veteran legions, besides the two thousand sesterces paid him in the beginning
of the Civil war, twenty thousand more in the shape of prize-money. To the people of Rome,
besides ten modii of corn and as many pounds of oil, he gave three hundred sesterces a man,
which he had formerly promised them, and a hundred more to each for the delay in fulfilling his
engagements. It was therefore to meet this lavish expenditure that not only were these gold
coins struck, but the ordinary moneyers of the year, L. Papius Celsus, C. Antius Restio, and
Mn. Cordius Rufus, issued coins of special types. Another issue of gold coins under similar
circumstances took place at Rome in the following year, and, on that occasion L. Munatius
Plancus, one of the praefecti Urbi, was specially chosen to superintend the striking of it
(see below, p. 537). The fabric of the aurei of Hirtius varies a good deal; on some the head
of Pietas is well executed, and the letters are neatly made, but on others the work is very
coarse, and her features assume those of an old and decrepit person. This is, no doubt, due to
the haste in which the dies were made and to the unskilfulness of the engravers, and not to an
attempt, as it has been supposed, to portray the features of Caesar himself (Babelon, vol. i.,
p. 542). To satisfy the immense lavishness of Julius Caesar, these gold coins must have been
struck in very large numbers, as even at the present day they are amongst the most common
of the republican aurei. There were at least thirty-nine specimens in the Cajazzo hoard
found in 1878 (see Zeit. f. Num., 1878, p. 234).
The small bronze coins bearing the name of Aulus Hirtius, and having an elephant on
the obverse and the emblems of the pontificate on the reverse (Babelon, vol. i., p. 543, no. 3),
are precise copies, except for the name of Hirtius, of denarii of Julius Caesar struck in Gaul,
B. c. 50–49 (see Gaul, under date ; and Babelon, vol. ii., p. 10, no. 9). They are usually
found in the neighbourhood of Treves. Their date of issue is somewhat uncertain, but they
may have been struck either in B.C. 49 after Caesar's departure from Gaul, or by a deputy of
Hirtius in B.C. 44 (Babelon, vol. i., p. 542; Lenormant, La Monm. dans l’Ant., t. ii., p. 314).
The former date is the more probable one, as their type could not well have been revived after
Caesar's death. The proposal to put their issue so early as B.C. 58 is quite inadmissible, as
they could not have preceded the striking of the denarii of Julius Caesar of the same type and
bearing his name. As these bronze coins of Hirtius appear to be of a local standard of weight,
they are not included in the Roman series. It is possible they may have been of the weight of
the quadrans, but as at this time there were no bronze coins of the Roman standard issued
in the capital, they must be considered as belonging to the Gaulish series.
CIRC. B.C. 45 ; A.U.C. 709 527
No. Weight cººl, Obverse Reverse
|
C. CAESAR
(CAIUS JULIUS CAESAR)
# Aureus'
4055 122.6 - AV 8 Veiled and laureate head r., Sacrificial implements; li-
with features of Julius tuus, jug with handle
Caesar; behind, C - | (capis) and axe.
CAESAR [Pl. li. 24.]
(Blacas Coll.)
Circ. B.C. 45; A.U.C. 709 °
T. CARISIVS
(TITUS CARISIUs)
Dermarius
Type I.
4056 64-0 || AR 75 Head of Juno Moneta r., Implements for coining
slightly draped, wearing money, &c.; anvil be-
earring in shape of cross tween tongs and hammer;
and necklace ; hair above, cap of Vulcan
collected into a knot; (pileus), laureate, and the
behind, NWONETA legend, T. CARISIVS;
the whole within laurel-
wreath.
[Pl. lii. 1.]
(Blacas Coll.)
* If these aurei are genuine they must have been struck in B. c. 46, as they correspond
precisely in type to those of A. Hirtius just described, and issued during the third consulship of
Caesar. There is, however, considerable doubt as to their authenticity, not only on account of
the appearance of the coins themselves, but also from the fact that it would seem very improbable
that Caesar would have ventured at this time to place his own portrait on the coinage, or to
have allowed his moneyer to do so. This special privilege was not granted to him till two years
later by the Senate (see below, p. 542), and it never had been previously accorded to any Roman
citizen. The fabric of the specimen in the British Museum, formerly in the Blacas collection,
is certainly against its authenticity. The surface has a ºa appearance, riot
found on gold coins of this period, and there are traces of slight\depressions, both on the
obverse and on the reverse, where the remaining portions of the º to be found on the
coins of Hirtius. It would therefore seem that at least the above specimen is an altered coin
of Hirtius, portions of the legend having been erased, and the features of Pietas changed to
those of Julius Caesar. Von Sallet (Zeit. f. Num., 1877, p. 133) had already thrown consider-
able doubt on the genuineness of this coin and the specimen in the Paris collection; as, how-
ever, this opinion does not appear to be generally held (see Babelon, vol. ii., p. 16), the coin is
here described and figured. Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1900, p. 52) also condemns as false the
British Museum specimen. Mommsen (Gesch. des röm. Münz., p. 740, note 4) was of opinion
that these coins were struck after Caesar’s death, but even at so short an interval it is not
probable that the type of an earlier coin would have been so closely copied.
* The same conditions appear to have prevailed at the mint at Rome during this year as
had existed in the previous one and in B.C. 46, and we have again two series of coins: one
ordinary, issued by the moneyers T. Carisius, C. Considius Paetus, and L. Walerius Acisculus,

528 COINAGF OF ROME
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
4057 | 62-0 || AR “75 Similar; hair falling in one Similar.
lock down the neck, and (Cracherode Coll.)
jewels above forehead.
4058 || 60-0 || AR 75 Similar; hair falling in two Similar.
locks down the neck. [Pl. lii. 2.]
(Townley Coll.)
4059 55.8 || AR 75 Similar. . Similar.
who formed a triumvirate; the other special, issued by Lucius Munatius Plancus and Caius
Clovius, who exercised the privilege in their capacity as praefecti Urbi. The ordinary moneyers
again vary the types of their eoins, denarii, quinarii, and sestertii, some of which relate to
events connected with their own history or that of their families; others to current events
associated with Julius Caesar and his successes. The coinages of the special moneyers are of
gold and bronze ; the former consisting of the aureus and half-aureus; the latter of the as.
The occasion for striking these exceptional pieces, as well as those of the ordinary moneyers
bearing special types, was, no doubt, on the triumph of Julius Caesar after his Spanish
campaign. It will be seen that the issue of gold coins was not yet entrusted to the ordinary
moneyers, but was reserved for a special officer or officers, who apparently acted under the
direct control of Julius Caesar. The most notable incidents connected with the coinage of
this year were the introduction of the half-aureus, and the attempt to revive at Rome a bronze
currency, which had been in abeyance since B.C. 82.
The only certain information which we possess of T. Carisius is derived from his coins,
unless he is the T. Carisius whose name occurs in an inscription of late republican times found
at Avignon, in which he is described as “praetor of the Volcae º (T. CARISIVS T , F , PR,
VOLCAR , DAT; Garrucci, Sylloge, no. 2221; Rev. Arch., 1844, p. 479; C.I.L., xii. 1028). He
has been confused with P. Carisius, probably his son, who was legate and propraetor in Spain
under Augustus, B.C. 23–22, and of whom there are coins in silver and bronze commemorating
the foundation of the colony at Emerita (see Coinage of SPAIN, B.C. 23–22; Babelon, vol. ii.,
pp. 318–323). His colleagues at the mint appear to have been C. Considius Paetus and L.
Valerius Aciseulus, but he is the only one of the three who styles himself triumvir, and adds
the legend S. C (Senatus consulto) on some of his eoins. His coins and those of C. Considius
Paetus were the latest struck at the Roman mint in the Viliola and Collecchio hoards. None,
however, were present of their colleague, L. Valerius Aciseulus.
As already mentioned, T. Carisius and his colleagues vary the types of their coins, which
come under two series: one relating to events connected with their own history or that of
their families ; the other to current events associated with Julius Caesar.
The coins of Carisius which belong to the first series are denarii with the head of Juno
Moneta and the implements of coining, a direct allusion to the office of moneyer, and the
sestertii with the type of the mask of Pan and the panther, which may relate to some tradition
or event connected with his family history.
All the other types are connected with the triumphs of Julius Caesar, or are illustrations
of the traditions of his family. Thus the head of the Aphrodisian Sibyl is a reference to the
traditional deseent of the Julia gens from Venus, and associated with her is the Sphinx,
symbolical of prophecy and the oracle. The combination of Aphrodite and the Sphinx is to
be found on coins of Gergis (Head, Hist. Num., p. 472), and of Aphrodisias in Cilicia
(Imhoof-Blumer, Kleinas. Münz., p. 434; cf. Brit. Mws. Cat., Gr. Coins, Cyprus, p. 1,
note 4). A Sphinx also forms the reverse type of coins of Augustus struck in Asia (Cohen,
Méd. imp. t. i., p. 67, no. 31), and ancient writers tell us that it was the emblem
on his seal (Suetonius, Augustus, 50). A similar head of the Sibyl occurs on the coins of
L. Walerius Acisculus, a colleague of Carisius, which is an additional reason for connecting
the type with the Julia gens, and not with the moneyer's family (see p. 536, no. 4109).
Babelon (vol. i., p. 313) questions its being of a Sibyl on account of its similarity to the head
on the coins of L. Valerius Acisculus, which he identifies with Valeria Luperca or the goddess
Juno of Falerii. Type III., with the sceptre, the cornucopiae, and the celestial globe, and the
rudder (i.e., the sea), are emblematic of the great power of Julius Caesar and the plenty
which Rome enjoyed at this time; and the bust of Victory, Victory in a chariot, and Roma
seated on shields, can only refer to his numerous victories. That of Diana and the hound has
already been explained in the case of previous moneyers. It may also be noticed that the
cornucopiae and the celestial globe form the reverse type of the sestertii of C. Considius
Paetus, the other colleague of Carisius (see p. 533). These interchanges of types are very
strong evidence of a triumvirate of the mint.
A variety of Type I. reads CARISIV (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1900, p. 36). This type was
restored by Trajan.
CIRC. B.C. 45; A.U.C. 709
529
No.
4060
4061
4062
4063
4064
4065
4066
4067
4068
4069
Weight
61.5
61.1
58-5
61:0
53-2
56.2
56-1
61:0
56.5
Metal
and Size
AR 75
AR, 75
AR 75
AR 75
AR, '7
AR 7
AR 7
AR 7
AR •7
AR 7
Obverse
Type II.
Head of the Aphrodisian
Sibyl r., hair elaborately
decorated with jewels and
enclosed in a sling, tied
with bands.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse
Sphinx seated r. ; before,
T. CARISIVS; in ex-
ergue, III. VIR
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar; moneyer's name
above sphinx.
(Nott)
Similar; moneyer's name
above and before sphinx
Similar.
[Pl. lii. 3..]
Type III.
Head of Roma r., wearing
helmet with crest in
form of dragon's head,”
and ornamented at side
with feather; necklace
of pendants; behind,
RONWA
Similar ; the crest of the
helmet is in form of
dragon's head, but only
indicated by A-shaped
Ornaments; earring in
shape of cross, and neck-
lace of pearls.
Similar ; the crest of the
helmet is plain.
Similar ; the crest of the
helmet is in form of
dragon's head as on no.
4064; no earring.
Similar ; crest of helmet
formed of A-shaped
ornaments, and earring
as on no. 4065.
Similar ; crest of helmet
plain.
Emblems of power; a
celestial globe, on which
rests a cornucopiae be-
tween a sceptre and a
rudder; below, T. CAR
ISIV; the whole within
laurel-wreath.
[Pl. lii. 4.]
Similar ; moneyer's name,
T. CARISI
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
[Pl. lii. 5.]
(Nott)
Similar; moneyer's name,
T. CARIS
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar.
[P1. lii. 6.]
Similar.
* A variety reads CARISIV (Babelon, vol. i., p. 316, no. 11).
* Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 78) calls this form of helmet “Phrygian.”
3 Y
530
COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight
4070 61.2
|
4071 60.9
4072 58.0
4073 63.0
4074 56.6
4075 28.9
4076 15.4
Metal
and Size
AR 65
AR 8
Alk, '8
Obverse
Reverse
Type IV.
Bust of Victory r., draped, T. CARISI
wearing earring in shape
of cross, and necklace;
hair collected into a knot,
and falling in one lock
down her neck; behind,
S. C." (Senatus consulto).
Similar, |
i
f
Similar.
Type IV. var. z
Bust of Victory r., draped,
&c.; similar to no. 4070;
wearing diadem of double
row of beads; necklace
of pendants; hair short,
and without S. C behind.
Similar.
(in exergue).
Victory in quadriga r.,
horses galloping; she
holds wreath in r. hand,
and reins in l.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
[Pl. lii. 7.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
(Nott)
yº
[P1. lii. 8.]
Similar.
Similar.
(Nott)
Quinarius
Bust of Victory r., draped,
wearing earring in shape
of cross, and necklace;
hair collected into a knot,
which is jewelled; palm-
branch over 1, shoulder.
Roma, helmeted and draped,
seated towards l. On pile of
shields; she holds short
sword (parazonium) in r.
hand, and sceptre in 1. ;
behind her, T. CARISI
[Pl. lii. 9..]
(Nott)
Sestertius
Type I.
Mask of Pan r. ;
T CARISIVS*
behind, Panther walking
r., and
holding thyrsus; in ex-
ergue, Ill. VIR
[Pl. lii. 10.]
(Nott)
1 As this type evidently commemorates the triumph of Caesar, the letters S., C may be
intended to denote that these coins were specially issued by order of the Senate on that
occasion.
2 A variety shows the legend T, CARISIVS above the mask of Pan (Babelon, vol. i.,
p. 317, no. 13),
CIRC. B.C. 45; A.U.C. 709 531
Metal
f .17 22.
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
Type II.
4077 | 13-3 | AR '45 Head of Diana r., diademed; | Hound running r. ; above,
hair turned back, and tied | T. CAR
at the top of her head; [Pl. lii. 11.]
behind, bow and quiver. (Nott)
4078 || 10-7 || AR 5 || Similar. - Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
4079 || 10-0 || AR ‘4 || Similar. Similar.
(Nott)
C. CONSIDIVS TAETVS
(CAIUS CONSIDIUS PAETUS*)
Denarius
Type I.
4080 65-0 || AR 8 | Head of Apollo” r., laureate, Curule chair; above, C.
jewel or ornament near | CONSIDIVS; in exergue,
the ear; hair collected TAETVS
into a knot and falling in (Blacas Coll.)
one lock down the neck;
the whole within laurel-
wreath.
! Varieties have the legend T, CARISI above the hound, and also T, CAR ISI, T, CARIS
or T, CA in the exergue (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1900, p. 36; Babelon, vol. i., p. 316, nos. 8, 9).
* We have no certain information of this moneyer beyond that supplied by his coins.
Borghesi (CEuvres compl. , t. ii., p. 152) has identified him with C. Considius, a partisan of
Pompey and son of C. Considius Longus, propraetor in Africa, who fell into Caesar's power
when he obtained possession of Adrumetum after the battle of Thapsus B.C. 47, and was
pardoned. This identification is possible, as under such circumstances Considius could have
been a moneyer at Rome two years later. Borghesi, however, further suggests that, on account
of some of his coins having the head of Apollo, Considius was a triumvir of the mint in B. c. 49,
and accompanied Pompey to Greece in that year, and struck these coins at Apollonia (Illyricum)
and in virtue of his office as curule aedile. Borghesi's views as to the provenance of these coins
are, however, not based on any historical evidence, but are purely conjectural, and they are
quite refuted not only by other types used by Considius, but also by the strong evidence of
finds, which make it impossible to assign the issue to so early a date as B.C. 49. The following
interpretation of the types, their interchange with those of his colleagues, the fabric of the
coins and their denominations, prove fairly conclusively, apart from any other evidence, that
Considius held office at the mint with T. Carisius and L. Valerius Acisculus. It has already
been noticed (see p. 528) that the coins of C. Considius Paetus and T. Carisius were probably
the latest of those struck at the mint at Rome which occurred in the Willola and Collecchio
hoards, and also that none of L. Valerius Acisculus were met with in either of these hoards
(see Tables of Finds).
* Like the coins of T. Carisius, the types of those of C. Considius are of two series, one
relating to his own family history, the other to that of Julius Caesar or to Caesar himself.
The head of Apollo and the curule chair may denote some special celebration of the Lud;
Apollinares during, the curule aedileship of an ancestor of the moneyer, these games being
until the Augustan period under the special care of such officers. All the other coins bear types
connected with Julius Caesar and his family, and were no doubt issued on the occasion of his
triumph in B.C. 45. The heads of Venus and Minerva, Cupid, Victory in a chariot, the celestial
globe, and the cornucopiae have already been explained in the case of previous moneyers of
this Period, notably in connection with the issues of T. Carisius. Victory bearing a trophy
would also be a fitting illustration of Caesar's military successes. The head of Venus may be
that of Venus Erycina, as it occurs on some earlier coins of C. Considius Nonianus (see above,
p. 473). Eckhel (Doct. num, vet., t. v., p. 177) has identified the head on the obverse of Type I.
532
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
4081
4082
4083
4084
4085
4086
4087
4088
4089
4090
Weight'
61.9
60-8
64-0
64-0
56-8
62.6
62-0
56-1
54'3
63-7
Metal
and Size
AR 75
AR. 75
AR 8
AR, 8
AR. 8
AR, 75
AR. 8
AR, 75
AR, 8
AR. 8
Obverse
Similar; jewel above fore-
head. -
Similar; no jewel or orna-
ment at ear and above
forehead.
Similar to the preceding;
hair falling in two locks
down the neck; border of
dots in place of wreath.
Reverse
Similar.
[Pl. lii. 12.]
(Nott)
Similar.
Similar."
[Pl. lii. 13.]
Type I. var.
Head of Apollo r., laureate ;
jewel above ear, and
others in hair above fore-
head; behind, A (Apollo);
border of dots.
Similar.
Similar; large jewel above
forehead; no border of
dots.
above, C .
in exergue,
Curule chair;
CONSIDI ;
TAETI
[Pl. lii. 14.]
Similar.
(Nott)
Similar.
[Pl. lii. 15.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Type II.
Head of Venus r., laureate,
wearing diadem, earring
in shape of cross, and
necklace of pendants;
hair collected into a knot,
which is ornamented with
jewels, and falling in one
lock down the neck;
string of pearls at back
of head; behind, TAETI
Similar.
Similar.
Similar ; head of Venus 1.
C. CONSIDI (in exergue).
Victory in quadriga 1.,
horses galloping; she
holds wreath in r. hand,
and palm-branch and
reins in 1.
[Pl. lii. 16.]
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. lii. 17.]
(Nott)
as that of Venus, but Babelon (vol. i., p. 377) remarking on its similarity to those on the coins
of Q. Pomponius Musa (see above, p. 442, no. 3606, pl. xlv. 14), and of P. Clodius Turrinus (see
below, p. 586), and also that the letter A occurs behind it on Type I. var., considers it to be of
Babelon, having attributed this issue to B.C. 49, gives different explanations of the
other types. The legends on the coins of the present moneyer are in the genitive as well as
in the nominative case. -
* There is a plated coin in the Berlin collection consisting of this reverse, but with the
obverse of Type III., bust of Minerva (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 91).
Apollo.
CIRC. B.C. 45; A.U.C. 709
533
No.
4091
4092
4093
4094
4095
4096
4097
4098
Weight
60-8
60-0
23.1
28-0
33-0
12.8
11.8
Metal
and Size
AR 8
AR, 8
AR, "55
AR. 6
AR. 6
AR, "5
AR '4
AR '4
Obverse
Reverse
Type III.'
Bust of Minerva, r., wear-
ing crested Corinthian
helmet and aegis.
C. CONSIDI (in exergue).
Victory in quadriga r.,
horses galloping; she
holds wreath in r. hand,
and palm-branch and
reins in 1.
[Pl. lii. 18.]
(Nott)
Similar. Similar.
Quinarius
Head of Venus r., wearing Victory walking l., and
diadem, earring in form
of cross, and necklace;
hair collected into a knot,
which is jewelled, and
falling down her neck;
behind, TAETVS
Similar ; hair ornamented
at back with string of
pearls; behind head,
TAETI
Similar ; the head of Venus
is also laureate.
Similar.
bearing trophy in both
hands; before her, C .
CONSIDIVS2
[Pl. lii. 19.]
Similar ; Victory walks r. ;
before her, C. CONSIDIVS
Similar; moneyer's name,
C. CONSIDI
[Pl. lii. 20.]
(Nott)
Similar; Victory walks 1.
[Pl. lii. 21.]
Sestertius
Type I.
Bust of Cupid r., winged; , Double cornucopiae tied
plait of hair extending with fillet on celestial
from above the forehead globe.
to the neck; below, C . [Pl. lii. 22.]
CONSIDIVS 3 (Nott)
Similar; C. CONSIDI] Similar.
[Pl. lii. 23.]
(Nott)
1 There is in the Turin collection a denarius of this type countermarked by Vespasian
(Bahrfeldt, Zeit. f. Num., 1876, p. 366).
* A variety of this type of the quinarius in the collection at Padua reads C, CONSIDIV
(Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1900, p. 38). -
8 Varieties in the Gnecchi and Berlin collections read C, CONSID or C. COSNVS
(Bahrfeldt, op. cit., 1900, p. 39).
534 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
Type I. var.
10-0 || AR ‘4 Similar; bust of Cupid Similar.
with small head; below,
C. CONSIDIVS 1
[Babelon, vol. i., p. 380, no. 11.]
L. VALER IVS ACISCVLVS
(LUCIUS VALERIUS ACISCULUS’)
Denarius
Type I.
4099 || 59-0 | AR 75 | Head of Apollo Soranus r., L. VALERIVS (in exergue).
diademed, hair in ring- | Female figure, Waleria
lets, and waved over the Luperca, seated on heifer
forehead; above, star; walking r. ; she holds in
behind and below, ACIS | both hands her veil,
CVLVS, and double- which floats over her
headed adze or pick | head.
(acísculus). [Pl. liii. 1.]
(Blacas Coll.)
* A variety in the Berlin collection reads C. CONSID (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1900, p. 39).
* This moneyer is also only known from his coins, the types of which are of considerable
variety and interest, and their explanation has much exercised the ingenuity of numismatists.
It is chiefly to M. Charles Lenormant (Inst. arch. de Rome, Nouvelles Annales, vol. ii., 1838,
pp. 142 f.) and to the Baron de Witte (Rev. Num., 1849, pp. 325 f.), that we are indebted for much
information as to their historical and mythological allusions. M. Lenormant has attempted to
show that all the types of the coins of L. Valerius Acisculus allude to the legendary origin and
name of his family, whilst the symbol, the double-headed adze or pick (acisculus), in addition
refers to his cognomen. Plutarch (Parallel., vii. 248, ed. Reiske) tells us that “when the
inhabitants of Falerii in Etruria were visited by a plague, the oracle announced that the
scourge would only cease by the annual sacrifice of a virgin to Juno. This superstition was long
maintained till the lot fell on a young virgin named Valeria Luperda; but when she drew forth
the sword to slay herself an eagle descended in its flight, carried off the instrument of sacrifice,
and at the same time deposited on the altar a hammer with a small handle. It then threw the
sword on a heifer which was grazing near the temple. When the virgin saw this she sacrificed
the heifer, and taking the hammer went from house to house restoring the sick by touching
them gently with it, and telling them to be healed. This mystical ceremony is still practised at
Falerii.” In connection with this legend M. Lenormant's and Baron de Witte's explanations of
the types are as follows:–(a) The acisculus is the hammer which was placed by the eagle on the
altar; it is also a type parlant of the moneyer’s cognomen, and its healing power is an allusion
to his nomen Valerius (valere); (b) the female figure on the heifer is Valeria Luperca, who is
seated on the animal which was sacrificed in her place; (c) the young head bound with a
diadem is that of Apollo Soranus, who was worshipped by the Falerians; (d) the human-headed
bird with the shield and the “double flute ’’ is the Siren of Falerii with the attributes of
Minerva, who was the supposed inventor of that instrument ; (e) the head with the hair
confined by a band (Type III.) is that of Valeria Luperca herself; (f) the head of Sol and the

CIRC. B.C. 45; A.U.C. 709 535
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
4100 63-1 | AR 8 Similar; head of Apollo Similar.
Soranus, slightly bearded; [Pl. liii. 2.]
above forehead, jewel; (Cracherode Coll.)
hair not waved.
4101 53-0 | AR
7
5
Similar; hair slightly waved. Similar.
Similar ; laurel - wreath Similar.
4102 | 687 | AR 75
border. [Pl. liii. 3..]
4103 61.6 | AR 8 Similar. Similar.
4104 60.2 | AR 75 Similar. Similar.
Type II.
4105 60:8 AR 85 | Head of Apollo Soranus r., L. VALERIVS (in exergue).
i &c.; similar to no. 4099; Owl with helmet ed
hair slightly waved ; human head (Minerva),
above forehead, jewel; walking r., and carrying
behind, ACISCVLVS, and spear and shield; all
double - headed adze or within laurel-wreath.
pick (acisculus); all with- [Pl. liii. 4.]
in laurel-wreath. (Nott)
4106 55-0 || AR 85 Similar. Similar ; the owl carries
two spears and shield.
[Pl. liii. 5.]
4107 || 48.2 | AR 85 Similar ; hair not waved. Similar.
J (de Salis Coll.)
biga of Diana relate to the saecular games which were first celebrated by Valerius Publicola
before their regular institution after the Pumic wars; and (g) the head of Jupiter and the
anguipedic figure, the giant Valems, typical of force and strength, are a direct allusion to the
family name Valerius, a word of similar derivation. Whilst agreeing with some of M. Lenor-
mant’s and Baron de Witte's solutions of these very enigmatic types, we are disposed to see
in them, as in the case of those of T. Carisius and C. Considius Paetus, references in some
instances to the history of the moneyer's family, and in others to that of the Julia gens or to
Julius Caesar himself. We accept readily the explanation of the acisculus as a type parlant, and
the identification of the Apollo head as that of Apollo Soranus, and of Valeria Luperca and the
heifer; but the remaining types appear to be in honour of Julius Caesar, as in the case of the other
moneyers of this year. The human-headed bird, helmeted, and holding a spear or two spears
(not “a double flute ’’) and a shield is emblematic of Minerva herself. Similar representations
are not uncommon on Roman gems (see Brit. Mus, Cat. Gems, p. 209, nos. 2087-8; Furtwängler,
Amt. Gem., pl. xlvi., no. 20). Its personal application to Caesar has already been explained in
the case of the types of the coins of C. Antius Restio and Mn. Cordius Rufus (see pp. 522, 523).
The female head on the reverse of Type III. being so similar in treatment to that on coins of
T. Carisius (see above, p. 529, no. 4060) may also represent the same divinity, the Aphrodisian
Sibyl, which would denote a further interchange of types between these moneyers. Diana in a
biga is another representation of that divinity in connection with the Julia gens which has
already been explained (see above, p. 521), and the head of Sol could well be an allusion to
Caesar’s successes in the East. The head of Jupiter and the anguipedic giant, the monster of
sedition, who is being struck by one of the god's bolts, and is raising his hand to ward off
others, appear to relate to Caesar's triumph over all his enemies, more especially to the recent
defeat of the Pompeian party in Spain. The bust of Victory on the quinarius would be
another allusion to this last circumstance, and the type of the double cornucopiae has already
been explained in connection with previous issues as probably relating to largesses of corn.
If the circumstances be taken into consideration under which the coins of Valerius were
most probably struck, that is on the occasion of Caesar's triumph after the Spanish war, the
above explanations of some of the types seem quite admissible.
Though none of the coins of L. Valerius Acisculus were present in either the Willola or
the Collecchio hoards, yet their types show that he was probably a colleague at the mint of
T. Carisius and C. Considius Paetus,
536
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
4108
4109
4110
4111
4112
41.13
4114
4 115
Weight
60.1
61.2
56.2
60-8
5
2.
2
64'4
5
7
|
23.4
Metal
dºd Size
AR, 8
AR 7
AR •S
AR 7
Al{, -8
AR 55
Obverse.
Similar; hair slightly waved.
Type
Head of Apollo Soramus r.,
&c.; similar to no. 4105 ;
hair not waved, and no
jewel above forehead; all
within laurel-wreath.
-
|
Reverse
Similar ; the moneyer's
name, L. VALER IVS, is
behind the owl, and not
in the exergue.
[Pl. liii. 6.]
(Townley Coll.)
III.
Female head (the Aphro-
disian Sibyl) r., hair
elaborately decorated with
jewels and partly enclosed
in a sling, tied with bands
(see above, no. 4060);
before, L. VALER IVS :
all within laurel-wreath.
[Pl. liii. 7.]
(Townley Coll.)
Type IV.
| Head of Apollo or Sol r.,
with long hair, and wear-
ing radiate crown, the
fillet of which falls down
the neck; behind and
below, ACISCVLVS, and
double-headed adze or
pick (acísculus).
Similar.
Similar ; hair short.
Similar; the ends of the fillet
of the crown fall over each
side of the neck.
L. VALER IVS (in exergue).
Diana in biga r., horses
galloping; she holds
whip in r. hand, and
reins in 1.
[Pl. liii. 8.]
(Nott)
Similar.
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
[Pl. liii. 9..]
Type V.
Head of Jupiter r., laureate ;
behind, ACISCVLVS, and
double-headed adze or
pick (acisculus); all with-
L VALERIVS (in exergue).
Anguipedic giant facing;
he grasps in r. hand a
thunderbolt, which has
in laurel-wreath. pierced his side, and
raises his 1. arm.
Similar. Similar.
[Pl. liii. 10.]
(Nott)
Quinarius
Bust of Victory r., winged. Double-headed adze or
pick (acísculus); around,
ACISCVLVS; all within
laurel-wreath,
[Pl. liii. 11.]
CIRC. B.C. 45 ; A.U.C. 709 537
No. Weight Metal Obverse Reverse
and Size
| Sestertius'
4117 | 12:3 AR '45 Double - headed adze or | Double cornucopiae bound
pick (acisculus); around with fillet.
handle, ACISCVLVS [Pl. liii. 12.]
(Nott)
L. PLANC
(LUCIUS MUNATIUS PLANCUS )
Aureus
4118 124-2 || AV '85 | Bust of Victory r., draped ; Sacrificial jug with handle
hair rolled back, and (cap is); around, L -
collected into a knot | PLA N C PR AEF. VRB
behind; large wing be- | (Lucius Plancus, prae-
hind shoulder; around, fectus Urbi).
C. CAES DIC. TER (Caius [Pl. liii. 13.]
| Caesar, dictator tertium). (Wigan Coll.)
! Babelon's statement (vol. ii., p. 521, note 1) that Cavedoni (Append. al Saggio, p. 172)
cites a sestertius in bronze in the Bologna Museum of the same type as that described above is
an error. There is a specimen of this rare piece in the University Museum at Bologna, but
though it is somewhat black with oxidation, it is, however, of silver, and weighs 9 grs.
(Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1900, p. 85, pl. v., no. 120).
* Lucius Munatius L. f. L. n. Plancus was a friend of Julius Caesar, and, as mentioned
above, a brother of L. Plautius Plancus, who was an officer of the mint B.C. 47 (see p. 516). He
served under Caesar in Gaul, Spain, and Africa between B.C. 54–46; was appointed one of the
six praefecti Urbi in Rome to administer the affairs of the city during Caesar’s absence in Spain
B. c. 46–45; was nominated by Caesar to the government of Transalpine Gaul for B. c. 44, and
also for the consulship with Decimus Brutus as his colleague for B. c. 42 (see above, p. 508). It
was during his governorship of Gaul that Plancus founded colonies at Lugdunum and Augusta
Rauracorum (Aosta), and to this time are given those Gaulish copper coins which bear his name
and that of the chief, Attalus (see Cat. Mom. Gawl., Bibl. Nat., mos. 4792-97). On his return to
Rome in B.C. 43 he celebrated a triumph for his victories in Gaul, and assumed the title of impe-
rator. He was consul B.C. 42; commanded the troops of Antony in the Perusine war B.C. 41;
was appointed proconsul in Asia, B.C. 40; was probably consul suffectus B.C. 36; and governor of
Syria for Antony B.C. 35. It is possible that he accompanied Antony in his campaign against
the Armenians B.C. 34, and was present at his triumph in the same year at Alexandria. It
was during his proconsulship in Asia B. c. 40, that he struck the gold and silver coins which
bear his name and that of Mark Antony, and on which he styles himself proconsul and imperator
iterum (see coins of the EAST, B.C. 40; and Babelon, vol. ii., pp. 239, 240). Later on we find
him favouring the party of Octavius, and it was on his proposal that Octavius received the title
of Augustus. The date of the death of Plancus is uncertain, but he was censor in B.C. 22 with
Paulus Aemilius Lepidus, when he built the temple of Saturn (Suetonius, Augustus, 29). He
is the only member of the Munatia gens of whom we possess coins.
The legends on the coins of Plancus enable us to fix their date of issue. It was in B.C. 45
that Julius Caesar was appointed Dictator for the third time (Mommsen, C.I.L., vol. i., p. 40),
and it was from about November B. c. 46 to October B. c. 45, that Plancus acted as one of the
praefecti Urbi appointed by Caesar. The obverse type is evidently a record of the recent victories
of Julius Caesar in Spain, and the one-handled jug (capis) on the reverse is probably a symbol,
personal to Plancus himself, as this type is represented later on his coins which bear also the
name of Mark Antony. It may refer to his position as a member of the college of the Epulones.
Besides the aureus, Plancus issued the half-aureus (quinarius awrews), which is the first
3 Z
538 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight º 6 Obverse Reverse
4119 124:1 | A '8 Similar; small wing behind Similar.
shoulder of Venus. (Devonshire Coll.)
4120 | 123-1 || AV '85 Similar. Similar.
4121 | 122-0 || AW -8 || Similar. | Similar.
4122 |123.8 || AV 9 Similar; wing larger; letters Similar; moneyer's name,
of legend smaller. L T LANC TR VRB
[Pl. liii. 14.]
Half-Aureus
4123 63.0 AW 65 Similar. Similar ; moneyer's name,
L. PLANC Tº RAEF. V&B
[Pl. liii. 15.]
(Wigan Coll.)
As
4124 205.5 AE 1:1 Bust of Victory r., draped; Sacrificial jug with handle
her hair drawn to the cap is); a round, L -
back of her head, and PLANCVS PRAEF. VRB
tied with a band; behind, [Pl. liii. 16.]
star; before, CAESAR . (Boyd Coll.)
DIC . TER
appearance of this denomination. These gold coins were struck on the occasion of Caesar's
triumph in October, B.C. 45, after his return from Spain, and it was a special mark of honour to
Plancus and to his colleague, C. Clovius (see below, p. 539), that they only of the six praefecti Urbi
were selected to exercise this privilege. F. L. Ganter (Zeit. f. Num., 1895, p. 197) who gives a
different chronology to the dictatorships of Caesar than Mommsen, was of opinion that these
coins were struck in B.C. 46, and that they commemorate the battle of Thapsus, and not that of
Munda. The gold pieces were issued under precisely the same conditions as those of A. Hirtius in
the previous year (see p. 525), and like them they show that the authority over the gold currency
was still retained by Julius Caesar, and had not been as yet delegated to the ordinary officers
of the mint. The aurei are of somewhat rude fabric, proving that the dies were hurriedly made
and that the coins were somewhat carelessly struck. They must have been coined in consider-
able number as they are amongst the least rare of the Republican aurei. ) An important feature in
the coinage of this year is the joint attempt of Plancus and Clovius to revive a currency in bronze,
the issue of which had been in abeyance since B. c. 82. The as of Plancus, which till recently was
unpublished (see Num. Chron., 1904, p. 224), confirms in a remarkable manner the classification
to Rome of similar coins of C. Clovius and of Q. Oppius (see pp. 539, 541). This attribution
had been questioned by Eckhel (Doct. num, vet., t. v., p. 174), which led to their being placed
to Spain (Babelon, vol. i., p. 365; ii., p. 276). As the type of the as of Plancus is the same as
those of his aureus and half-aureus, and as it records also the third dictatorship of Caesar, and
his own appointment as praefectus Urbi, it is evident that the issue of his bronze and gold
coins was contemporaneous. Further, as the bronze coins of Plancus and Clovius are con-
nected by similarity of obverse type, and as these in turn on account of their fabric cannot be
separated from the coins of Q. Oppius, all three issues must have emanated from the same
mint, which the coins of Plancus clearly indicate to have been that of Rome itself. Count de
Salis has, however, separated the coins of Oppius from those of Clovius and Plancus, and has
attributed them to the following year. The bronze coin of Plancus, which was recently
presented to the National Collection by the late Mr. W. C. Boyd, was not known to Count
de Salis, and it is satisfactory to meet with such confirmatory evidence of his classification of
the coins of Clovius and Oppius. The weight, 205.5 grs., shows that the as is of the semuncial
standard which was adopted for the Roman bronze coinage in B. c. 88 under the provisions of the
CIRC. B.C. 45 ; A.U.C. 709 539
No. Weight aº. Obverse Reverse
C. CLOV|
(CAIUS CLOVIUS )
As
4125 236-0 | AF 1:1 | Bust of Victory r., draped; Minerva, helmeted and
her hair drawn to the draped, walking 1.; bear-
back of her head, and ing trophy over r.
tied with a band; be- shoulder, and holding
fore, CAESAR . DIC. TER in 1. hand spears and
(Caesar, dictator tertium). shield ornamented with
the gorgon's head, from
which issue rays; at her
feet, serpent with head
erect ; around, C. CLOVl
PRAEF (C. Clovius, prae-
fectus).
[Pl. liii. 17.]
4126 226-0 || AE 1:2 . Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
4127 231-0 || AE 1:15 Similar; Victory wears Similar.
necklace ; behind head, [Pl. liii. 18.]
Star.
4128 212-0 | AF 1:05 || Similar. Similar.
- (Cracherode Coll.)
Lew Plautia Papiria. This attempt in B.C. 45/44, to revive the bronze currency was evidently
not a success, and there was another lapse of thirty years (B.C. 15) before it was definitely
re-established.
1 The earliest mention in history of Caius Clovius (or Cluvius) is in B.C. 44, when he was
filling the post of governor in Cisalpine Gaul, and when Cicero wrote to him on behalf of the
town of Atella (Epist., xiii. 7). He appears to have been consul suffectus in B.C. 29, and is
probably referred to in a funeral oration of the age of Augustus (Orelli, Inscr., no. 4859;
C.I.L., vi., 1527). As we may safely conclude that Clovius held some important offices, civil
or military, before B.C. 44, it has been generally supposed that he acted as one of Caesar's
lieutenants in the war in Spain B.C. 46–45, possibly as a praefectus classis with Q. Oppius
(see p. 541), and that it was in that capacity that the coins bearing his name were struck (see
Babelon, i., p. 365). The recent discovery of the as of Plancus described above throws fresh
light on these coins of Clovius, and from similarity of obverse type and of fabric it is apparent
that both series were issued at the same time and at the same place. Though Clovius only
styles himself praefectus it would seem that he was a colleague of Plancus, and one of the six
praefecti Urbi appointed by Caesar in B. c. 46 to administer the affairs of Rome during his
absence. The occasion on which the bronze coins of Clovius were struck was probably the
triumph of Caesar after his return from Spain in B.C. 45, an event to which their types clearly
allude. Eckhel (Doct. num. vet., t. v., p. 174) seems to have been the first to question the
attribution of the coins of Clovius to the Roman mint. It is quite possible that, though
specimens are not at present known, Clovius, like Plancus, struck also gold coins, and probably
of similar types to those of his bronze money.
540 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
and Size Obverse Reverse
No. Weight
Circ. B.C. 44; A.U.C. 710'
CAES
(CAIUS JULIUS CAESAR)
Aureus &
4129 124.9 A '85 | Bust of Venus r., with C OS. O. V | N C (Coms ul
shoulders bare, wearing quinctum) within Laurel-
diadem ; hair collected wreath.
into a knot behind the
head, and tied with band;
around, CAES DIC OVAR
(Caesar, dictator quar-
tum).
4130 || 124-3 || AW 9 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. liii. 19.]
4131 | 124°4 || AV '85 | Similar; behind bust, CAES. Similar.
DIC; before, OVAR [Pl. liv. 1.]
(Blacas Coll.)
* The coins assigned to this date may be divided into three series:–1. Those issued by
Julius Caesar himself in his own name, and those struck by the praefect, Q. Oppius, the former
of gold, the latter of bronze ; 2. those issued by the moneyers, whose number is now increased
to four, and who, possibly with one exception, struck coins before and after Caesar’s death :
these are of silver only ; and 3. those issued after Caesar’s death by the praefects, L. Cestius
and C. Norbanus, under the mandate of the Senate : these are of gold.
It will therefore be seen that the gold and bronze coins are still restricted to special issues,
and that only silver was struck by the ordinary moneyers of the mint, though by the terms of
their appointment they appear to have been empowered to strike money in all three metals, gold,
silver, and bronze (see coins of C. Cossutius Maridianus, p. 552, no. 4187).
The principal events connected with the coinage of this year are—another attempt to revive
the issue of bronze money; the increase in the number of the moneyers of the mint from three
to four (minorum etiam magistratuwm numerum ampliavit; Suetonius, Caesar, 41); and the
placing, in accordance with the decree of the Senate, of Caesar's portrait on the coinage, an
honour never before granted to a Roman citizen (cf. Dion Cassius, xliv. 4).
* The legends on these gold coins show that they were issued in B.C. 44, as it was in that
year that Caesar was declared consul for the fifth time, and entered on his fourth dictatorship
(Mommsen, C.I.L., vol. i., p. 40). It was no doubt to commemorate these two events that
Caesar struck these coins. They must have been issued quite early in the year, as it was in
the month of February that Caesar received the title of Dictator Perpetuo, and he was
assassinated on the Ides, or fifteenth, of March. The bust on the obverse is that of Venus, from
whom the Julia gens claimed descent (see p. 542), and the goddess is generally supposed to
bear on the coins the features of Calpurnia, the wife of Julius Caesar, but in the absence of any
reliable portrait of her, this identification must be considered uncertain. It would be a
somewhat remarkable circumstance that Caesar should have placed on coins struck by himself
the portrait of his wife, and not his own, especially in view of the recent order of the Senate.
Such regal honour Caesar was not likely to claim for Calpurnia, when he knew that his own
acceptance of it was fraught with considerable danger.
CIRC. B.C. 44; A.U.C. 710 541
7. y - - + Metal & º
No. Weight and Size Obverse Reverse
O. , OPPIVS
(QUINTUS OPPIUS 1)
As
4132 |1970 AE 1.05 | Head of Venus r., dia- Victory walking 1., and
demed; hair collected | looking back; she bears
into a knot, and falling palm-branch in r. hand,
in locks down her neck; and dish with fruit on
before, crescent. 1. ; before, O . OPPIVS.
PR (Praefectus).
[Pl. liv. 2.]
4133 178-0 || AE 1-0 || Similar; behind head of Similar.
Venus, capricorn. [Pl. liv. 3..]
4134 171-0 | AF 1:05 || Similar. - Similar.
* Nothing appears to be known of Quintus Oppius beyond that he was a praefect and
that he struck bronze coins. These have been classed to Spain or Sicily (Babelon, vol. ii.,
p. 276) like the coins of C. Clovius. On account of this attribution it has been further
suggested that both Oppius and Clovius were praefects of the fleet under Julius Caesar during
the Spanish war. The reasons given for assigning the bronze coins of L. Plancus and
C. Clovius to the mint at Rome (see above, p. 538) apply equally to the coins of Oppius, but
it is somewhat difficult to determine their precise date of issue. At first sight it might be
concluded that they were struck in B. c. 45 at the same time as the other two bronze issues, but
Count de Salis has classed them to B.C. 44, surmising, no doubt, that in the early part of this
year Oppius was praefectus Urbi, and in that capacity was permitted by Caesar to issue bronze
money whilst he himself struck gold. As was suggested in the case of Clovius, it is not
impossible that at some future time gold coins of Oppius may be discovered. No further
attempt to revive a bronze currency at Rome was made till B. c. 15.
Both the obverse and reverse types are in honour of Caesar. A similar head of Venus
for obverse type occurs on the coins of L. Aemilius Buca (see p. 546, no. 4160) and also the
symbol, a crescent (see p. 545, no. 4152). As the capricorn was the genethliac sign of Octavius,
it may in this instance refer to his adoption by Caesar, which, though not announced at the
time, took place at the end of the previous year. This may be one reason why Count de Salis
assigned the coins of Oppius to B. c. 44. The reverse type of Victory carrying a dish with
fruit may relate to some special largess, as well as to the successes of Caesar.
A variety shows the head of Venus turned to the left (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 277, no. 2).
542 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight Metal Obverse Reverse
&nd Size.
NA. NAETTIVS
(MARCUS METTIUS )
Denarius
Type I.
4135 63-3 || AR 75 | Head of Julius Caesar r., M. METTIVS (in exergue).
laureate; behind, lituus; Juno Sospita in biga r.,
around, CAESAR . DICT horses galloping; she
O.VA R T (Dict a to r wears head-dress of goat-
quartum). - skin, and holds spear in
r. hand, and shield in 1.
4136 | 60-5 | AR 75 Similar.
[Pl. liv. 4.]
(Nott)
* The Marcus Mettius who struck these coins is usually identified with the legate of that
name, who was sent by Julius Caesar on the opening of the Gallic war in B.C. 58 to Ariovistus,
the chief and leader of the German league, and was detained prisoner, but was subsequently
rescued by Caesar. This identification is, however, not confirmed by the coins bearing his name,
as they must have been struck in B.C. 44. This moneyer was a member of the first quatuor-
virate of the mint instituted by Julius Caesar, and he appears to have had as his colleagues,
L. Aemilius Buca, P. Sepullius Macer, and C. Cossutius Maridianus, who, like him, placed
the portrait of Julius Caesar on their coins in accordance with the decree of the Senate (cf. Dion
Cassius, xliv. 4). His colleagues also seem to be little known in history, and this fact may be due
to the circumstance that Caesar committed the management of the mint and the public revenues
of the state to his own servants, who were probably of little public note (Suetonius, Caesar, 76).
Von Sallet (Zeit. f. Num., 1877, pp. 127 f.) has assigned to B.C. 44 the coinages of the
momeyers M. Mettius, L. Aemilius Buca, C. Cossutius Maridianus, and L. Flaminius Chilo ;
being of opinion that, as the denarii of P. Sepullius Macer bear a representation of the temple
of Clementia, which could not have been erected during Caesar’s lifetime, and also a veiled
portrait of Mark Antony, they must be attributed to the following year, B.C. 43. He cites as
confirming this classification the evidence of the Wigatto hoard (Zeit. f. Num., 1875, p. 66), but
the concealment of that hoard could not have taken place till some years later (see below,
p. 558, and Tables of Finds). Count de Salis has, however, given the coins of Macer to B.C. 44,
and those of Flaminius Chilo to B.C. 43. The evidence of the coins themselves appears to favour
Count de Salis's classification. On the other hand, Babelon (vol. ii., p. 20), considering that
the first quatuorvirate of the mint consisted of M. Mettius, L. Aemilius Buca, C. Cossutius
Maridianus, and L. Flaminius Chilo, is of opinion that for some unaccountable reason Mettius
did not strike any coins after the death of Caesar, and that he was replaced in office by
P. Sepullius Macer, and that therefore there were five moneyers during the year B.C. 44.
F. L. Ganter (Zeit. f. Num., 1895, p. 188) has also assigned these moneyers to B.C. 44, but he
is of opinion that it was Chilo who retired from the college, and was succeeded by Maridianus.
See also his classification of the issues of these moneyers (op. cit., pp. 200-203). This order of
placing the moneyers is also not in accordance with the views of Count de Salis.
The coins of Mettius from their types may be divided into two series. To the first may be
classed the denarii of Type I, the quinarii, and the sestertii, which in each case have joint-
types relating to the moneyer and to Julius Caesar; and to the second, the denarii of Types II.
and II. var., which refer only to Caesar. As there are no coins of Mettius which can be
definitely attributed to a period after Caesar’s death, both these series may have been issued
before that event. -
On the denarii of Type I. the moneyer placed on the obverse the head of Julius Caesar, but
on the reverse he appears to refer to the origin of his own family, which it may be concluded came
from Lanuvium, where there was a special cult of Juno Sospita, and of which some account has
already been given (see the denarii of L. Procilius, p. 386, and of L. Roscius Fabatus, p. 422).
From the legend on the obverse these coins must have been struck quite early in the year, as
they give the fourth dictatorship of Caesar (B.C. 45–44), and not the title of Dictator Perpetuo,
which was conferred upon him at the beginning of February. . The denarii of Types II. and
II, var., with Venus Victrix and the celestial globe, refer to the claim of the Julia gems to be
CIRC. B.C. 44; A.U.C. 710 543
No. Weight º, Obverse - Reverse
Type II.
With letter on reverse'
4137 54.9 || AR 8 | Head of Julius Caesar r., Venus Victrix standing 1.,
laureate; around, CAESAR holding Victory on r.
IMPER (Imperator). hand, and sceptre in 1. ;
her l. arm rests upon
a shield placed on a
celestial globe; behind
her, M. NMETTIVS; be-
fore her, letter A
(Nott)
4138 || 60.9 | AR 8 || Similar, Similar; letter B.
[Pl. liv. 5.]
(Nott)
4139 58.9 || AR 75 Similar. Similar ; letter Be
(Blacas Coll.)
4140 || 57.9 || AR, 75 | Similar. Similar ; letter C
(Nott)
4141 53.4 || AR 8 Similar. Similar; letter D
4142 59.2 | AR 7 || Similar. Similar ; letter E
(de Salis Coll.)
descended from Anchises and Venus. When Julius Caesar pronounced the funeral oration on his
aunt Julia, the widow of the famous Marius, he thus traced his genealogy —“My aunt Julia
was descended on the maternal side from kings, and on the paternal from the gods. For the
Marcii Reges (to which family her mother belonged) derive their pedigree from Ancus Marcius,
and the Julii from Venus, of which family ours is a branch ; so that we have in our descent the
sacred majesty of kings, the greatest amongst the sons of men, and the divine majesty of gods,
to whose authority kings themselves are subject” (Suetonius, Caesar, 6). Caesar's watchword
at the battles of Pharsalus and Munda was Venus Victrip, and on the former occasion he vowed
that he would build a temple in Rome as a thank-offering to her as the Bringer of Victory if
everything went well (Appian, de Bell. Civ., ii. 10, 68; ib. 15, 104). His signet-ring also bore
a figure of Venus Victrix (Dion Cassius, xliii. 43). This type of Venus Victrix, with slight
variations, occurs also on the denarii of the other moneyers of this year. The lituus and the
cymbiwm on the obverse refer to Caesar’s office as Pontifex Maazimvus. The types of the
quinarius and of the sestertius, like those of the denarius of Type I., relate to the Julia and
Mettia families and to Julius Caesar himself.
It may be of interest to note what Suetonius (Caesar, 45) says of the general appearance
of Caesar. “He is said to have been tall, of a fair complexion, round-limbed, somewhat full-faced,
with eyes black and lively. He was so nice in the care of his person that he had not only the
liair of his head cut, and his head shaved very exactly, but likewise had the hair on other parts
of his body taken out by the roots. His baldness gave him a great deal of uneasiness, having
often found himself upon that account exposed to the raillery of his enemies, and therefore he
used to bring his hair from about the crown of his head forward. And of all the honours
conferred upon him by the Senate and the people he accepted or made use of none more gladly
than the right of perpetually wearing a laurel-crown.” The portraits on the coins of this year
illustrate Suetonius's account, and on some the drawing forward of the hair from the crown
to the forehead is clearly indicated (see pl. liv., nos. 5, 9, 11, 18).
1 This revival of the mint-letters is exceptional, and they were not adopted by any of the
colleagues of Mettius. From the coins in the National Collection it would appear that those
on Type II. end with E or F, and those on Type II. var. begin at F or G. If this be so, they
confirm the order here adopted for these issues. *.
544 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight cº, Obverse Reverse
Type II. var.
With letter on reverse
4143 | 69°3 | AR 8 | Head of Julius Caesar r., Similar; letter G
laureate ; behind, bowl
(cymbium) and lituus;
before, CAESAR . INAT
4144 58-0 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar; same letter.
(Nott)
4145 || 56°4 || AR 75 Similar. Similar; same letter.
(Devonshire Coll.)
4.146 62-7 || AR 75 Similar. Similar ; letter H “
[Pl. liv. 6.]
4.147 | 62-7 || AR “75 | Similar. Similar ; letter
(Nott)
4148 57.5 | AR, 8 || Similar. Similar ; letter k
Quinarius *
4149 27-5 | AR 55 | Head of Juno Sospita r, M. METTI (in exergue).
wearing goat's skin tied Victory in biga r., horses
in front ; behind, serpent galloping; she holds
erect. wreath in r. hand, and
- reins in 1.
(Nott)
4150 24'4 || AR, "5 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. liv. 7.]
4151 | 24-3 || AR 5 Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Sestertius
10-0 || AR 5 | Head of Venus r., diademed. Virgin standing r., and
- feeding Serpent ; behind,
NA. NMETTI
[Babelon, vol. ii., p. 224 no. 2.]
* A variety reads IMT (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 146).
* There is a forgery in gold in the British Museum of the denarius of this type and with
the mint-letter H. It was formerly in the collection of the Bank of England. it is struck,
and the reverse has the same granulated appearance as the suspected aureus of Caesar (see
above, p. 527, no. 4055). Cohen (Mom. rép. rom., p. xxiv.) mentions other specimens in gold
with the letters A and I, which he lyronounced to be forgeries.
* We cannot agree with Ganter (Zeit. f. Num., 1895, p. 198) in attributing the quinarii and
sestertii of Mettius, Buca, and Macer to an earlier date (B.C. 46, 45) than the denarii of their
ISSU162S.

CIRC. B.C. 44; A.U.C. 710 545
No. Weight Metal Obverse Reverse
and Size
L. AENAIL!VS BVCA
(LUCIUS AEMILIUS BUCA 1)
Denarius
Type I.”
4152 || 51-6 || AR 8 Head of Julius Caesar r., |Venus Victrix standing l.,
laureate ; behind, cres- holding Victory on r.
cent; around, CAESAR . hand, and leaning with 1.
INA T M (Imperator, Pon- on sceptre; around, L.
tifea. Maarimus). AENA|L!VS BVCA
(de Salis Coll.)
4153 || 51.2 | AR 75 Similar. . -- Similar.
[Pl. liv. 8.]
4154 61-0 | AR 75 Similar ; no crescent be- Similar ; moneyer's name,
hind head; before head, L. BVCA on r.
CAESAR ; behind, DICT. [Pl. liv. 9..]
TER PETVO (Dictator
perpetuo).
| Nothing certain appears to be known of L. Aemilius Buca beyond that he was a moneyer
of the Roman mint. Morelli (Fam. rom. Twm., t. ii., p. 13) has attributed the denarii of Types
I.—III. and those of Type IV. to two different moneyers, and supposes that the issuer of the last
series was a quaestor of Sulla and the father of the quatuorvir. There can, however, be no
question that all the coins bearing the name of L. Aemilius Buca, or L. Buca only, belong to one
moneyer, but it is doubtful if he is to be identified with the L. Buca who supplicated the judges on
behalf of M. Aemilius Scaurus at the latter's trial in B.C. 54 (Ascom., in Scaur., p. 29, ed. Orelli).
Babelon (vol. i., p. 123) says that he was the son of M. Scaurus, the stepson of Sulla, who struck
coins as curule aedile circ. B.C. 58 (see above, p. 483), and this relationship appears to be confirmed
by the explanation given of the reverse of the denarius of Type IV. (see p. 546). He was a member
of the first quatuorvirate of the mint appointed by Julius Caesar in B.C.44, and appears to have
had as his colleagues M. Mettius, P. Sepullius Macer, and C. Cossutius Maridianus, who, like him,
placed the portrait of Julius Caesar on their coins in accordance with the decree of the Senate.
Buca is the only moneyer of the year who assumed the official title of l l l l VI R on his coins.
* The coinage of Buca is of two series: that struck during the life of Julius Caesar; and
that after his death. To the latter belong only the demarii of Type IV. The denarii of Types
I. and II. refer to the claim of the Julia gens to its descent from Anchises and Venus (see
above, p. 542). On Type III. the caduceus, the fasces, and the celestial globe are symbolical
of Caesar's universal power, and the united hands of the cordial and peaceful feeling towards
him of the Roman people, who had conferred upon him every honour except that of actual
sovereignty. The celestial globe may record Caesar's reformation of the Calendar (Suetonius,
Caesar, 40). The axe is the symbol of supreme pontifical power.
The coins of Type IV. are of the series struck after Caesar’s death. Sabatier (Méd.
Contor., p. 75), who is followed by Babelon (vol. ii., p. 23), supposed that the reverse type relates
to the fable of Endymion and Diana, but if we connect Buca with M. Scaurus, the stepson of
Sulla, Eckhel’s explanation of the scene as illustrating the famous dream of Sulla seems more
probable. Plutarch (Sulla, ix.) tells us that “when Sulla was at Nola, on his way to attack
Marius at Rome, there appeared to him in a dream the goddess whose worship the Romans
received from the Cappadocians, whether it be the Moon (Selene), Minerva, or Bellona. She
seemed to stand by him and put thunder in his hand, and having called his enemies by name
one after another, bade him strike them, and they fell and were consumed to ashes.” The
goddess here depicted is Selene, and the winged figure in the background is Victory, who is
urging on Sulla, and not “Amor ’’ as Sabatier suggested. L. Buca evidently chose this type
as connected with his own family history, rather than one which might have been distasteful to
the enemies of the dead dictator.
The reverse type of the quinarius, two right hands joined, has been explained above in con-
, nection with the denarius of Type III., and greater emphasis is given to it by the head of Pax
on the obverse. The star on the sestertius may be the planet Venus, or it may refer to the
decree of the Senate that Caesar should be ranked among the gods. On the following coins
of P. Sepullius Macer the star is a frequent adjunct to Venus Victrix. The relation between
the Julia gens and the goddess Diana has been referred to in the case of previous coinages
4 A
546 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight a.º. Obverse Reverse
Type II. -
4155 | 63.4 || AR 75 | Similar to the last. Venus seated r., holding
Victory on r. hand, and
sceptre in 1. ; behind,
L BVCA
[Pl. liv. 10.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
4156 || 59.8 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar ; L. BVCA
(de Salis Coll.)
Type III.
4157 | 602 || AR 8 Similar; before head, Winged caduceus and
CAESAR . DICT; behind, fasces in saltire; in the
TERT-ETVO angles, celestial globe,
two right hands joined,
axe, and L. BVCA'
4158 58.8 || AR 75 | Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
4159 || 56.2 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
- [Pl. liv. 11.]
(Nott)
Type IV.
4160 | 61°5 | AR 8 | Head of Venus r., dia- Sulla's dream ; in the fore-
demed, wearing earring ground, on the l., Sulla
in shape of cross, and reclining against a rock;
necklace; hair collected his 1. arm supporting his
into a knot, and falling head; on the r. is seen
in two locks down her | Selene descending from a
neck; behind, L. BVCA mountain ; crescent on
her forehead, and above
her head, a floating veil;
in r. hand she holds a
lighted torch; in the
background, facing, is
Victory, holding palm-
branch.
(Blacas Coll.)
Alt '75 | Similar. | Similar.
[Pl. liv. 12.]
(Nott)
4161
5
7.
2
(see p. 521). Though the name of Caesar does not occur either on the quinarius or on the
sestertius it is probable that they were issued before his death.
1 Boutkowski (Dict. Num., p. 25, no. 45) mentions a forgery in gold of this type in the
Vienna collection, and (Ib., p. 38, no. 78) a denarius without legend on the obverse. This
second piece is probably a hybrid. Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 146) describes a hybrid’of
Type IV. in the Göttingen collection with the reverse of the denarius of C. Vibius C. f, with
Minerva in quadriga (see above, p. 290, no. 2244).
CIRC. B.C. 44; A.U.C. 710 547
& Metal,
No. Weight CLY!, f sº Obverse Reverse
Quinarius
4162 26-4 || AR 5 | Head of Pax r., diademed; Two right hands joined ;
behind, PAXS around, L. AENAIL!VS.
º BVCA . . . . . . VIR
[Pl. liv. 13.]
(Bunbury Coll.)
Sestertius
4163 14:9 || AR ‘4 Head of Diana’r., wearing | Star of six rays; around,
diadem, surmounted by L. AEMILIVS. BVCA .
crescent; hair collected [Pl. liv. 14.]
into a knot, and falling in (Northwick Coll.)
lock down her neck.
T SETVLLIVS NAACER
(PUBLIUS SEPULLIUS MACER )
Denarius
Type I.”
4164 57-3 || AR 75 | Head of Julius Caesar Venus Victrix standing 1.,
r., laureate ; around, holding Victory on r.
CAESAR IMPER (Im- hand, and leaning with
perator). 1. on sceptre, which
w rests on a star; behind,
D. SETVLLIVS (down-
wards); before, MACER
(downwards).
[Pl. liv. 15.]
(Nott)
* Nothing appears to be known of P. Sepullius Macer beyond that he was a moneyer of
the Roman mint, and that, as shown by his coins, he held office in B.C. 44, having probably as
his colleagues M. Mettius, L. Aemilius Buca, and C. Cossutius Maridianus.
His coins are also of two series; those struck before, and those after the death of Julius
Caesar. To the first series may be classed the denarii of Type I. and its variations, and
Types II. and III., and also the quinarii and the sestertii; and to the second, the denarii of
Type IV. only.
* Venus Victrix, as on Type I., has already been met with on the coinages of M. Mettius
and L. Aemilius Buca, but it is interesting to note the variations of this type on the coins of
P. Sepullius Macer, which show her sceptre resting on a star or on her shield. On the obverse
the laureate head of Caesar is sometimes accompanied by a star, or it is veiled. In this instance
the star, as on the sestertius of L. Aemilius Buca, may relate to the decree of the Senate that
Caesar should be ranked among the gods. (The veiled head (Type II.) shows him in the
character of Pontifex Mawimus. He is styled 'Imperator only, or Dictator Perpetuo, or Parens
Patriae ; the last two titles having been conferred on him by the Senate early in B.C. 44
(Dion Cassius, xliv. 4, ratépate airov tís Trat ptóos étavéuaorav kai és to vouío uata évexãpašav).
The reverse type of the desultor and two horses records the “spectacles of various kinds"
with which Caesar entertained the people (Edidit spectacula varii generis . . . et equos de-
sultorios agitaverunt mobilissimi juvemes ; Suetonius, Caesar, 39). As this type occurs on coins
struck after Caesar's death, it must have been the latest used before that event. The temple
of Clementia figured on Type III. is the one which the Senate ordered to be built in honour
548 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight º, Obverse - Reverse
Type I. var. a.
4165 61.9 || AR 8 | Head of Julius Caesar r., Similar ; moneyer's name,
laureate; behind, star Tº . SETVLL!VS NWACER
of eight rays; before, (continuous)."
CAESAR . INAT (Cracherode Coll.)
4166 59.2 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. liv. 16.]
4167 54.9 || AR 75 Similar; star of six rays. | Similar; no star below
sceptre. -
[Pl. liv. 17.]
(Blacas Coll.)
Type I. var. b
4168 54.5 | AR 8 | Head of Julius Caesar Similar to no. 4164; the
- r., laureate ; before ; sceptre of Venus rests on
CAESAR ; behind, DICT. star ; moneyer's name,
PERTETVO (similar to T. SETVLLIVS (down-
no. 4154).” wards); MACER (down-
wards).
[Pl. liv. 18.]
4169 || 59.5 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar ; the sceptre of
Venus rests on shield.
(Blacas Coll.)
4.170 57-0 | AR “75 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. liv. 19.]
(Nott)
of Caesar some time before his death in gratitude for the mercy they had experienced from
him (Plutarch, Jul. Caes., lvii. 32). Babelon (vol. ii., p. 438) thinks that the denarii with the
veiled head of Caesar and with the temple of Clementia were struck after Caesar's death.
Type IV. with the veiled head of Mark Antony, wearing a beard, the sign of mourning, could
only have been placed on coins issued after Caesar’s assassination. It was chiefly on account
of the occurrence of the veiled head of Antony on these coins that Von Sallet (Zeit. f. Num.,
1877, p. 131) was led to assign the appointment of P. Sepullius Macer as a moneyer to B.C. 43;
that is to the time of the triumvirate, but the course of events favours their attribution to the
earlier date, i.e. B.C. 44. After the death of Caesar, Antony, who was his colleague as consul,
was the most powerful man in the state, and for some time practically controlled the action of
the Senate, so that it seemed likely that he would obtain the same position that Caesar had
occupied. Towards the end of the year, mainly through the arrival of Octavius, his authority
was weakened, and when early in B.C. 43 he attempted to wrest the government of Cisalpine
Gaul from Decimus Brutus he was declared a public enemy. The subsequent formation of the
triumvirate and the proscriptions which ensued were not acts which would ingratiate him with
the Senate. On historical grounds alone it seems therefore more probable that these coins of
Macer were issued in B.C. 44, and it is quite possible that the Senate in directing Antony's
portrait to be placed on the coinage may have been at the time disposed to confer on him an
honour which they had recently accorded to Caesar, thus practically acknowledging him as
his successor. The veiled head would represent Antony as he appeared in the Forum when he
pronounced the oration at the funeral of Caesar, and the lituus and the apex refer to his office
as augur. The types of the quinarius need no explanation if applied to Julius Caesar, and that
of the sestertius has already been referred to in previous issues (see pp. 511, 520, 522).
1 Cohen (Mom. rép. rom., p. xxvi.) notes a forgery in gold of this type.
* This obverse shows an interchange of type, if not of actual dies, with the coins of
L. Aemilius Buca (see also Type II., p. 549).
CIRC. B.C. 44; A.U.C. 710 549
No.
4171
4172
4174
4175
4176
4.177
Weight
52.7
63-1
59.4
55-4
63.5
44-6
(worm)
59-6
56-0
Metal
and Size
AR, 8
AR 7
AR, 7
AR, 75
AR. 75
AR, 75
AR. •85
AR. 75
Obverse Reverse
Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar. Similar; moneyer's name,
Tº . SET' VLLIVS NAACER
(continuous).
[Pl. liv. 20.]
(Blacas Coll.)
Type I. var. c
Head of Julius Caesar r., Similar; the sceptre of
laureate, and veiled ; Venus rests on shield;
before, CAESAR ; behind, moneyer's name, T .
DICT. T. ERD. ETVO SE TV L L IVS (down-
wards); MACER (down-
wards) as on no. 4168.
[Pl. liv. 21.]
(Nott)
Similar. Similar.
Similar. Similar ; the sceptre of
Venus rests on star.
Type II.
Head of Julius Caesar r., Horseman (desultor) with
laureate, and veiled, two horses galloping
between lituus and r. ; he rides the near
augur's cap (a pea); be- horse, and wears conical
fore, CAESAR (upwards); cap; whip in r. hand,
behind, [DAR]ENS DAT and reins in l. ; behind,
RIAE (upwards)." w re at h and [p a lim-
branch]; above, T. SET
VLLIVS; below, NAACER
[Babelon, vol. ii., p. 28, no. 51.]
Type III. º
Temple of four columns Similar ; behind rider,
with closed doors; in wreath and palm-branch.
the tympanum, globe ; [Pl. liv. 22.]
around, CLENAENTIAE (Blacas Coll.)
CAESA-IS
Similar; reading CAESARIS Similar.
(Nott)
! This obverse shows another interchange of type, but in this instance with the coinage
of C. Cossutius Maridianus (see no. 4187, p. 552; and also no. 4168, p. 548).

550 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
Type IV.
4178 | 66-0 || AR 75 | Head of Mark Antony r., Similar.
bearded and veiled; be- [Pl. liv. 23.]
fore, lituus; behind, jug (Nott)
with handle (capis), and
countermark, circle.
4.179 59-6 || AR 7 || Similar ; countermark, star. Similar. -
(Bunbury Coll.)
4.180 55-5 | AR 75 | Similar ; no countermark. Similar.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
4181 52.7 | AR “75 Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
4.182 56.8 || AR “75 | Similar. Incuse of obverse."
(Blacas Coll.)
Quinarius *
25.5 | AR 55 Bust of Victory r., winged, Fortuna standing 1., hold-
draped, and wearing ing rudder and cornu-
diadem ; hair in knot copiae; around, T. SET
behind. VLLIVS NWACER
[Babelon, vol. ii., p. 440, no. 9..]
* This is only a mis-struck piece, the previous coin not having been removed from the die
before another blank was placed in position. -
* Borghesi (CEuvres compl., t. i., p. 262) describes a quinarius of this issue in his collection,
having on the obverse the bust of Victory, and on the reverse, Victory walking to right and
holding a wreath in her r. hand and a palm-branch in her 1., with the moneyer’s name T ,
SE DVLLIVS MACE R. He also mentions another quinarius in the d’Ennery collection with
a similar obverse type; but having on the reverse a female figure holding in r. hand a patera,
and with 1. a cornucopiae, probably a wrongly described example of the above-figured piece.
Apparently, without having seen either of these coins, Riccio (Mon. fam. rom., tav. xliii.,
no. 6; lxiv. no. 1) supplies illustrations of both of them. These illustrations not being made
from the coins themselves are, in consequence, quite untrustworthy, and, moreover, both pieces
are drawn nearly the size of the denarius. The quinarius illustrated above is in the French
cabinet (D’Ailly collection). It appears to be unique. - -

CIRC. B.C. 44; A.U.C. 710 551
Metal
and Size Obverse Reverse
No. Weight
Sestertius'
4183| 201 | AR 5 | Bust of Mercury r., draped, Winged caduceus; around
and wearing winged P. SETVLLIVS
petasus; behind, winged [Pl. lv. 1.]
caduceus. (de Salis Coll.)
4.184 || 11.3 | AR '45 || Similar. Similar.
- (Nott)
C. COSSVTIVS NAARIDIANVS
(CAIUS COSSUTIUS MARIDIANUS )
Denarius
Type I.
4.185 58.6 | AR 75 | Head of Julius Caesar r., Venus Victrix standing l.,
laureate, and veiled ; holding Victory on r.
before, CAESAR ; behind, hand, and resting 1. arm
DICT. PERTETVO (see on shield, placed on a
no. 4173, p. 549).” celestial globe ; behind,
C. NAARIDIANVS
[Pl. lv. 2.]
w
4186 57.2 | AR “75 Similar ; before head, Similar.
CAESAR ; behind, DICT. [Pl. lv. 3..]
|N T ERT ETVO (de Salis Coll.)
* Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, pp. 72, 73) has shown that the semis figured by Babelon
(vol. ii., p. 441, no. 13) of the usual type with ſ , SET, which should be M. SET, does not
belong to this issue, but is a local coin of Carteia in Spain, the legend KAR being under the prow.
* This moneyer is also unknown except from his coins. He was probably a colleague of
M. Mettius, L. Aemilius Buca, and P. Sepullius Macer. He appears to have limited his issue
to the denarius, as no quinarii or sestertii have been met with bearing his name. It is doubtful
whether he struck any coins after Caesar's death, since the titles Dictator in Perpetuo and
Parens Patriae are found on coins issued before the middle of March. If any are of the later
period it can only be those which have for reverse design the moneyer’s name and title only.
In the design of the reverse of Type I., Maridianus followed more closely the coins of
Mettius than those of his other colleagues; Venus, however, does not hold a sceptre, but rests
her 1. arm on a shield which is placed on a celestial globe, not improbably a reference to the
reformation of the Calendar which Caesar effected in B. c. 46. The titles given to Caesar
are the same as those which occur on the coins of P. Sepullius Macer. The design of the
reverse of Type II. is quite exceptional, and the legend is interesting, as even at this time the
authority of the ordinary moneyers included the striking of gold and bronze coins as well as
those of silver, but hitherto they had not been permitted to exercise it in regard to gold
money, and the issue of bronze was still in abeyance. This is the first occurrence of the
complete title of the moneyer on coins of the Roman Republic.
* This is another instance of an interchange of obverse types.
Vaillant (Numism. priest., vol. ii., p. 4) mentions an aureus of Type I., of which Riccio
(Mon. fam. Tom., pl. xvii., no. 1) gives an imaginary illustration. It is probably a forgery
similar to the aureus of M. Mettius in the British Museum (see p. 544). Moinnet (Méd. rom.,
vol. i., p. 84) also publishes a forgery of the denarius with the legend IN TER PETVV N1 for
IN TER DETVO (Babelon, vol. i., p. 438).
552
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
4187
4.188
4.189
4190
4.191
4.192
Weight
117.5
67.4
61.4
56-8
123.9
124.0
Metal
and Size
AR •9
AR •8
AR •7
AR -7
AW -8
AV '85
Obverse
Reverse
Type II.
Head of Julius Caesar r.,
laureate, and veiled, be-
tween lituus and augur's
cap (a pea); before,
CAESAR (upwards); be-
hind, PARENS PATRIAE
(upwards).
Similar.
Similar ; before head,
Countermark, crescent ;
behind, circle.
Similar ; no countermarks.
C. COSSVT |VS NAAR ID
IANVS arranged in form
of cross; in the four
angles, A A A F. F
(Aere, argento, auro,
flando, feriumdo)."
[Pl. lv. 4.]
(Nott)
Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
L. CESTIVS : C . NORBANVS
(LUCIUS CESTIUS; CAIUS NORBANUsº)
Aureus
Type I.
Bust of Africa r., draped,
and wearing elephant's
scalp on her head.
Similar ; the bust of Africa
shows less drapery.
Curule chair, on which is a
crested helmet; the legs
are Ornamented with
winged figures; above,
L - CESTIVS; in exergue,
C - NORBA; on r., T.R.
(Praefecti); on 1., S. C
(Senatus consulto).
[Pl. lv. 5.]
(Sir G. Musgrave Coll.)
Similar ; from the curule
chair rise two serpents,
their heads face to face;
no helmet; on the cross-
ing of each of the two
legs is a bird, and on 1. of
chair, EX. S. C (Ea se-
matus consulto).
[Pl. lv. 6.]
(Blacas Coll.)
* This piece is struck on a large flan.
Macer (see p. 549). ſº †-
* It is unfortunate that we know so little of these moneyers who, in their capacity as praefecti
Urbi, struck gold coins in their joint names, but each using a distinct type.
The obverse type was also used by P. Sepullius
Of L. Cestius we
have no record beyond his coins, but it is probable that he was related to C. Cestius who
CIRC. B.C. 44; A.U.C. 710 553
Metal
g Obverse Reven'se
and Size
Type II.
No. Weight
4193 125.2 | AV 8 |Bust of Sibyl (?) r., draped ; Cybele wearing turreted
head elaborately bound crown, seated 1. on
with fillet, and hair chariot, drawn by two
collected into a knot lions; in r. hand she
behind ; above, C. No R. holds a patera ; her l. arm
BANVS ; below, L - CES rests on a tympanum;
TIVS; before, PR (Prae- before S. C (Senatus con-
fecti). Sulto).
[Pl. lv. 7.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
4194| 125-0 || AV -8 |Similar; legend divided by Similar.
head, C. No RB ANVS [Pl. lv. 8 obv.]
was praetor B.C. 44, the year to which these coins are assigned, and who refused a province
from Antony (Cicero, Philipp., iii. 10). Cicero mentions three persons of this name, who
perhaps are all the same. The Cestius who perished in the proscription of B.C. 43 may be
either the moneyer or the praetor (Appian, Bell. Civ., iv. 26). L. Cestius is the only member
of his gens of whom coins are known. We first hear of C. Norbanus Flaccus in history in
B.C. 42, when he was sent by Octavius and Antony with eight legions into Macedonia to
Operate against Brutus and Cassius. He was consul B.C. 38 with Appius Claudius Pulcher.
It has been supposed that Cestius and Norbanus were two of the praefects whom Caesar
appointed to take charge of Rome during his absence in Spain in B.C. 46–45; but Mommsen
(Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., p. 548) considered that the coins bearing their names, as praetors,
were struck immediately after the death of Caesar by order of the Senate. Count de
Salis agreed with Mommsen in attributing the coins to B.C. 44, but it may be suggested that
Cestius and Norbanus were not praetors but praefecti Urbi who had charge of the city of
Rome after Caesar's death, and that it was in that capacity under the order of the Senate that.
they struck these gold coins, as L. Plancus had done in the previous year. The death of Caesar
had re-established the power of the Senate, and in noting their control of the gold coinage they
reasserted a right, of which for a time they had been arbitrarily deprived (see above, p. 498;
Cicero, Philipp., vii. 1, 1). After this year it will be seen that the duty of striking gold coins
at the Roman mint was entrusted to the ordinary moneyers, and that they continued to
exercise this duty, which was in accordance with the terms of their office, so long as they
were allowed to place their names on the coins.
The types of the gold coins of Cestius and Norbanus are somewhat difficult to explain.
The positions of their names show that those with the head of Africa and the curule chair are
connected with L. Cestius, and those with the Sibyl's head and Cybele in a chariot with C. Nor-
banus. As so little is known of the Cestia gens it can only be inferred that the head of Africa
relates to some event connected with an ancestor who had distinguished himself in Africa, and also
had held the office of curule aedile. The helmet on the chair and the two serpents may refer to
the duties of the curule aediles as superintendents of the games and of public buildings, the
cleansing of the streets, &c. Babelon (vol. ii., p. 260, and vol. i., p. 169) in explaining the type
of Cybele in a chariot refers to a passage in Pliny (Hist. Nat., viii. 21), who relates that
Mark Antony after the battle of Pharsalus trained lions to draw his car, and that he appeared
thus in public. It seems, however, more rational to see in this type an allusion to the
introduction into Rome in B.C. 204 of the worship of Cybele from Pessinus, in accordance with
the commands of the Sibylline books, in which an ancestor of C. Norbanus may have taken
some part. The head on the obverse, especially in the mode of dressing the hair, should be
compared with a similar one on the coins of T. Carisius (see above, p. 529, no. 4060) which has
been identified as that of a Sibyl. This identification of the head seems more suitable than as
that of Venus. The selection of these types would show that L. Cestius and C. Norbanus,
being unwilling to.favour either political party at Rome, adopted the practice of the ordinary
moneyers of illustrating on their coins events connected with the history of their families.
PERIOD XIV.
Circ. B.C. 43—37; A.U.C. 711–717.
THE coins which are classed to the previous Period extend to the end of the
year of Caesar's death. Those of the present one take us from the siege of
Mutina (B.C. 43) to the struggle between Octavius and Sextus Pompey for the
supremacy of the waters of the Mediterranean, the result of which was still in
the balance (B.C. 37). It was during these years that Rome witnessed the
formation of the triumvirate between Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus, under the
original terms of which they constituted themselves the guardians of the State,
and partitioned amongst themselves the government of the western provinces,
over which they were to exercise a quasi-consular rule. By subsequent arrange-
ments they extended their powers to the eastern provinces, and a renewal of the
triumvirate took place in B.C. 37. What effect this compact had on the coinage,
not only of the Roman mint but also on those issued in the provinces, will be
seen later on. Our reason for closing this Period at B.C. 37, and for not extend-
ing it to the end of the triumvirate, which was practically not dissolved till
the defeat of Antony at Actium, and his death (B.C. 31–30), is based on two
main circumstances:—first, that from B.C. 37 till circ. B.C. 16 the names of
...the moneyers cease to appear on the coins; and secondly, that the burial
of most of the finds which relate to this Period took place between B.C. 38–36.
Besides these two lines of demarcation the coinage after B.C. 37 assumes an
entirely new phase, and all the types are in honour of Octavius, his portrait
being usually placed on the obverse, whilst on the reverse are depicted events
connected with his personal history. The coinage in character becomes imperial.
As the present work will be too extensive to be included in a single volume,
this radical change in the coinage of the Roman mint affords a convenient
opportunity for terminating the first volume. The second volume will contain
descriptions of the remaining coinages struck at the Roman mint down to B.C. 3
inclusive, and of those issued in Italy (outside Rome) and in the various provinces.
DENOMINATIONS AND TYPES.—The only denominations struck at the Roman
mint during these years are the aureus in gold, and the denarius in silver.
There were no bronze coins. In the provinces, however, both West and East,
the quinarius was also struck, and bronze money based on the Roman standard
was issued by Antony in the East, and by Octavius in Gaul (see Numismatic
Chronicle, 1904, pp. 185 f.). It has already been noticed that a local bronze
coinage had been instituted in Spain by Cnaeus and Sextus Pompey during
B.C. 46–44 (see above, p. 499).
The change which took place in the nature of the types of the coins during
B.C. 49–44 becomes more marked towards the end of the present Period.
These types may be classified into three series; those which, as previously, relate
to the history of the families of the moneyers; those which record current events;
CIRC. B.C. 43–37; A.U.C. 711–717 555
and those which are specially in honour of the triumvirs. This last series usually
has on the obverse the portraits of the triumvirs. The custom of placing the
portraits of living personages on the money was exceptional at the Roman
mint, but general on the coinages issued in the provinces.
The forms of the moneyers' names are similar to those of the previous
Period, but the individual variations are fewer, i.e. each moneyer keeps more to
a particular form. In the inscriptions the closed P for P still occasionally occurs.
CLASSIFICATION.—The quatuorvirate of the mint, which was established by
Julius Caesar in B.C. 44 (see above, p. 499), is continued, but apparently on the
principle that the right of striking money was only exercised by two of their
number, that is if we accept the view that the mint was always open, and that
the appointment of the moneyers was annual. Count de Salis has therefore
assigned two moneyers to each year, and has based their succession on the
evidence of the coins themselves, and on that of the finds which were then
known to him. Almost the only information which Count de Salis has put on
record in connection with his classification of the Roman republican series relates
to his arrangement of the coinages of this Period. In a manuscript note in
French, the language usually employed by him, he remarks, “En 711 (B.C. 43) le
cuivre cesse pour ne pas reparaitre que vers 738 (B.C. 16) et les quatuorvirs (un
quatrième magistrat monétaire avait été institué l'année précèdente) frappent l'or
aussi bien que l'argent. Ceux de 711 Å 714 (B.C. 43–40) nous sont inconnus, et le
classement de leurs monnaies ne peut €tre qu'approximatif. Les six quatuorvirs
que j'ai placés aux années 715, 716 et 717 (B.C. 39, 38, and 37) nous sont également
inconnus, mais les trouvailles d'Arbanats, de Chantenay, et de Peccioline laissent
guère de doute quant à ces dates. Mussidius Longus et L. Livineius Regulus
ont frappé en l'honneur des trois triumvirs. Lépide disparait sous P. Clodius et
C. Vibius Varus, et Antoine sous C. Voconius Vitulus et Ti. Sempronius Graccus.”
This gradual elimination of the portrait-money of the triumvirs, on which Count
de Salis based in a certain degree his classification of the coinage between
B.C. 39–37, is, however, partly negatived by the find of gold coins at Cajazzo
in Campania in 1878, where aurei of Lepidus struck by P. Clodius as well as
by C. Vibius Varus occurred (see below, pp. 584, 588). The addition of these
gold coins to the series does not, however, affect the general classification.
Before discussing the order of the moneyers of the Roman mint of this
Period, some reference should be made to the various issues of coins of the
Roman standard and types which were struck outside Italy, and the following
chronology of the more important events of Roman history between B.C. 43–37,
so far as they are reflected in the coinage, will afford a general view of the
spread of the provincial issues. These were referred to incidentally in the pre-
ceding Period. These data will also enable us to follow more closely the
evidence of the finds.
B.C. 43.—Siege of Mutina; Antony is defeated by Octavius and the consuls
Pansa and Hirtius, who are slain, and retires to Gaul, where he is joined by
Lepidus. Octavius elected consul leaves Rome, and opens negotiations with
Antony and Lepidus, and they declare themselves a triumvirate for the settle-
ment of the Commonwealth with the title of Triumviri Reipublicae Constituendae,
and divide amongst themselves the government of the western provinces.
556 - COINAGE OF ROME
Lepidus obtains Narbonese Gaul and Spain; Antony, Gaul on both sides of the
Alps; and Octavius, Africa, Sardinia, and Sicily. Italy proper, the hearth of
Boman freedom, is exempted from this proconsular imperium. In the East
Brutus subdues the Thracian tribes; Cassius defeats Dolabella in Syria, and
they subsequently ravage Rhodes and Lycia. -
B.C. 42.—Antony and Octavius cross to Greece and defeat Brutus and
Cassius at the battles of Philippi; both of the so-called liberators perish. Sextus
Pompey seizes Sicily. The triumvirs make a new division of the empire;
Antony assumes the government of the Eastern provinces, Octavius that of the
Western, and Lepidus was to receive Africa conditionally. Italy, as before, is
common to all three. .*
B.C. 41.-War in Italy between Octavius and Lucius Antonius. Siege of
Perusia.
B.C. 40.—Capture of Perusia. Treaty of Brundusium, and reconciliation of
Antony and Octavius. Another division of the Empire is arranged by the
triumvirs, based on that of B.C. 42. Antony retains the Eastern provinces,
Octavius receives the Western, west of Scodra in Illyricum, and Lepidus is con-
firmed in the possession of Africa. Italy still remains neutral ground. Antony
marries Octavia. Labienus and the Parthians invade Syria.
B.C. 39.-Treaty of Misenum (or Puteoli), and admission of Sextus Pompey
to a share of power in Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and Achaia. Antony winters at
Athens. Ventidius, legate of Antony, defeats the Parthians.
B.C. 38.—War between Octavius and Sextus Pompey; the former is defeated
in the bay of Cumae. Wentidius again triumphs over the Parthians.
B.C. 37.—Octavius refuses assistance from Antony; equips another fleet
and attacks Sextus Pompey. Reconciliation of Antony and Octavius, and treaty
of Tarentum. The triumvirate is extended to a second period of five years.
Antony assists Octavius in Sicily, who in return sends an army to Parthia.
The above events are illustrated by issues of coins in the provinces,
which may be briefly enumerated:—
Spain.-Issues of Sextus Pompey, B.C. 45–44; and of Cn. Domitius
Calvinus, as proconsul, in the expedition against the Cerretani, B.C. 39–37.
Gaul.-Issues of Mark Antony after the formation of the triumvirate, B.C.
43–42; and of Octavius after the second division of the empire, B.C. 41–36.
East.—Issues of Caius Antonius as proconsul, B.C. 44–43; of M. Junius
Brutus and C. Cassius, their legates, and praefectus classis (L. Statius Murcus),
B.C. 43–42; of Antony, his generals (Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus and L.
Munatius Plancus), proquaestors, quaestors, and praefecti classis, B.C. 42–35;
of Q. Labienus, B.C. 40–39. -
Sicily.—Issues of Sextus Pompey, B.C. 42–36.
Africa.-Issues of Quintus Cornuſicius as propraetor, B.C. 44–42; of
Lepidus as triumvir, B.C. 40–37, and of Octavius, B.C. 36.
The denominations struck in the provinces are the aureus in gold, and the
denarius and quinarius in silver. The bronze money, which was of the semuncial
and quarter ounce standards, consists of the Sestertius, and its divisions to the
Sextans.
At the Roman mint there was no change at first in the nature of the types.
CIRC. B.C. 43–37 ; A.U.C. 711–717 557
According to Count de Salis's classification, the moneyers from B.C. 43–40
recorded on their coins events connected with the past history of their families.
One of them, L. Flaminius Chilo, however, issued memorial coins of Julius
Caesar bearing his portrait (p. 566). Hitherto, as we have seen (p. 498), the
coinages in gold had been of a special nature, being limited to those of Julius
Caesar himself, or to those of special officers of the State, but now they were en-
trusted to the ordinary moneyers. So far as the classification shows, this duty
was from B.C. 43–40 limited to a single moneyer in each year. In B.C. 39, whilst
still adhering in a measure to the personal nature of the types of their coins,
the moneyers employed others which relate to contemporary events, more
especially in connection with the triumvirs, whose portraits were introduced.
Both the moneyers of this year struck gold coins, on some of which each
one styles himself IIII. VIR. A. P. F (Quatuorvir auro publico feriumdo). By
this gradual development the coinage of the Roman mint is assimilated to those
issued in the provinces. In B.C. 38 the same conditions prevailed, but in B.C. 37
the portraits on the coins are limited to those of Octavius and Julius Caesar, his
adoptive father; those of Antony and Lepidus being excluded.
The classification, proposed by Count de Salis, seems to illustrate in a
remarkable manner the position assumed by the Senate towards the members of
the triumvirate during the years B.C. 43–37. From B.C. 43–40 there are no
traces on the money of the Roman mint of the powers which the triumvirs had
assumed without authority. The appearance of their portraits on the coinages
of B.C. 39–38, which practically coincides with the third division of the
Empire by the triumvirs, shows that the Senate was prepared to acknowledge
their position in the State, and when in B.C. 37 we meet with the portrait of
Octavius only, we have a strong indication of his growing influence in the West
to the exclusion of that of his colleagues. Lepidus by this time had become a
mere dependent on the will of Octavius, and Antony's connection with Cleopatra
not only threatened to sever entirely his friendship with Octavius, but also to
weaken his influence with the Senate. Dion Cassius (xlviii. 34) says that in the
consulship of L. Marcius and C. Sabinus (B.C. 39) the acts of the triumvirs since
their entry into power were ratified by the Senate. The succession of the
moneyers as proposed by Count de Salis appears to be supported not only
historically but also numismatically, and in the main it is confirmed by the
evidence of finds. Mommsen and others, in discussing the evidence of finds,
have suggested a somewhat different sequence of moneyers between B.C. 43–37.
Attention will be drawn to the main points of difference in the notes on the
issues to which they apply.
The hoards, the burial of which appears to have occurred at some time
between B.C. 43—37 or a little later, are twelve in number, and comprise one
near Florence, and others at San Bartolomeo in Sasso Forte (near Reggio, Prov.
di Modena), Vigatto (Prov. di Parma), Santa Anna (Prov. di Modena), Ossolaro
(near Cremona), Pieve-Quinta (Prov. di Romagna), Grosspold (Transylvania),
Borzano (near Reggio, Prov. di Modena), Peccioli (Prov. di Pisa), Arbanats
(Gironde), Garlasco (Prov. di Parma), and Carbonara (Prov. di Bari). The
contents of these hoards will now be briefly noted, with the probable dates of
their burial.
558 COINAGE OF ROME
The Florence hoard, which was discovered in the neighbourhood of that
city in 1875, consisted of about 200 denarii. The find was quickly dispersed
amongst dealers and others, but Bahrfeldt was able to examine about three-
fourths of its contents, consisting of 148 specimens, of which he has given a
description in the Num. Zeit., 1879, pp. 77–82. The earliest pieces date from
the middle of the second century B.C., and are of Q. Marcius Libo, L. Saufeius,
and C. Maianius (circ. B.C. 172–151); those of the last moneyer are assigned
to local issue. The latest coins of the Roman mint are denarii of Mn. Cordius
Rufus (B.C. 46), T. Carisius (B.C. 45), and P. Accoleius Lariscolus (B.C. 41). Of
issues outside Italy there were pieces of Julius Caesar struck in the East,
B.C. 48 (head of Venus and Aeneas and Anchises; Babelon, vol. ii., p. 11, no. 10);
in Africa, B.C. 46 (head of Ceres and emblems of the pontificate ; ib., Vol. ii., p. 14,
no. 16); and in Spain, B.C. 45 (bust of Venus with Cupid and trophy; ib.,
Vol. ii., p. 11, no. 11). All these coins are described as being in mint condition.
The chief interest of the find, which represents but imperfectly the later
issues of the Roman mint, is that its concealment took place at a slightly
earlier date than any of the others which are assigned to this Period, i.e.
circ. B.C. 41.
The San Bartolomeo in Sasso Forte hoard was unearthed in May, 1834.
This small town is situated about five miles from Reggio, and about three from
the Via Emilia. The hoard, consisting of about 431 republican denarii, was
contained in a small earthenware vase. On account of the chalky nature of the
soil the coins were in specially fine condition. They were described by Cavedoni
(Saggio, Appendice C, p. 181; Ripostigli, p. 35). With the exception of two coins,
which were retained by the owner of the land, the whole hoard passed into the
Blste collection. The latest pieces of the Roman mint are those of P. Sepullius
Macer (B.C. 44), P. Accoleius Lariscolus (B.C. 41), and Petillius Capitolinus
(B.C. 40). Of the provincial issues there were coins of Julius Caesar struck in
the East (B.C. 48), in Africa (B.C. 46), and in Spain (B.C. 45), of the same
issues as occurred in the Florence hoard. The presence of the coins of Petillius
Capitolinus in the San Bartolomeo in Sasso Forte hoard shows that it was
slightly later than that discovered near Florence.
The Vigatto hoard was discovered in 1863. This place is a few miles south
of Parma. Sig. Luigi Pigorini, who supplied Mommsen with some particulars of
the hoard (Zeit. f. Num., 1875, pp. 63 f.), was unable to state how many coins
were in it, nor did he record the number of pieces of the various issues. The
earliest denarii date from a little before the middle of the second century B.C.,
and the latest pieces of the Roman mint are those of L. Mussidius Longus and
L. Livineius Regulus (B.C. 39). If we except the denarius of C. Cossutius Mari-
dianus, which was issued at Rome in the year of Caesar's death, these latter were
the only pieces in the hoard which were struck between B.C. 44–39. Of provincial
issues the latest examples are the denarii of Caesar struck in Spain B.C. 45
(bust of Venus with Cupid and trophy; Babelon, vol. ii., p. 11, no. 11), and of
Antony and Julius Caesar, with their heads, struck in Gaul B.C. 42 (M. Anton.
'imp. and Caesar dic.; ib., vol. i., p. 162, no. 5). The Wigatto hoard is slightly
later in date than that of San Bartolomeo in Sasso Forte, and, according to
Count de Salis's classification, its burial should have occurred towards the end of
CIRC. B.C. 43–37; A.U.C. 711–717 559
B.C. 39 or early in the following year. Mommsen (loc. cit.), who was of opinion
that P. Accoleius Lariscolus, Petillius Capitolinus, L. Livineius Regulus, and
L. Mussidius Longus formed a quatuorvirate of the mint in B.C. 43 (A.U.C. 711),
and that the denarius of Antony and Julius Caesar was struck during the siege
of Mutina, has assigned a slightly earlier date to the concealment of this hoard.
Santa Anna, at which place a large hoard of Roman coins was discovered
in 1831, is situated on the right bank of the Panaro, about a mile from the
bridge San Ambrogio, and on the borders of the territories of Modena and Bologna.
The hoard was quickly dispersed, but Cavedoni (Saggio, Appendice A, p. 163, and
C, p. 179; Ripostigli, p. 35) described about 2000 specimens of its contents. On
account of the ferruginous nature of the soil the greater number of the coins were
much oxidized. The hoard contained some specimens of the earliest issues, and
With the exception of the few years before its burial, was very representative of the
whole series. The latest pieces of the Roman mint are those of P. Cornelius
Lentulus Marcellinus (B.C. 42), L. Livineius Regulus (B.C. 39), and P. Clodius
(B.C. 38). Coins of the last moneyer had not occurred in any previously-mentioned
hoard. The provincial coinages were well represented, but not the more recent
issues. The latest pieces in the hoard are those of Julius Caesar struck in Africa,
B.C. 46 (head of Ceres and emblems of the pontificate ; Babelon, vol. ii., p. 14,
no. 26); and in Spain, B.C. 45 (bust of Venus with Cupid and trophy; ib., vol. ii.,
p. 11, no. 11). Mommsen (Hist, mom. rom., t. ii., p. 143) thought that its burial
took place about the same time as those of Willola and Collecchio, but the presence
of coins of several issues struck after Caesar's death compels us to assign it to a
somewhat later date, circ. B.C. 38.
At Ossolaro, about five miles from Cremona, a peasant, in the month of
June, 1876, unearthed a terra-cotta vase containing about 2500 republican coins.
His companions quickly seized the coins and disposed of them. Many, how-
ever, passed into the hands of various persons living at Cremona, and soon
found their way to Milan, Rome, Verona, and Venice. With the assistance of Dr.
Francesco Robolotti, Prof. D. Francesco Pizzi was able to examine the greater
portion of the hoard, of which he has given a detailed description in the Scavi,
1876, pp. 157 f.; 1877, pp. 49 f. The series from the middle of the second
century B.C. as represented by this hoard was unusually complete. The latest
coins of the Roman mint are those of P. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus
(B.C. 42) and P. Clodius (B.C. 38). These were the only issues repre-
sented during the period B.C. 44–38. There were no coins of the provincial
issues of so late a date; the most recent being of Julius Caesar struck in the
East, circ. B.C. 48 (head of Venus and Aeneas and Anchises ; Babelon, vol. ii.,
p. 11, no. 10), and others of Spain, B.C. 45 (bust of Venus with Cupid and trophy;
£b., vol. ii., p. 11, no. 11). Mommsen, who has discussed the date of the burial of
this hoard, and attributed it to circ. B.C. 46 (Zeit. f. Num., 1884, pp. 152 f.), was of
opinion that the two coins of P. Clodius did not form part of the find. Prof. Pizzi,
however, stated that he could not say that the insertion of these coins after the
discovery of the hoard was impossible, but that at least it was improbable.
Mommsen (Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 524) also attributed the coins of Marcellinus to
a date before B.C. 49 (see below, p. 567). Taken in connection with the Santa Anna
hoard, the burial of that of OSSolaro may be put about the same date, i.e. B. c. 38.
560 COINAGE OF ROME
The Pieve-Quinta hoard was discovered in February, 1879, and consisted of
about 1000 denarii. Specimens to the number of 840 were obtained for the
Forli Museum, Pieve-Quinta being situated about eight kilometres from that
city in the Romagna. The hoard was first described by Sig. Antonio Santarelli
(Notizia di un ripostiglio di demari consolari trovato a Pieve-Quinta mel Forlivese,
Forli, 1879). On account of its chronological importance for coins struck after the
death of Caesar, the hoard was re-described by Bahrfeldt, and arranged according
to the Mommsen-Blacas classification (Zeit. f. Num., 1883, pp. 9 f.). Though
it was of considerable extent, and comprised some of the earliest-struck
denarii, there were no quinarii. The series issued after the death of Caesar was
more fully represented than in any one of the previously mentioned hoards of
this Period. Of the Roman mint there were denarii of P. Cornelius Lentulus
Marcellinus (B.C. 42), P. Accoleius Lariscolus (B.C. 41), L. Mussidius Longus and
L. Livineius Regulus (B.C. 39), and P. Clodius and C. Vibius Varus (B.C. 38).
This is the first instance of the occurrence of denarii of C. Vibius Varus in a hoard.
Of the provincial coins it is only necessary to mention those of Antony and Julius
Caesar, with their heads (M. Anton. imp. and Caesar dic. ; Babelon, vol. i., p. 162,
no. 5), struck in Gaul B.C. 42; and of C. Cassius and P. Cornelius Lentulus
Spinther (C. Cassi. imp, and head of Libertas ; rev., Lentulus Spint., and capis
and lituus ; ib., vol. i., p. 336, no. 16), struck in the East B.C. 43–42. The
burial of the Pieve-Quinta hoard probably occurred late in B.C. 38 or early in the
following year.
At Grosspold, near Hermannstadt, Transylvania, there was found in June,
1860, a hoard of about 500 Roman republican denarii. The finders, who were
peasants, engaged in planting an oak forest, disposed of 455 pieces to the
Pfarrer Ackner, by whom a list was supplied to the Imperial Central Com-
mission. This list is published in the Archiv für Kunde österreichischer Ge-
schichts-Quellen, 1863, pp. 311 f. The contents of the hoard, though of less
extent, were very similar to those of the Pieve-Quinta find, except that few of the
later provincial coins were included. Of the Roman mint the most recent pieces
are those of P. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus (B.C. 42), L. Mussidius Longus
and L. Livineius Regulus (B.C. 39), and P. Clodius and C. Vibius Varus (B.C. 38).
The latest coin of the provincial mints is that of Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus,
struck in the East, B.C. 42—41, with rev., prow and trophy (Ahenobar. and Cn.
Domitius imp. ; Babelon, vol. i., p. 467, no. 21). T-
The Borzano hoard was recently discovered by a peasant when working in a
field. Borzano is a village near Scandiano, on the slope of the Apennines. The
hoard was contained in a vase, and was disposed of by the finder to a jeweller.
About one-half was recovered and deposited in the Museum at Reggio, but the
other half was destroyed. The portion of the hoard in the Reggio Museum
consists of 597 denarii and 514 quinarii, which have been carefully described by
Bahrfeldt in chronological order. He also compiled a table showing the relation
between this find and others of the same period (Rev. Num. Belge, 1901, pp. 143-
166). The most remarkable circumstance connected with this one is that it con-
tained a very unusual number of quinarii, more than had been met with in any
other find. Next to it in this respect come those of Carrara with 505
specimens, of San Miniato with 68, of Avenale with 37, and of Pales-
CIRC. B.C. 43–37; A.U.C. 711–717 561
trina with 31. The greater number of these quinarii were struck soon after
the passing of the Lea Clodia, circ. B.C. 104, but there were a few of quite
recent date. After careful comparison with the evidence afforded by other
hoards, Bahrfeldt is of opinion that that of Borzano was buried circ. B.C. 43,
Some years earlier than can be assigned to it under Count de Salis's arrange-
ment. A glance at the Tables of Finds shows that the coinage of each year from
B.C. 42–38, including the two issues of P. Clodius and C. Vibius Varus of the
last date, was represented, though not those of all the moneyers. The latest
provincial coins are the quinarii of Antony (M. Ant. imp. ; rev., Victory
crowning trophy; Babelon, vol. i., p. 162, no. 7), and of Antony and Lepidus
(M. Ant. imp. and lituus, capis and raven; rev., M. Lep. imp. and sacrificial
implements; ib., vol. i., p. 130, no. 29), struck in Gaul, B.C. 43–42; and the
denarii of C. Cassius and P. Cornelius Spinther, as in the Pieve-Quinta find
(C. Cassi. imp. and Lentulus Spint, ; ib., vol. i., p. 336, no. 16), struck in the East,
B.C. 43–42. The burial of this hoard doubtless occurred about B.C. 38.
Near Peccioli, in the Valle d’Era, Prov. di Pisa, a peasant, on the 18th
January, 1854, unearthed a large hoard of republican coins numbering about
6000. Of these from 4000 to 5000 came into the hands of the priest of the
village, who sent to Cavedoni about 150 of the finest specimens, a description
of which is given in the Ammali dell' Inst, arch., 1854, pp. 61, 62. The
conclusions to be drawn from such a very small portion of so large a hoard must
be made with a certain amount of caution. As the coins described by Cavedoni
were in the finest state of preservation, we have some indication of the date of
the burial of the hoard. From the Tables of Finds it will be seen that the latest
coins of the Roman mint in it were almost identical with those in the Borzano
hoard, but those of the provincial mints take us down a little later. There were
specimens of many of the provincial issues attributed by Count de Salis to
B.C. 41–40, including denarii of the quaestor M. Barbatius, bearing portraits of
Antony and Octavius (M. Ant. imp. aug. iiivir, &c., and Caesar imp. pont. iiivir, &c.;
Babelon, vol. i., p. 176, no. 51), struck in the East, circ. B.C. 41. Of Sicily there
was, however, a denarius with the name of Q. Nasidius, one of Sextus Pompey's
admirals, with the rev. type, a galley, which may be classed to B.C. 38–36
(Babelon, vol. ii., p. 252, no. 1). As in the case of the previously named hoards of
Borzano, Grosspold, and Pieve-Quinta, we would also assign the burial of this
one to B.C. 38 or early in B.C. 37. It is most unfortunate for our purpose that
Cavedoni did not give more details of this hoard.
The Garlasco hoard was briefly described by Sig. V. Promis in the Scavi,
1881, pp. 447-450. Garlasco is situated in the province of Pavia. The hoard
consisted of about 500 pieces, of which about 400 were mentioned by Sig. Promis,
who placed the latest at B.C. 38. The most recent pieces of the Roman
mint in this hoard were precisely similar to those found at Peccioli and
Borzano, but the provincial issues take us down to a somewhat later date. As
in the Peccioli hoard, there was a specimen of the denarius of Q. Nasidius struck
in Sicily B.C. 38–36; and, in addition, others of Antony with rev. Pietas
(Ant. Aug. imp. and Pietas Cos. ; ib., vol. i., p. 173, no. 43), struck in Gaul,
B.C. 41; of Octavius and Antony with rev. caduceus (Caesar imp. and Antonius
&mp. ; Babelon, vol. i., p. 164, no. 15), also of Gaul, B.C. 39; and of Ilepidus and
+ 4 C
562 COINAGE OF ROME
Octavius with their heads (Lepidus pont. maa.. iiivir R.P.C. and Caesar imp.
tºvir R.P.C. : ib., Vol. i., p. 132, no. 35), struck in Africa, B.C. 40—37; of Octavius
alone with rev. temple of Julius (Divo Jul. and Cos. iter. et ter. desig. : ib.,
Vol. ii., p. 59, no. 139), also of Africa, B.C. 36. Though coins of the Roman
mint of Q. Voconius Vitulus and Ti. Sempronius Graccus attributed to
B.C. 37 were absent, yet the presence of the denarius of Octavius with rev.
Temple of Julius, Divo Jul., which Count de Salis has assigned to circ. B.C. 36,
shows that the burial of the Garlasco hoard could not have taken place before
that date.
At Arbanats, near Podensac, in the department of Gironde, in the ancient
territory of the Bituriges Vivisci, and about 24 kilometres from Bordeaux, there
was found in 1859 in a vineyard a hoard of republican coins consisting of 966
pieces (Mommsen, Hist. mom. rom., t. ii., p. 146). The hoard in its entirety was
secured by the Duc de Luynes, who presented it to the Cabinet des Médailles
at Paris. Cavedoni (Bull. dell' Inst. arch., 1863, pp. 14 f.) published a complete
list, with details of the numbers of each issue and the condition of the individual
pieces. The most remarkable coin in the hoard was the denarius of Valerius
Messalla, struck circ. B.C. 53 (see above, p. 493), which had not been met
with in any previously recorded find. Mommsen (loc. cit.) refers to the
great similarity between the contents of the Arbanats and Peccioli hoards, but
he does not appear to have noticed that the former contained three specimens of
the denarius of Ti. Sempronius Graccus, attributed to B.C. 37, which had not
been met with in any of the previous hoards, and which Cavedoni (op. cit.,
p. 20) described as being d fleur de coin (see Tables of Finds). Amongst the later
provincial issues there were coins of Octavius and Antony with rev. caduceus
(Caesar imp. and Antonius imp. ; Babelon, vol. i., p. 164, no. 15), struck in
Gaul, B.C. 39; of M. Barbatius, the quaestor of Antony, with heads of Antony
and Octavius, struck in the East, B.C. 41 (ib., vol. i., p. 176, no. 51); and of
Lepidus and Octavius with their heads (Lepidus pont. maa.. iiivir R.P.C. and
Caesar imp. iiivir R.P.C.; ib., vol. i., p. 132, no. 35), struck in Africa, B.C. 40–37.
According to Count de Salis's classification, this hoard, on account of the presence
of the denarii of Ti. Sempronius Graccus, could not have been buried till after
B.C. 37. It is possible that its burial may have slightly preceded that of the
Garlasco hoard.
The Carbonara I. hoard, now mentioned, was discovered in 1882 by a peasant.
It has been already noticed (see above, p. 501) that in 1903 a similar hoard
occurred at this place, the burial of which was of a slightly earlier date.
To distinguish between the two hoards the present one is called the Carbonara I.,
whilst the other is designated the Carbonara II. hoard. This place is
situated in the province of Bari. The hoard was described by Prof. G. de Petra
in the Scavi, 1884, pp. 310 f., and for purposes of comparison he gives also the
contents of those of Ossolaro and Garlasco. Prof. de Petra tells us that the
peasant gave up at first 1476 denarii, but a rumour soon spread that he had
retained a large portion of the hoard. This proved to be the case, and he
subsequently handed over the remainder, consisting of 2430 pieces, which, in
order to escape the penalty incurred by the concealment of treasure-trove, he
said he had found at a latér date, but near the same spot. After a careful
CIRC. B.C. 43–37; A.U.C. 711–717 563
examination, Prof. de Petra was of opinion that both series came from one
hoard. As regards the coins of the Roman mint all the issues from B.C.
41–38 were represented, and in addition this hoard contained a specimen of the
coinage of Q. Voconius Vitulus (B.C. 37) which had not occurred in any one of
those previously mentioned. There were, however, no coins of Ti. Sempronius
Graccus, the moneyer of the same year. The provincial coins were very similar
to those in the Garlasco hoard; there being present denarii of Antony with rev.,
head of Sol (M. Antonius M. f. M. m. augur imp. ter. and iiivir R.P.C. cos. desig.
Žter. et ter. ; Babelon, vol. i., p. 188, no. 80), struck in the East, circ. B.C. 38–37;
of Q. Nasidius struck in Sicily, B.C. 38–36 (ib., vol. ii., p. 252, no. 1); of Lepidus
and Octavius struck in Africa, B.C. 40–37 (ib., vol. i., p. 132, no. 25); and of
Octavius with rev. temple of Julius (Divo Jul. ; ib., vol. ii., p. 59, no. 139), also
struck in Africa, B.C. 36. The burial of this hoard must have occurred during or
soon after B.C. 36, and about the same time as that of Garlasco, and perhaps a
little before that of Arbanats.
There still remains to be mentioned one other hoard, that of Cordova,
discovered in 1834, from which Señ. Fernandez Guerra acquired about 130
denarii. The particulars of this hoard, which were supplied to Mommsen by
Señ. Zobel (Ann. dell’Inst. arch., 1863, p. 75; and Mommsen, Hist, mom. rom.,
t. ii., p. 145), are so vague that we have not considered it necessary to include it
in the Tables of Finds, as any evidence of chronology which it would supply
would be too uncertain. Mommsen, however, remarks that this hoard not only
contained examples of the latest pieces in that of Liria, but that it also
supplied evidence for separating the coins of L. Livineius Regulus, which he
struck as a quatuorvir of the mint, from those issued by him as a praefectus Urbi;
assigning the former to B.C. 43, and the latter to B.C. 38. The question of the
date of this issue will be discussed with the description of the coins (see below
p. 579).
In the above summary of the contents of the somewhat numerous hoards
assigned to this Period (B.C. 43–37), it will be seen that as evidence of the
chronological order of the moneyers they are not quite so satisfactory as
in previous instances. In the earlier finds the series of issues are somewhat
broken, and there are gaps which can only be accounted for by the fact that
a complete find has rarely been described, but, in most instances, only a
limited portion. These lacunae may also be due to the smallness of some of
the issues, as shown by the extreme rarity of many of the coins at the present
day. In the later finds the series are more continuous, but even in these the
years from B.C. 44–42 are but scantily represented. As these hoards were
mostly found in Italy, the absence of many of the later coins of the provincial
issues can be well accounted for, since those struck at a considerable distance
would naturally find their way slowly into Italy, and in a broken order. It is
therefore not surprising that in some cases the provincial coins had been in
circulation some years before the actual burial of the hoard. The presence in
the Garlasco, Arbanats and Carbonara I. hoards of coins of So late a date as
B.C. 36 would tend to show that they were not concealed till after the moneyers'
names had ceased to appear on those struck at the Roman mint.
564 - COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 43; A.U.C. 711 *.
C. CLODIVS C. F. VESTALIS
(CAIUS CLODIUS CAII FILIUS VESTALIS 2)
Aureus
4195 124-7 || AV 75 Bust of Flora r., slightly | Westal virgin,Claudia Quinta,
draped, wearing wreath veiled, seated l., holding
of leaves and flowers, and in 1. hand bowl with two
earring in shape of cross; handles (cymbium)”; be-
hair rolled back, and col- hind, VESTALIS
lected into a knot, which [Pl. lv. 9..]
is decorated with flowers (Borrell Coll.)
or jewels; behind her
shoulders, lily; around
C. CLODIVS C. F
Denarius
4.196 || 58-7 || AR 8 || Similar; Flora wears wreath Similar.
of flowers only. [Pl. lv. 10.]
(Devonshire Coll.)
4197 || 58.2 | AR -75 Similar. Similar.
* The two moneyers whose coins are attributed to this year are C. Clodius C. f. Westalis
and L. Flaminius Chilo, the latter giving his title as a quatuorvir of the mint. He struck only
in silver, but his colleague Clodius issued also gold coins, aurei, and he appears to have been
the first ordinary moneyer who exercised this privilege. Hitherto, as already noticed (pp. 498,
557), gold money had only been issued at Rome either by Caesar or by some special officer
of State. According to Count de Salis's classification the same conditions appear to have
existed at the Roman mint for the next two years. With the exception of those pieces of L.
Flaminius Chilo which bear the head of Julius Caesar, the types of the coins of this year
commemorate events connected with the moneyers’ families.
* This moneyer was formerly identified as one of the sons of C. Claudius Pulcher, who
was praetor B.C. 56, but the recent discovery on the site of the old Forum Clodii, in Southern
Etruria, of two inscriptions dedicated to the proconsul, C. Clodius C. f. Vestalis, shows that the
cognomen of the moneyer was Vestalis (Mommsen, Zeit. f. Num., 1887, pp. 202 f.; C.I.L. xi., 3310a,
3311). It is quite possible that the moneyer may be identified with the proconsul mentioned
in these inscriptions. Mommsen (Hist, mon. rom., t. ii., p. 550) originally associated Clodius
with M. Arrius Secundus, C. Numonius Vaala, and L. Servius Rufus at the mint, and placed
their term of office at circ. B.C. 43, but owing to the absence of any of the coins of Clodius in
the Wigatto, Pieve-Quinta, Peccioli, Garlasco, and Carbonara I. finds, he subsequently suggested
(Zeit. f. Num., loc. cit.) that they must have been struck after the burial of those hoards circ.
B.C. 37, but before B. c. 16, when, in his opinion, the issue of gold coins ceased under the authority
of the Senate, and the right was vested in the Emperor. Though it is difficult to explain the
absence of the coins of Clodius from the finds above mentioned, yet specimens occurred in the
Grosspold hoard, the burial of which did not take place till B.C. 38 or 37. According to Count
de Salis’s classification, if these coins were not struck before B.C. 36 they could not have been
issued till after B.C. 17, and their style and fabric alone would preclude their being attributed
to so late a date. Babelon (vol. i., p. 352) has also attributed their issue to B.C. 43.
* The types of the coins of Clodius are personal to his family. The head of Flora recalls
the Ludi Florales, which one of his ancestors, the consul C. Claudius Centho, had organized in
honour of that divinity in B.C. 240, and the figure on the reverse is that of the vestal, Claudia,
Quinta, famous in connection with the transportation of the image of Cybele from Pessinus to
Rome in B.c. 204 (A.U.C. 550), and to whom the Senate erected a statue, which was placed in the
vestibule of the temple of the goddess. The seated figure is a representation of this statue
(Babelon, vol. i., p. 353). It was from her that the Claudia gens assumed the cognomen
Vestalis.
CIRC. B.C. 43 ; A.U.C. 711 565
No. Weight aft. Obverse Reverse
L. FLANMINIVS CHILO
(LUCIUS FLAMINIUS CHILO 1)
Denarius
Type I.
4198 || 605 || AR 75 Female head (Juno Moneta?) Victory” in biga r., horses
r., wearing diadem, ear- galloping ; she holds
ring in shape of cross, and wreath in r, hand, and
necklace; hair rolled back, reins in 1. ; below horses,
collected into a knot be- L. FLANAIN ; in the ex-
hind, and falling in one ergue, CHILO
lock down the neck; string [Pl. lv. 11.]
of pearls at back of head; (Nott.)
around, IIII VIR PRI.
FL (Quatuorvir, primus
flavit).
4199 || 52.5 | AR 9 || Similar ; the knot of hair | Similar.
is decorated with jewels; (Townley Coll.)
and || || . VIR -
4200 58.4 || AR 8 || Similar ; there is a coil of Similar.
hair at back of head [Pl. lv. 12.]
instead of pearls.
| This moneyer is only known from his coins. He was probably a descendant of L. Fla-
minius Cilo, who also held the office of moneyer at an earlier date, and whose coins are classed
by Count de Salis with the local issues (see ITALY, B.C. 99–94). He is generally associated
in the quatuorvirate of the mint with M. Mettius, P. Sepullius Macer, and C. Cossutius
Maridianus, B.C. 44 (see above, p. 542), but Count de Salis placed his appointment a year later.
A slight change in the portrait of Julius Caesar, and the absence of his name and title on the
obverse, and also the figure of Pax instead of Venus on the reverse of Type II., somewhat
separate this issue from those classed to the previous year. With the exception of the specimen
discovered at Arbanats, no coins of Flaminius occurred in any of the numerous hoards
assigned to this Period.
* This reverse type, like that of the denarius of the elder L. Flaminius Cilo (see Babelon,
vol. i., p. 495, no. 1), probably relates to the victories of the consul, C. Flaminius, in Cisalpine
Gaul in B.C. 223. The head on the obverse has been identified as of Venus, but it may be of
Juno Moneta, and in that case it would refer to the office of the moneyer. In style and treatment
it is precisely similar to the head of Fortuna on the aureus of M. Arrius Secundus struck two years
later (see below, p. 568). Cohen (Mon. rép. rom., p. 137) has interpreted the legend PRI. FL
as Primus Flamen ; Eckhel (Doct. num. vet., t. v., pp. 212, 213) as Quatuorvir Primus Flamdae
(Monetae); and Mommsen (Hist, mon, rom., t. ii., p. 547) as Primus Flavit. Mommsen's ex-
planation seems the most probable one, as the legend would indicate that of the members of the
monetary college L. Flaminius Chilo acted as the superintendent-in-chief of the issue for the
year. This would support the view evidently held by Count de Salis that often only one or two
of the three or four monetarii placed their names on the coinage during their year of office.
The obverse of Type II. is a memorial of Julius Caesar, and the figure of Pax instead of
Venus on the reverse may refer to the reconciliation of Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus, which
resulted in the formation of the first triumvirate. If this meaning is to be attached to this
type, these coins could not have been issued till the autumn of B.C. 43. It may, however, be
the expression of a hope that peace would emanate from the action of those who held the fate
of the State in their hands, -
The occurrence of the aspirate in the name of “Chilo’’ should be noticed in connection
566
COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight ...; º, 62 Obverse Reverse
Type II.
4201 || 589 || AR 8 Head of Julius Caesar r., Pax standing 1., wearing
laureate. long drapery, holding
caduceus in r, hand, and
leaning with 1. on Sceptre;
around, L. FLANMINIVS
|| || . VIR
[Pl. lv. 13.]
4202 || 58.8 || AR 8 || Similar Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
4203 || 55.2 | AR 85 Similar; showing tie of |Similar.
wreath. (Nott.)
Circ. B.C. 42; A.U.C. 712 1
L. SERVIVS RVFVS
(LUCIUS SERVIUS [SULPICIUS] RUFUS 2)
Aureus
4204 || 125.2 AW -8 Conjoined heads of the Bird's eye view of the
Dioscuri r. ; each wear- citadel and walls of
ing laureate pileus Sur- Tusculum ; the gateway
mounted by star; around, is inscribed TVSCVL
L. SERVIVS RVFVS [Pl. lv. 14.]
(Pembroke Coll.)
Denarius
4205 || 63.2 | AR 85 | Head of the tribune Ser- The Dioscuri standing fa-
vius Sulpicius Rufus r., cing, each armed with
bare, and bearded ; spear and parazonium,
around, L. SERVIVS and wearing pileus sur-
RVFVS mounted by star.
[Pl. lv. 15.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
with its absence in that of the moneyer of B.C. 99–94. The aspiration of the letters C, F, and
T in the moneyers’ names dates from about the beginning of the first century B.C. (Mommsen,
Hist. mon. rom., t. ii., p. 195).
A variety of Type I. reads L. FLAMINI for L. FLAMIN (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1896,
p. 120).
* As in the previous year Count de Salis has assigned to this one the issues of two moneyers
only, viz., L. Servius Sulpicius Rufus and P. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus, both ordinary
officers of the mint. Rufus struck in gold and silver, Marcellinus in silver only. The types of
their coins relate to their family history, and do not touch on contemporary events.
* The identification of this moneyer as L. Servius Sulpicius Rufus, the son of Servius Sulpicius
Lemonia Rufus, the celebrated jurist and friend of Cicero, seems extremely uncertain (Babelon,
vol. ii., p. 474). He was one of the subscriptores of his father's accusation against Murena in
B. c. 63, and on the breaking out of the Civil war he joined his father in supporting the cause of
Caesar. At the time of his parent’s death, which took place in B.C. 43, he must have been
considerably advanced in years, and it does not seem probable that he would have acted as
CIRC. B.C. 42 ; A.U.C. 712 567
Metal
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
NAARCELLINVS
([PUBLIUS CORNELIUS LENTULUS]
MARCELLINUS 1)
Denarius
4206 || 63-7 || AR 7 | Head of the consul, M. A tetrastyle temple, towards
Claudius Marcellus, r., which a veiled togate
bare ; behind, triskelis; figure, M. Claudius Mar-
before, moneyer's name, cellus, is bearing a trophy;
NAARCELLINVS at the sides, NMARCEL
LVS COS. OVINO (Con-
Sul quinquies).
[Pl. lv. 16.]
(Blacas Coll.)
4207 | 61.1 | AR -75 Similar. Similar.
-- (Cracherode Coll.)
4208 || 59.9 || AR “75 Similar. Similar.
a moneyer except in connection with some higher office, such as quaestor or aedile, which
cannot in any way be inferred from the coins themselves. The identification of the moneyer
must therefore remain uncertain. In connection with finds assigned to this period, the coins
of Rufus occurred only in that of Santa Anna.
The types of the aureus and of the denarius of L. Servius Rufus refer to one event only,
the relief of Tusculum in B.C. 374 by the Roman military tribune, Servius Sulpicius Rufus, on
which occasion the Latins, having captured the city, forced the inhabitants to take refuge with
their wives and children in the citadel, where the temple of the Dioscuri was situated. The
deities Castor and Pollux were specially worshipped at Tusculum, that city being not far
distant from the site of the battle of Lake Regillus, in which they are said to have taken an
active part. The heads of the Dioscuri on the aureus may be compared for similarity of form
and style with those on the denarii of Mn. Cordius Rufus (see above, p. 523), and the view of
Tusculum with that of the temple of Venus at Erycina on the coins of C. Considius Nonianus
(see above, p. 473).
There are restorations by Trajan of the denarius of this issue.
1 This moneyer was probably the consul of B. c. 18 and the son of P. Cornelius Lentulus
Marcellinus, the quaestor of Caesar B.C. 48; grandson of Cn. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus,
consul B.C. 56; and great-grandson of P. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus, the moneyer of
B.C. 89 (see above, p. 233); who, as we have seen, was the son of M. Claudius Marcellus, but
who had been adopted into the Cornelia gens. Nothing more appears to be known of
this moneyer’s career. Specimens of this issue occurred in the Santa Anna, Ossolaro,
Pieve-Quinta, Grosspold, and Borzano hoards. Mommsen (Hist. mon, rom., t. ii., p. 524) has
attributed the coinage of Marcellinus to circ. B.C. 74–50 (A.U.C. 680–704), but as there were
no specimens of it in the San Gregorio di Sassola, Compito, Cadriano, and San Cesario hoards,
it must have been issued subsequent to B.C. 50. Nor were there any specimens in the finds
attributed to the previous period (B.C. 49–44).
The types of the coins of Marcellinus relate to two great events in the history of his
family, both connected with the career of M. Claudius Marcellus, the most illustrious of all
who bore that name, and who was consul five times. The triskelis or triquetra, the symbol of
Sicily, behind the head of Marcellus records the capture of Syracuse in B.C. 212, and the
temple on the reverse relates to the dedication by Marcellus, in B.C. 222, in the temple of Jupiter
Feretrius, of the spolia opina, which he had taken from the Gaulish chief, Britomartus or
Viridomarus, the leader of the Boii and Insubres, whom he slew with his own hand (Virgil,
Aen., vi. 855 f.).
568 n COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 41 ; A.U.C. 713 *
NA. ARRIVS SECVNDVS
(MARCUS ARRIUS SECUNDUS)
Aureus
4209 | 1242 AW -8 M . ARRIVS - SECVNDVS A spear between a wreath on
around Bust of Fortuna the 1. and a square orna-
r., slightly draped, wear- ment intersected by diago-
ing diadem, earring in nals and surmounted by
shape of cross, and neck- a tuft on the r.”
lace ; hair collected into [Pl. lv. 17.]
a knot behind; locks (Cracherode Coll.)
falling down the neck;
above head, F. P. R. (For.
tuna populi romani).
sº Denarius
Type I.
4210 || 58.8 || AR 8 NW . ARRIVS . SECVNDVS | Similar.
around Head of Quintus [Pl. lv. 18.]
Arrius r., bare, slight (Northwick Coll.)
beard.
* The same conditions appear to have existed at the mint at Rome in B.C. 41 as in the two
previous years; for Count de Salis has again assigned to this year the issues of two ordinary
moneyers, Marcus Arrius Secundus and Publius Accoleius Lariscolus, who commemorate on
their coins events relating to their family history. The former struck coins in gold and silver;
the latter in silver only.
There appears to be no mention in Roman history of the Arria gens before the first
century B.C., but it is more prominent in imperial times. From the types of his coins it would
appear that the moneyer, M. Arrius Secundus, who is the only member of his family of whom
coins are known, was a son of Quintus Arrius, who, when praetor B.C. 72, defeated Crixus, one of
the lieutenants of Spartacus, in the Servile war, killing some 20,000 of the enemy, but was him.
self subsequently defeated by Spartacus. In B.C. 71 Arrius succeeded Werres as propraetor in
Sicily, but died on his way to his province.
* Borghesi (CEuvres compl., t. i., pp. 41-132) gives a history of the Arria gens, and explains
the reverse type of the aureus and that of the denarius as representing the golden spear,
wreath, and military harness, which the Senate presented to Q. Arrius for having saved the re-
public from so grave a crisis as that above mentioned. Babelon (vol. i., p. 220) describes the
object on the right of the spear as the phalerae. It appears, however, rather to be the headgear
of a horse, i.e. a bridle or frontale. Homage was also rendered to the goddess Fortuna of the
Roman people, Fortuna populi romani, by the Senate for this victory. On the denarii we have
the portrait of Q. Arrius, and not of Octavius, as was formerly thought ; and on the reverse of
Type II. is shown Arrius seizing a standard from one of his soldiers which he is about to cast
into the ranks of the enemy, so as to rouse the courage of his men with a view to its recovery.
CIRC. B.C. 41 ; A.U.C. 713 569
Metal
and Size
* Type II.
No. Weight Obverse Reverse
56.5 | AR 8 || M. ARRIVS behind Head | SECVNDVS (in exergue).
of Quintus Arrius r., Two legionary soldiers
bare ; slight beard. walking r. ; the foremost
one, armed with spear,
turns back and seizes
| one of the two standards
| | borne by his companion.
[Babelon, vol. i., p. 221, no. 3..]
Tº . ACCOLE|VS LARISCOLVS
(PUBLIUS ACCOLEIUS LARISCOLUS)
Denarius
4211 61-6 || AR “75 Bust of Acca Larentia r., | Three statues of the Nym-
draped; head closely phae Querquetulanae in
bound with fillet, and form of caryatides facing,
hair arranged in close | supporting on their hands
locks above her fore- and shoulders a beam or
head; around, T - ACCO stand, from which issue
LEIVS LARISCOLVS five trees; the nymph on
the 1. holds a poppy;
that on the r. a lily.
[Pl. lv. 19.]
(Nott)
* The Accoleia gens is only known from coins and inscriptions. The name of P. Accoleius
Lariscolus occurs in an inscription found near Civita Lavinia (L. Borsari, Scavi, T898, p. 66).
Other names of the family, P. Accoleius Euhemerus and L. Accoleius Abascantus, are also found
in inscriptions. Publius Accoleius Lariscolus is the only member of his gens of whom we have
COID S.
The cognomen Lariscolus seems to have the same origin as Lariscus, and to be associated
with the worship of the Lares (Eckhel, Doct. num. vet., t. v., p. 113). We may therefore see
an allusion to the moneyer's name in the types of his coins, a not uncommon occurrence in
the case of the coinage of the Roman Republic.
The bust on the obverse has been identified as that of Acca Larentia or Laurentia, a
mythical person who occurs in the stories of early Roman history. Pliny (Hist. Nat.,
xviii. 2) and Ovid (Fast., iii. 55) have identified her as the wife of the shepherd Faustulus
and the nurse of Romulus and Remus after they had been taken from the she-wolf. Other
accounts are given of her origin, but it seems clear that she was of Etruscan birth and
connected with the worship of the Lares, from which her name Larentia may have been
derived. The annual festival of the Larentalia appears to have been instituted in her honour
(see Mommsen, Röm. Forschwngen, vol. ii., pp. 1 f.). In virtue of her praenomen, Acca, she was
apparently the eponym of the gens Accoleia (Preller, Röm. Myth., 3rd ed., vol. ii., p. 27, note i.).
Borghesi (CEuvres compl., t. i., pp. 365 f.) has recognized in the three figures on the reverse
the Querquetulanae virae, the nymphs who presided over the green forests, and to whom were
consecrated the groves of the Lares on Mount Coelius. Festus (s.v. Querquetulanae) gives

4 D
570 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight º, Obverse Iteverse
4212 || 59.7 | AR 75 | Similar. | Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
4213 || 54.9 || AR 85 | Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
4214 59-7 || AR 75 ' Similar; the head of Acca, ' Similar.
Larentia is not bound [Pl. lv. 20.]
with a fillet, and a long (de Salis Coll.)
- lock of hair en queue falls
down her neck.
Circ. B.C. 40; A.U.C. 714
C. NVNAONIVS VAALA
(CAIUS NUMONIUS VAALA )
Aureus
125-0 || AV -95 Bust of Victory r., hair | A warrior armed with shield
| collected into a knot and sword attacking a
behind, and ornamented vallum, which is defended
with pearls; a plait by two soldiers; on r.,
arranged in a loop at C. NV NW O N | V S ; in
the top of the head. exergue, VAALA
|
4215
i
{
|
}
[Pl. lvi. 1.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
|
|
the following definition of the name:—Querquetwlanae virae putantwr significari Nymphae
praesidentes querqueto virescenti. These nymphs had a sanctuary on the Esquiline, called
the Querquetwlanum sacellum (Varro, L.L., v. 49), and one of the gates at Rome, situated
between Mount Coelius and the Esquiline, was called the Querquetwlana porta. Little,
however, is known of their cult.
In the name Lariscolus on the coins the letter l is taller than the other letters. The use
in inscriptions of the tall l dates from the time of Sulla, and takes the place to some extent
of the more ancient El, which denoted the long vowel. This is its first occurrence on coins
struck at the Roman mint, but from this time it is met with not infrequently.
Specimens of the coinage of P. Accoleius Lariscolas were present in nearly all the finds,
the burial of which are assigned to this Period or slightly later (see Tables of Finds).
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1900, p. 6) mentions a hybrid with the reverse of the denarius of
Lariscolus, and having for obverse type the head of Augustus with the legend , , , , TR .
DOT , ||X,
* The issues attributed to this year are those of Caius Numonius Waala and Petillius
Capitolinus: the former striking in gold and silver; the latter in silver only. They were
evidently ordinary officers of the mint, and the types of their coins record events connected
with the history of their respective families. The coinage of this year is therefore assimilated
to those of the three preceding ones. Babelon (vol. ii., p. 264) has suggested that the
colleagues at the mint of C. Numonius Vaala were M. Arrius Secundus, C. Clodius Pulcher,
and L. Servius Sulpicius Rufus, who would form a quatuorvirate.
* No mention of the Numonia gens occurs in history till late in the Republic or early in
the Empire. We therefore do not know the particular event recorded on the above coins, but
it may be presumed that an ancestor of the moneyer, whose portrait is given on the obverse of
the denarius, received the cognomen Vaala (Vallum) for some act of bravery such as is depicted
on the coinage of his descendant. Of the moneyer himself nothing certain is known beyond
what we learn from his coins, but Horace (circ. B. c. 22) addressed one of his Epistles (i. IB) to
a Numonius Vaala, whose praenomen he does not give, but who may be the moneyer of these
coins (Babelon, loc. cit.).
A likeness of Fulvia, the first wife of Mark Antony, has been traced in the features of
CIRC. B.C. 40 ; A. U.C. 714 571
- e Metal
No. Weight 0.71. #. Obverse Reverse
Denarius
4216 62.5 | AR 85 Head of Numonius Vaala Similar; legend, VAALA
r., bare ; around C. NV only, in exergue.
MONIVS VAALA [Pl. lvi. 2.]
- (Cracherode Coll.)”
TETILLIVS CATITOLINVS
(PETILLIUS CAPITOLINUS )
Denarius
Type I.
4217 62-0 || AR 8 Head of Jupiter r.; behind, PETILLIVS below Temple
CATITOLINVS of six columns; between
- three of which are hang-
ing Ornaments; the pedi-
ment is decorated with
| demi-horses at the sides,
and a demi - horseman
at the apex; in the in-
- tervals, crockets; in the
tympanum, an eagle (?).
[Pl. lvi. 3..]
(Blacas Coll.)
4218 60.6 AR “7 Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
4210 594 At 75 Similar. Similar.
i * (de Salis Coll.)
Victory on the obverse of the aureus. The bust is very similar to that on the quinarius which
was struck by Antony in B.C. 43 or 42, and which is attributed to Lugdunum (Babelon, vol. i.,
p. 168, no. 32). It does not, however, seem probable that the Senate, which appears as yet not to
have admitted the portrait of Antony as triumvir on the coinage of the Roman mint, would
allow that of his wife to be depicted. It might therefore be only a coincidence, and it is not
impossible that the engraver, when preparing the dies for his coins, may have taken the piece
struck by Antony as his model or pattern for the obverse (see also the denarius of L. Mussidius
Longus, p. 575, no. 4229). A portrait of Calpurnia, wife of Julius Caesar, is similarly supposed
to be represented in the features of Venus, whose bust is found on an aureus commemorating
his fifth consulship (see above, p. 540).
The duplication of the vowel in the cognomen Vaala is an archaism which occurs in only
two other instances on Roman republican coins, viz., in that of Feelia, on coins of Faustus
Cornelius Sulla (see above, p. 472, no. 3826), and in that of C. Vibius Varus (see below, p. 587).
* The name on the obverse is no doubt that of the moneyer, whilst that on the reverse
would refer to the person portrayed on the obverse.
A variety of the denarius has the legend on the reverse similar to that on the aureus. It
is probably a hybrid caused by an interchange of dies (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 265, no. 3).
The denarius of Waala was restored by Trajan.
* The cognomen Capitolinus was borne by several Roman gentes, denoting that at some time
they had dwelt on the Capitoline hill. For the Petillia gens it would appear to have had a special
signification, since we may gather from the types of the above coins that the family held some
572 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
Type II.
4220 | 62-7 || AR 7 || An eagle, with spread Similar ; the pediment of
wings, standing towards the temple is ornamented
r. on thunder-bolt; above, with armed figures in-
DETILLIVS; below, CAT stead of crockets; in the
|TO LINVS tympanum is a seated
figure of Jupiter between
two other figures, re-
clining (?); no legend.
[Pl. lvi. 4.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
4221 | 54-5 | AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
4222 || 60-5 | AR 75 Similar. Similar ; in the field at the
sides of the temple, the
letters S F (Sacris faci-
wndis).
[Pl. lvi. 5.]
4223 || 59-3 || AR “75 Similar. Similar.
(Townley Coll.)
4224 || 59-3 || AR “75 Similar. Similar ; the letters in the
field transposed, F S for
S F
[Pl. lvi. 6.]
(Blacas Coll.)
4225 | 58-0 || AR 75 | Similar. Similar.
hereditary office connected with the temple of Jupiter which stood on the Capitol. The
scholiast of Horace (Sat., i. 4, 24) relates that a Petillius Capitolinus, who was in charge of
the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, was accused of having stolen the crown of Jupiter, but
was acquitted by the judges in consequence of his being a friend of Augustus. It is not
improbable that this Petillius Capitolinus was the moneyer, and that he subsequently
succeeded to the family office, which is commemorated by the types of the coins. He is the
only member of the Petillia gens of whom we possess coins. The letters S. F or F. S were
interpreted by Vaillant (Num. fain. Tom., t. ii., p. 221) as sacris faciundis, an allusion to the
functions discharged by the members of the Petillia family in regard to the temple of Jupiter.
Havercamp suggests Sexti filius, while Eckhel offers no solution. Babelon (vol. ii., p. 291)
considers that the coins of Petillius Capitolinus and P. Accoleius Lariscolus were struck in
B.C. 43. As, however, he had already assigned to that year the issues of M. Arrius Secundus,
C. Clodius C. f. Pulcher, C. Numonius Vaala, and L. Servius Sulpicius Rufus (ib., Vol. i., p. 85),
he is of opinion that Petillius and Accoleius did not strike money as ordinary officers of the
mint, but as quaestors of the army of the Senate. The coins themselves supply no evidence
for such a statement; moreover, there is no historical record that either Petillius or Accoleius
ever held the office of quaestor. The coins of Petillius appear to have been the latest pieces
in the San Bartolomeo in Sasso Forte find (see Tables of Finds).
CIRC. B.C. 39 ; A.U.C. 715 573
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 39 ; A.U.C. 715
L. NAVSS|D|VS T , F , LONGVS
(LUCIUS MUSSIDIUS TITI FILIUS LONGUS)
SERIES I.
Type I.
Aureus
4226 1248 AW -8 | Head of Mark Antony r., Mars, helmeted and naked,
bare, with beard; around, standing r., leaning with
M.ANTONIVS. III VIR. r. hand on spear, and
R. T. C (Triumvir rei- holding in his 1., para-
publicae constituendae). Zonium, to which is
attached a strap; his 1.
foot is placed upon a
shield; around, L. NAVSSI
DIVS. T. F. LONGVS. I |||.
VIR. A.P.F. (Quatuorvir
auro publico feriumdo).
[Pl. lvi. 7.]
(Wigan Coll.)
* The moneyers whose coins are assigned to this year are Lucius Mussidius T. f. Longus
and Lucius Livineius Regulus, both of whom struck in gold and silver. These are the latest
pieces of the Roman mint which occurred in the Wigatto find. Babelon (vol. ii., p. 240) assigns
these coinages to B.C. 43–42, and associates with Mussidius and Livineius, P. Clodius M. f.
and C. Vibius Varus, thus completing a quatuorvirate of the mint, but Count de Salis has
attributed the issues of these last two moneyers to B.C. 38 (see below, p. 582).
With this year we enter on a somewhat new phase in the character of the types of the coins
struck at Rome. Previously the only portraits of living personages which had appeared on
these coins were those of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony (see above, pp. 542, 550). In B.C. 39
we have not only memorial portraits of Julius Caesar, but also the portraits of the triumvirs,
Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus (see above, p. 557). A special order appears to have been issued
in connection with the striking of the gold coins with the portraits of the triumvirs, as shown
by the letters A. T , F (Auro publico feriumdo) to be found on some pieces of both the moneyers
of this year. Though no attempt had been made to portray living personages on the coins of
the Roman mint since Caesar’s death, beyond that of Antony above mentioned, the practice
had been general in connection with those issued in the provinces. Brutus in his flight to
the East struck coins with his own portrait ; and from B.C. 43 those of Antony, Octavius, and
Lepidus appeared on many, both of gold and silver, issued by them in their respective provinces
in the East, Gaul, and Africa. From this time onwards the coinage lost a great deal of
its official character, and was invested with a personality previously remarkable for its absence.
The types employed by the moneyers of this year may be divided into two series: one
relating to contemporary events; the other connected with the traditions of their respective
families. By retaining the second class of types it would seem that the moneyers were
unwilling to abandon a long-established custom.
Of the moneyer Lucius Mussidius Longus, the son of T. Mussidius Longus, we know
nothing but what we learn from his coins. No mention is made of the Mussidia gens by
ancient writers, and L. Mussidius is the only member of whom we possess coins. The types,
as already mentioned, are of two series: the first relating to the triumvirs and contemporary
events; the second, evidently to a tradition connected with his own family. The figure of
Mars, and Victory in a biga, on Types I. and II. are intended as a tribute to the triumvirs,
probably more especially in connection with the victories over Brutus in the East. The
cornucopiae on Type III., the head of Ceres and the corn-wreath on Type IV., and the head
of Concordia and the joined hands holding a caduceus on Type W., and possibly also the
cornucopiae on a celestial globe, &c., on Type VI., may relate to the agreement between
574 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
Type I. var. a
Aureus
4227. 1239 || AV 8 Head of Octavius' r., bare, Similar ; the legend starts
- with slight beard; around, from behind the figure of
C. CAESAR . Ill. VIR . R. Mars; A. P. F. for A. P. F.
D . C - [Pl. lvi. 8.]
| (Pembroke Coll.)
Type I. var. b
Aureus
4228 123-6 || AV 8 Head of Lepidus 1., bare; Similar; the legend starts
around, NA. LEPIDVS above the figure of Mars,
||| . VIR . R. . Tº . C as on no. 4226; A. T. F.
[Pl. lvi. 9..]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Octavius and Sextus Pompey concluded early in B. c. 39, by which the latter pledged himself
to provide Italy with corn in return for the provinces of Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and Achaia,
the augurship, an indemnification of seventeen and a half millions of denarii for his private
fortune, and a promise of the consulship. For some time previously Sextus had cut off the
supply of provisions to Italy, which had caused great distress both inside and outside the
capital. It seems therefore probable that the gold and silver coins with these types were
specially struck to meet an extraordinary expenditure on this occasion. This would not only
account for the representation of the head of Juno Moneta on Type IV. var., but also for the
somewhat coarse fabric of some of the aurei, the dies for which may have been executed at
a short notice. In connection with the portrait of Octavius, which is represented with a slight
beard, it may be observed that, as a sign of mourning, he did not shave from the time of Caesar's
murder till after the war with Sextus Pompey in B.C. 36, who was the last survivor of his
uncle’s murderers. Dion Cassius (xlviii. 34) relates that Octavius shaved his beard in B.C. 39,
when L. Marcius Censorinus and C. Calvisius Sabinus were consuls, on the occasion of the
celebration of the public games, but the evidence of the coins proves that he did not shave
till after the defeat of Sextus Pompey, three years later.
The most interesting types of the coins of Mussidius, and perhaps the most difficult to
explain, are those connected with Venus Cloacina. The name Cloacina (derived from cluere or
cloare, to wash, cleanse, or purify) was that given to Venus Eaſpiatria. Pliny (Hist. Nat., xv.
36) relates that after their combat the Romans and the Sabines purified themselves with branches
of myrtle on the spot where later were erected the statues of Venus Cloacina. These statues
stood on the north side of the Forum near the Comitia, and above the Cloaca, Maſcima. It
would seem from the coins that Venus Cloacina had not a temple in the Forum, but that the
monument erected to her consisted of a circular platform with a trellis-pattern balustrade.
The approach was on the left side, and is indicated by a flight of steps and a portico. On this
platform were placed the statues of the goddess (cf. H. Thédenat, Le Forum romain, p. 87).
As Pliny speaks of sigma, we may conclude that both statues shown are of Venus, but probably
representing her under different aspects. The platform still exists in the Forum, and there
are indications on it where the statues were placed. The head of Concordia in connection with
this reverse records the close union and friendship which was established between the Romans
and the Sabines, who settled on the Quirinal, and built there a temple to the god Sol, whose
cult they specially honoured (Preller, Röm. myth., 3rd ed., vol. i., pp. 324, 325). To this
circumstance we would attribute the association of the head of Sol with Venus Cloacina on
the coinage. This solution of this interesting type has been arrived at quite independently
of Dr. Dressel's views, expressed in Das sacrum Cloacinae, Wiener Studien, xxiv. Jahrg.,
pp. 418 f. Dr. Dressel thinks that the portico on the left may be the Basilica Aemilia.
Babelon (vol. ii., p. 241) suggests that the two figures standing on the platform (which he
describes as a vessel) are Romulus and Tatius, the king of the Sabines. It is difficult to
account for the association of this type of Venus Cloacina with the Mussidia gens. It may
have been that an ancestor of the moneyer was traditionally connected with the erection of
these statues, or that the family claimed to be of Sabine origin. The types are evidently in
some way to be associated with the moneyer's family. The moneyer's name is given some-
times in the genitive case (see No. 4235, p. 576).
! After the death of Julius Caesar Octavius took the name of Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus.
He is from that time variously styled by ancient writers, Octavius, Octavianus, or Caesar. For
simplification the first name is here used till he was created Augustus.
CIRC. B.C. 39 ; A.U.C. 715 575
No. Weight º, Obverse Reverse
Type II.
Denarius
4229 59.9 || AR 8 Bust of Victory r., draped, Victory in biga r., horses
hair collected into a knot galloping; she holds
behind, and ornamented goad in r. hand, and
with pearls; a plait also reins in l. ; above, L -
decorated with pearls is NAVSS I D IV S ; below,
arranged in a loop at the LONGVS
top of the head." [Pl. lvi. 10.]
| (Cracherode Coll.)
Type III.
^.ureus
4230 125-3 || AV 8 | Head of Mark Antony r., Cornucopiae tied with fillet;
bare, with beard; around, between, L. NAVSSIDIVS
NW. ANTONIVS. I ||.VIR. on 1. ; LONGVS on r.
R . Tº . C [Pl. lvi. 11.]
Type III. var. a
Aureus
4231 || 123-2 || AV 8 | Head of Octavius r., bare,
with slight beard; around,
C. CAESAR . || | . VIR, . R. .
Tº . C
Similar.
[Pl. lvi. 12.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Type III. var. b
Aureus
4232 1237 || AV 8 | Head of Lepidus 1., bare; Similar.
around, NW . LEPIDVS. [Pl. lvi. 13.]
|||. VIR, . R. Tº . C ! (Blacas Coll.)
1 Owing to the similarity of this bust of Victory to that figured on the aureus of C. Nu-
monius Waala (see above, p. 570), especially in the arrangement of the hair, this one also is
generally described as bearing the features of Fulvia, the first wife of Antony (Babelon, vol. ii.,
p. 242, no. 4). As, however, Fulvia died in B. c. 40, and these denarii do not appear to have
ibeen struck till the following year, by which time Antony had married Octavia, the resemblance
between the types may only be due to the fact that the artist who made the dies took the earlier
piece for his model. The drapery on the bust of Victory described above is copied from that on
the figure of Acca Larentia as shown on the denarii of P. Accoleius Lariscolus (see above, p. 569).
576 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight a.º. Obverse Reverse
Type IV.
Aureus
4233 |124-2 || AV 8 || Head of Ceres r., wear. L. MV SS ID | VS
ing wreath of corn and L O N GVS
necklace; hair falling in Wreath of corn, tied
numerous close locks above.
within
down her neck. - [Pl. lvi. 14.]
(Payne Knight Coll.)
4234 | 124°4 || AV 8 Similar. Similar ; Hºp ;
wreath tied below."
[Pl. lvi. 15.]
Type IV. var.
Aureus
4235 | 125'5 A 8 || Head of Juno Moneta (?) r., L. MVSSID within Wreath
wearing diadem and | LONGI
necklace; hair falling in of corn, tied above.
numerous close locks [Pl. lvi. 16.]
down her neck.” (Nott)
Type W.
Denarius
4236, 57.3 | AR 75|Head of Concordia r. Two right hands joined
veiled, and wearing dia- holding caduceus; below,
dem ; behind, CONCOR L. NAVSSIDIVS LONGVS
DIA [Pl. lvi. 17.]
(Nott)
Type VI.
Denarius
4237 64-0 || AR 7 | Head of Julius Caesar r., | Cornucopiae on celestial
laureate. globe, between rudder on
1. and winged caduceus
and flamen's cap on r. ;
above, and on r., L.
NAVSS|D|VS. LONGVS
[Pl. lvi. 18.]
* Another variety reads L. §§| D | (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 242, no. 2).
* Babelon (loc. cit.) does not appear to have noticed this variation in the obverse type,
viz., that the head is diademed, and does not wear a corn-wreath. In this instance we
would identify it as of Juno Moneta.
CIRC. B.C. 39; A.U.C. 715 577
No.
4238
4239
4240
4241
4242
4243
4244
4245
4246
4247
Weight
63-3
59.9
57-4
56.5
63-8
59.8
61.7
57.0
58-7
57.0
Metal
and Size
AR. 7
AR. 75
AR 7
AR 7
AR. 65
AR 7
AR. 8
AR, 75
AR. 7
AR. 75
Obverse Reverse
Similar. Similar; moneyer's name
above the type.
[Pl. lvi. 19.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar. Similar; moneyer's name
continuous above and on
1. of type.
(Blacas Coll.)
Similar. Similar; moneyer's name
reading downwards on 1.
and below the type.
[Pl. Ivi. 20.]
(Blacas Coll.)
SERIES II.
Type VII.
Denarius
Head of Concordia r., A circular platform orna-
veiled, and wearing dia-
dem ; behind, CONCOR
DIA (similar to no. 4236).
Similar.
Similar ; star' below chin
of Concordia.
Similar.
Similar ; crescent below
chin of Concordia.
Similar.
mented with a trellis-
pattern balustrade, and
inscribed CLOACIN ; on
it are two draped statues
of Venus Cloacina ; each
statue rests r. hand on
cippus ; the One on 1.
holds flower in l. hand ;
on the platform to r. is
a low column sur-
mounted by an orna-
ment, and to 1. of the
platform is a flight of
steps and a portico; above,
L. NAVSS|D|VS. LONGVS
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
[Pl. lvii. 1.]
Similar.
[P1. lvii. 2.]
(Nott)
Similar.
Similar.
[Pl. lvii. 3..]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
1 The star and the crescent (see no. 4246) may relate to the worship of Sol and Diana
which was introduced into Rome by the Sabines.
4 E
578
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
4248
4249
4250
4251
4.252
Weight
59.0
58.2
57.6
51.8
60.4
123-1
125-1
Metal
and Size
AR, 75
AR 8
AR '8
AR, 7
AR, 75
AR, 75
AR. 75
AV '85
AV '85
| Similar.
Obverse
Type VII. var.
Bust of Sol facing, radiate
and draped.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Reverse
Similar.
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
[Pl. lvii. 4.]
(Woodhouse Coll.)
Similar.
(Woodhouse Coll.)
Similar ; the platform is
inscribed CLOAC, and
each of the statues rests
r. hand on a bird which
Stands on the cippus."
(de Salis Coll.)
Similar.
[Pl. lvii. 5.]
| Similar.
L. LIVINEIVS REGVLVS
(LUCIUS LIVINEIUS REGULUS )
SERIES I.
Type I.
Aureus
Head of Mark Antony r.,
bare, with beard ; around,
NA. ANTONIVS. I ||.VIR .
R. D. C (Triumvir re-
publicae constituendae).
The hero, Anteon, naked to
the waist, seated towards
l, head facing, on rocks,
his shield at his side;
he holds spear in r. hand,
and parazonium in 1. ;
around, commencing onl.,
L. REGVLVS. I || | . VIR .
A. P. F (Quatuorvir auro
publico feriumdo).
[Pl. lvii. 6.]
(Wigan Coll.)
Similar; shield ornamented
with head of Medusa or
Hercules, and legend
commencing on r., and
A. T , F for A. P. F
[Pl. lvii. 7.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
* Bahrfeldt (Zeit. f. Num., 1877, p. 49) describes a variety on which the legend CLOACA
and the moneyer’s name are retrograde.
* Lucius Livineius Regulus, like his colleague L. Mussidius Longus, is not known to us
from history, and our information about him is derived only from his coins, which tell us that
CIRC. B.C. 39; A.U.C. 715 * 579
Metal
No. & &
No. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
Type II.
Aureus
4257|1250 AW 8 Head of Octavius r., bare; Aeneas walking r., and
around, C. CAESAR III . bearing on his shoulders
VIR . R. Tº . C his father, Anchises;
around, from l. upwards,
L. REGVLVS || || . VIR .
A . P . F.
[Pl. lvii. 8.]
(Trattle Coll.)
4258 || 127-1 | AV 8 Similar. Similar ; legend from 1.
downwards, and A. P. F
for A. P. F.
[Pl. lvii. 9..]
(Wigan Coll.)
he was the son of Lucius Livineius Regulus, the praetor, who, with his brother Marcus, was
a friend of Cicero, and who appears to have served under Caesar in the African war, B.C. 46
(Hirtius, Bell. Afr., 89). As already stated (see above, p. 573), Babelon has associated
P. Clodius M. f. and C. Vibius Varus with Mussidius and Livineius as colleagues at the mint.
The coins of Livineius raise an issue which, besides being a novel one, is somewhat
difficult to settle. From them it appears that he struck money as a quatuorvir of the mint
and as a praefectus Urbi. The question has been discussed by Babelon (vol. ii., p. 142) who
says, “one of two hypotheses must be admitted, either that the coins were struck by two
different persons, one as a magistrate of the mint between B.C. 43–42, the other as praefectus
Urbis, perhaps in B.C. 45, with L. Munatius Plancus, to whom, with others, Caesar during his
absence in Spain committed the government of Rome, or that the moneyer on the completion of
his term of office was elevated to the rank of praefectus Urbis, and in that capacity continued
to issue money.” Babelon accepts the second hypothesis. The evidence of finds is against any
interval having existed between the two issues, viz., those on which he is styled a quatuorvir
and those on which he is styled praefectus Urbi. We may, therefore, suggest a third hypo-
thesis, which is, that during his year of office, as a moneyer, Livineius was promoted to the rank
of a praefectus Urbi, specially to superintend the issue of corn to the Roman people and the
celebration of the public games. The coin-types bear witness to this last suggestion, but they
contain no evidence whatever that the issue could have taken place as early as B.C. 45. Had
they been struck at the earlier date they would probably have borne, like the coins of Plancus,
some special reference to Julius Caesar himself. A somewhat similar case to that of Livineius
will be found in connection with the moneyers Q. Voconius and Ti. Sempronius Graccus, who
were quaestores designati during their year of office at the mint (see below, pp. 591, 593).
Mommsen (Hist. mon, rom, , t. ii., p. 146) was of opinion, on the evidence of the Santa Anna and
Cordova finds, that the coins struck by Livineius as a moneyer were issued in B.C. 43, and those
as praefectus Urbi in B.C. 38, on the ground that the burial of these two hoards took place about
the same time as the concealment of those discovered at San Niccolò di Villola and Collecchio,
i.e. circ. B.C. 44 (see above, pp. 501, 502). The classification suggested by Count de Salis, how-
ever, would bring down the burial of the Santa Anna find to a somewhat later date, so we are
unable to accept the conclusions arrived at by Mommsen. Also, the portraits of the triumvirs
were not placed on the coinage struck at Rome so early as B. c. 43 (see above, p. 557).
The types of the coins of Livineius Regulus, like those of Mussidius Longus, are of two
series: one relating to the triumvirs, Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus; the other to himself or his
family and to contemporary events. The coins of the first series were struck by Livineius as a
quatuorvir of the mint; those of the second in his capacity as praefectus Urbi. The reverse types
(I.-III.) of the coins in honour of the triumvirs record the origin of their families—the descent of
the Antonia gens is traced from Anteon, a son of Hercules; that of the Julia gens from Venus
through Aeneas; and that of the Aemilia gens from the vestal virgin Aemilia. Type IV. is
complimentary to Octavius as a commander. The types of the second series record the appoint-
ment of the moneyer's father as praetor and his own appointment as praefectus Urbi symbolized
by the curule chair and the fasces; the provisioning of the city, probably after the compact
between Octavius and Sextus Pompey, as shown by the modius and the ears of corn; and
the celebration of the public spectacles, at which combats with wild animals and bulls took
place, as illustrated on Type VIII. of the denarius. Pliny (Hist. Nat., viii. 45) relates that
Caesar, when dictator, introduced bull-fights, in which the Thessalians showed special skill.
These spectacles were under the direction of the praefects of the city. It is quite possible that
in consequence of the peace with Sextus Pompey the public games were celebrated with greater
580
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
4259
4260
4262
4263
Weight
123-2
50-9
61.2
60-4
123.5
Metal
and Size
AW -8
AR -75
AR, 7
AR, 7
AW -8
Obverse Reverse
Type III.
Aureus
Head of Lepidus r., bare; The Vestal virgin, Aemilia,
around, NA. LEPIDVS. veiled and draped, stand-
|||. VIR . R. Tº . C. ing 1., holding simpulum
in r. hand, and Sceptre
in 1. ; around, L. REG
VLVS || ||. VIR. A. P. F.
[Pl. lvii. 11.]
(Dupré and Wigan Coll.)
Type IV.
Denarius
Head of Octavius r., bare,
with slight beard; around,
CAESAR || | . VIR, . R. .
Tº . C
the praetor, r., bare ;
around, from 1. upwards,”
REGVLVS. T. R. .
Victory naked to the hips,
walking r., bearing
wreath in r. hand, and
palm-branch in 1.; around,
L.LIVINEIVS (from l. up-
wards); REGVLVS (from
1. downwards).
[Pl. lvii. 10.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
SERIES II.
Type W.
Denarius
Head of Lucius Regulus, Curule chair between two
the praetor, r., bare ; fasces; above, REGVLVS.
around, L. REGVLVS. F (filius); below, PRAEF.
DR. (Praetor). VR (Praefectus Urbi).
[Pl. lvii. 12.]
Similar. Similar.
(Nott)
Type VI.
Aureus
Head of Lucius Regulus, Curule chair between six
fasces, three on either
side ; above, L - LIVINE
IVS; below, REGVLVS
[Pl. lvii. 13.]
(Devonshire Coll.)
splendour in B.C. 39. Dion Cassius (xlviii. 34) says that in that year Octavius celebrated a
great festival, and regaled the people of Rome at a banquet at the public expense.
This may
refer to the public games with which these coins seem to be connected. The caduceus and the
olive-branch on the coins with the head of Julius Caesar, like the modius and the ears of corn
on the other coins, may also refer to the restoration of commerce in Italy on the conclusion of
the war in Sicily.
* A variety of this aureus has the inscription reading from 1. downwards, as on the
denarii of this type (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 144, no. 9).
CIRC. B.C. 39 ; A.U.C. 715 581
Metal
and Size
| Denarius'
No. Weight Obverse Reverse
AR. 75 Similar ; legend reading Similar.
| from 1. downwards. [Pl. lvii. 14.]
| (Nott)
|
AR 85 Similar. Similar.
AR 75 Similar. | Similar
4264 61.4
4265 58.
4266 57.
Type VI. var.
Denarius
4267 62-0 | AR 75 | Head, small, of Lucius Similar.
Regulus, the praetor, r., [Pl. lvii. 15.]
bare ; * no legend.
4268 || 61.4 || AR 7 || Similar. Similar.
(Nott)
Type VII.
Denarius
4269 59.7 | AR 75 | Similar. | Modius filled with corn
between two corn-ears
on stalks ; * above, L.
LIVINEIVS; in exergue,
REGVLVS
[Pl. lvii. 16.]
42.70 || 59-7 | AR 8 Similar. Similar.
Type VIII.
Denarius
4271 | 66.4 AR 75 | Similar. Combat with wild beasts;
one combatant attacks
a lion with a spear;
another, with shield and
sword, defends himself
against a tiger; on the
| 1., a wounded boar; in
tº exergue, L. REGVLVS
| [Pl. lvii. 17.]
| (Nott)
1 Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 5; pl. viii., no. 177) describes and figures a specimen of
this type in the Gotha collection, showing that the die-engraver having omitted the letter I in
the moneyer's name on the reverse, has inserted it above the line. There is a hybrid consisting
of the reverse of this denarius and of the obverse of that of Q. Cassius Longinus (see above,
p. 481, no. 3868; Babelon, vol. ii., p. 144).
* On this and the following coins the head of Lucius Regulus is smaller than on the
previous ones.
There was a hybrid in the Grosspold hoard consisting of the obverse of this type, head
of L. Regulus, and of the reverse of the denarius of Sulla with a one-handled jug and lituus
between two trophies (Babelon, vol. i., p. 406, no. 29; and Archiv f. Kunde öster. Geschichts-
Qwellen, 1863, p. 315).
* This type was restored by Trajan.
582
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
4272
4273
4274
*4276
Weight
59.3
53-0
60-2
59.9
59.0
123-4
|
Metal
and Size
AR, 75
AR. 8
•65
AR •75
AR. 8
|
Obverse Reverse
Similar. Similar.
Similar ; counter - marked Similar.
behind head, NMP . VES :
(retrograde). |
Type IX.
Denarius
Head of Julius Caesar r., | Bull charging r., above,
laureate; before, winged L - LIVINEIVS; below,
caduceus; behind, laurel- REGVLVS
branch." (Blacas Coll.)
Similar. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar. Similar.
Circ. B.C. 38;
[Pl. lvii. 18.]
A.U.C. 716 °
Tº . CLODIVS NA . F
(PUBLIUS CLODIUS MARCI FILIUS)
SERIES I.
Type I.
Aureus
Head of Mark Antony r.,
bare, with beard; around,
NA . ANTON IVS . I || .
VIR . R. D. C (Triumvir
reipublicae constituen-
dae),
Genius, winged and radiate,
standing l., his r, foot
placed on globe ; he
holds caduceus in r.
hand, and cornucopiae
in l., and has a bow
and quiver slung at his
shoulders; before him,
an eagle on a cippus ;
behind, a shield ; around,
Tº . CLODIVS. NA. F. || ||.
VIR . A . T. F (Quatuor-
vir auro publico feri-
undo).
(Imhoof-Blumer Coll.)
! Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 148) mentions a forgery of this denarius in gold in the
Borghesi collection ; and another in the Gotha collection on which the name REGVLVS is
missing on the reverse.
The latter exists also in silver in the Wienna Cabinet.
* The moneyers whose coins are attributed to this year are Publius Clodius M. f. and
Caius Vibius Varus.
Babelon (vol. ii., p. 141) would associate with them L. Mussidius Longus

CIRC. B.C. 38; A.U.C. 716 583
No. Weight dº. Obverse Reverse
Type II.
Aureus
4277 | 124-7 || AV '85 | Head of Octavius r., bare; Venus Genetrix, seated 1. on
(pierced) around, C. CAESAR lll . . a cippus, holds dove on
VIR, . R. P. C r. hand, and with 1. arm
encircles Cupid, who
hovers at her side; "
around, T. CLODIVS NA.
F. IIII. VIR. A. D. F.
[Pl. lvii. 19.]
(Borrell Coll.)
and L. Livineius Regulus, thus constituting a quatuorvirate of the mint for B.C. 43–42.
Count de Salis, however, divided the four issues between two years, and attributed them to
B.C. 39 and 38 respectively. There is certainly a remarkable resemblance in the character of
the types and the issues of the gold and silver coins of all four moneyers, but those of L. Mussi-
dius Longus and L. Livineius Regulus have certain characteristics not found in the money
of P. Clodius and C. Vibius Varus, and vice versä. The approximate date of office of Clodius
and Varus may be ascertained from the evidence of finds, as their coinages were among the
latest of the Roman mint that occurred in the Santa Anna, Ossolaro, Pieve-Quinta, Grosspold,
Barzano, Peccioli, and Garlasco hoards. Coins of Warus were, however, not present in those of
Santa Anna and Ossolaro (see Tables of Finds).
Of Publius Clodius, son of Marcus Clodius, we have no certain information beyond that
he was one of a quatuorvirate of the mint. He must not be confused with P. Clodius, who
was the son of P. Clodius Pulcher, the opponent of Milo, nor with the Clodius whom Caesar
sent in B.C. 48 to Macedonia, and who was taken prisoner at the siege of Perusia, B.C. 40, and
put to death by Octavius, since his praenomen was Lucius and not Publius. Borghesi (CEw wres
compl., t. ii., p. 72) identifies him with P. Clodius Turrinus, the rhetorician mentioned by
Seneca (Babelon, vol. i., p. 354). Like the moneyers of B.C. 39, Clodius strikes two series of
coins : one with types relating to the triumvirs and Julius Caesar; the other bearing types
referring to the cult of Apollo and Diana, possibly connected with his own family history.
On the gold coins struck in honour of the triumvirs, Clodius, like Mussidius and Regulus,
placed after his name the letters A, T , F (awro publico feriwndo).
The following explanations, though perhaps not entirely conclusive in every case, may be
suggested of the types used by Clodius. The pantheistic figure on Type I., which combines the
attributes of Sol, Mercury, Mars, Victory, Fortuna, and Jupiter, is probably an allusion to the
character and renown of Antony. Von Sallet (Zeit. f. Num., 1877, p. 137), having attributed
the issue of these coins to B. c. 43 (A.U.C. 711), thought that the type bore no reference to the
successes of Antony in the East. Their assignment to a somewhat later date renders this
explanation quite possible. Dr. A. Vercoutre's view (Rev. Num., 1890, pp. 1–11) that the
figure represents the “genius of the Roman people,” and that the “crow on a rock” records
the foundation of the city of Lugdunum, may be mentioned but cannot be accepted. Venus
with Cupid on the aureus of Octavius (Type II.) can only refer to the reputed descent of
the Julia gens from that divinity, and in the reverse type of the coin of Lepidus, if the
figure holding a sceptre and a cornucopiae be identified as that of Concordia, we may well see
a reference to the recent reconciliation between Lepidus and his colleagues. The object on her
left is somewhat uncertain, but its identification as an owl, rather than as a trophy, would be more
applicable to the figure of Concordia, as illustrating the wisdom of the reconciliation. Types
IV.-IV. var. b are complimentary in a general sense to the triumvirs, Antony and Octavius, and
to Julius Caesar as commanders. The figure of Ceres on Type W. may be another reference
to the reconciliation with Sextus Pompey, which relieved Rome of the dearth of provisions.
Babelon (vol. i., p. 355) would explain the head of Sol (Apollo) and the crescent moon and stars
(Diana) on Type VI. as relating to the cult of the diurnal and nocturnal divinities, which was
very popular at Rome. The transference to Diana of the characteristics of Artemis at a very
early period of her worship at Rome points to her connection with Apollo on Type VII. Both
these types may relate to the early history or to some tradition connected with the Claudia gens,
which was of Sabine origin, and which removed to Rome soon after the building of the city
(Suetonius, Tiberius, 1). We have already remarked that the worship of Diana and Sol was
introduced by the Sabines into Rome, who built temples to them on the Aventine and on the
Quirinal (see above, p. 574). Dr. A. Vercoutre's identification (Rev. Num., 1890, p. 381) of
the five stars as representing the constellation Taurus, and its punning allusion to the cognomen
Turrinus, is not convincing.
The specimen of the aureus of Mark Antony (p. 582, no. *4276) was obtained by the
British Museum after the plates illustrating this part of the catalogue had been worked off.
* Cavedoni (Rev. Num., 1857, p. 350) was of opinion that the cippus on which Venus
584 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight ..º. 62 Obverse - Reven'se
Type III.
Aureus'
123-5 | AV 8 || Head of Lepidus 1., bare; Female figure, Concordia,
around, M. LEPIDVS. draped, standing towards
||| . VIR . R. Tº . C. r., leaning with r. hand
on sceptre, and holding
in 1. hand cornucopiae :
at her feet, an owl 2;
around, T . CLODIVS.
NW F || ||. VIR . A . Tº . F
[Zeit. f. Num, vol. vi., pl. i.]
Type IV.
Denarius
4278 57-0 || AR 8 || Head of Mark Antony r., | Mars, helmeted, naked,
bare, with beard; around, standing towards r., head
NA. ANTON IVS | | | . turned to 1. ; he leans
VIR, . R. Tº . C. with r. hand on spear,
and holds parazonium
in l. ; on 1. and r., T .
CLODIVS NW . F
[Pl. lvii. 20.]
(Nott)
Type IV. var. a.
& Denarius
4279 || 50-7 || AR 75 | Head of Octavius r., bare, Similar.
with slight beard; around, [Pl. lvii. 21.]
CAESAR III. VIR, . R. T. C.
Genetrix is seated may be the altar dedicated to the Julia gens near the town of Bovillae, or it
may be the large altar of the Capitol, ARA GENTIS IVLIAE, which was erected in the
previous year, B.C. 39 (see C.I.G., no. 6125; Bull. dell’Inst. arch. di Roma, 1845, p. 122).
Bahrfeldt (Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 150) mentions one other specimen of this rare aureus,
which is in the Vienna Cabinet, and came from the Tiepolo collection. Venus holds a dove, and
not a patera, as shown in the illustration given by Babelon (vol. ii., p. 40, no. 80).
* The only specimen known of the aureus of Lepidus of this issue is in the Berlin collec-
tion. It came from the remarkable hoard of gold coins discovered at Cajazzo, Campania, in
1878 (Zeit. f. Num., 1878, p. 236). This hoard contained also the unique aureus of C. Vibius
Varus described on p. 588. -

CIRC. B.C. 38; A.U.C. 716 585
No.
4280
4281
4282
4283
4284
4285
4286
Weight
60-8
55.4
53-6
51.3
123-3
125-0
124.0
Metal
and Size
AR. “75
AR -75
AR •8
AR 75
AV '85
AW -8
AW -8
Obverse Reverse
Type IV. var. b
Denarius
Head of Julius Caesar | Similar.
r., laureate ; around, [Pl. 1 vii. 22.]
CAESAR INAſ .
Similar.
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Type V.
Denarius
Head of Octavius r., bare ;
around, CAESAR III.VIR.
R. Tº . C.
Ceres standing 1., holding
ears of corn in r. hand,
and leaning with 1. on
sceptre; behind her, P.
CLODIVS ; before her,
NW. F -
[Pl. lviii. 1.]
Similar. Similar.
(Nott)
SERIES II.
Type VI.
Aureus
Head of Sol r., radiate ;
before, countermark, O
Similar; behind head of
Sol, quiver"; no coun-
termark.
Similar.
Crescent moon surrounded
by five stars; below,
To . CLODIVS
NA. F
[Pl. lviii. 2.]
(Wigan Coll.)
Tº . CLODIVS
. NA. F.
[Pl. lviii. 3..]
Similar ;
Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
* There were at least four specimens of this variety of the aureus of Clodius in the Cajazzo
hoard (see above, p. 584, note 1).
4 F
586 COINAGE OF ROME
Metal
and Size Obverse Reverse
No. Weight
Denarius
4287| 61-8 || AR 75 Similar; quiver behind head Similar : D . CLODIVS
of Sol. imilar ; , NA. F.
- (Townley Coll.)
4288 57.9 || AR “75 Similar. Similar.
[Pl. lviii. 4.]
(Woodhouse Coll.)
4289| 598 || AR 7 |Similar; quiver with top. Similar.
(Cracherode Coll.)
Type VII.
Aureus'
1243 || AV 8 | Head of Apollo r., laureate; Diana Lucifera in long
hair collected into a knot, drapery, her bow and
and falling in two locks quiver behind her
down his neck; jewel shoulders, standing front,
near his ear; behind, head to r. ; she holds long
lyre. lighted torch with each
hand; on right, T. CLO
DIVS; on left, NA. F
3oo 50&09
[Babelon, vol. i., p. 355, no. 14.]
Denarius”
4290 60-4 || AR “75 | Similar. Similar; M. F. for NA. F
- [Pl. lviii. 5.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
4291 59-6 || AR, 75 Similar. Similar; M.F for M. F.
* The specimen quoted by Babelon (loc. cit.) as being in the Tiepolo collection is now in
the Imperial Cabinet at Vienna (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1896, p. 89).
* There are hybrids consisting of the reverse type of this denarius and of the obverse of
that bearing the head of Augustus to r., and with the legend AVGVSTVS, and of the obverse
type with the reverses of the denarii of L. Cornelius Scipio Asiagenus (see above, p. 206) and
Mn. Acilius (see above, p. 496; Bahrfeldt, Zeit. f. Num., 1877, pp. 43, 44; Babelon, vol. i ,
p. 356). This type was restored by Trajan.


CIRC. B.C. 38; A.U.C. 716 587
Metal
and Size Obverse Reverse
C - VIB|VS VARVS
(CAIUS VIBIUS VARUS )
SERIES I.
No. Weight
Type I.
Aureus
126-5 || AV '85 | Head of Mark Antony r., Two right hands joined;
bare, with beard; around, above, C. VEIB|VS ; be-
NA. ANTON IVS. III.VIR. low, VAARVS
R. P. C (Triumvir rei-
publicae constituendae).
[Babelon, vol. i. p. 167, no. 27.]
* Caius Vibius Varus is also only known from his coins, which, for reasons already given
(see p. 583), were probably issued curc. B.C. 38. Like his colleague, P. Clodius, he struck two
series—one relating to the triumvirs, Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus; the other recording the
cult of various divinities specially honoured in Roman mythology, in connection with which it
is not improbable that some former members of his family may have played an important role.
Coins of both series occur in gold and silver. The types of the coins of C. Vibius Varus
struck in honour of the triumvirs show less variety than those of P. Clodius, the former
employing only one type for the gold coins and probably only one for those in silver. The two
joined hands on the aurei, which is a type common to all three triumvirs, may relate to their
recent reconciliation; whilst the figure of Fortuna, which occurs only on denarii with the
portraits of Antony and Octavius, is either a reference to the prosperity which Rome enjoyed as
the fruits of their victories, or it may be the expression of a wish that good fortune would attend
their arms. It may not be a mere coincidence that neither Varus nor Clodius appears to have
struck denarii of Lepidus. The gold coins of Varus with portraits of Antony and Lepidus were
unknown before the discovery of the Cajazzo hoard in 1877 (Zeit. f. Num., 1878, pp. 236, 242),
in which there were two specimens of the former and one of the latter.
Most of the types of the second series are of so general a character that it is not possible
to identify them directly with the history of the Vibia gens. The head of Bacchus on Type IV.
is similar to that on earlier coins of C. Vibius Pansa, in which instance its connection with the
history of the moneyer's family has been shown (see above, p. 509). Similar representations of
Nemesis as seen in Type W. not infrequently occur on Greek coins, notably on those of
imperial times of Smyrna and Nicomedia (see Brit. Mus. Cat., Gr. Coins, Ionia, p. 111 pas.),
on which she is seen plucking her chiton at the neck, probably illustrating a habit amongst the
ancients of spitting into the bosom of the dress to ward off the anger of that divinity in such
transactions as might excite her ill-will (Bahrfeldt, Num. Zeit., 1897, p. 102). It is not
improbable that the modern habit of spitting on a coin to ward off ill-luck may have had a
similar origin. The object held by Venus on Type IX. has been variously identified as a chest
(capsula), a marine-shell (concha marina), a shallow cup (patera), or a mirror (C. O. Müller,
ed. Wieseler, Denkmäler, pt. ii., vol. i., p. 412). The identification of the object as a mirror
seems the most probable solution, as the attitude of Venus, as shown on these coins, is not
infrequently met with on vases and gems. The column is her attribute as the victorious
goddess of beauty and love (C.O. Müller, Denkmäler, loc. cit.). We are unable to offer any
further suggestions in connection with the special reference of Hercules or Minerva on Types
VII. and VIII.
The occurrence of El for I, and the duplication of the vowel A in the moneyer's name on
the gold coins with the portraits of the triumvirs, to denote long vowels, is unusual at so late a
date, and even in this instance their use is quite exceptional as it is limited to these pieces only
of this issue. The form E I for I was used somewhat indiscriminately on earlier coins (see
On El MI for ODIMI, p. 172; D R El MVS for DRI MVS, p. 496; and DREIVERNVM for
DRIVERNVM, p. 483); but in the duplication of the vowel we have met with only two
previous instances, viz., in the name of FEE LIX on coins of Faustus, the son of Sulla (see
p. 472), and in that of Vaala on those of C. Numonius Vaala (see p. 570).

588
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
4292 | 124.3
124.0
4293 || 61.4
4294 || 61.1
62-0
Weight
1Metal,
and Size
AW -8
AW -8
AR. 8
AR •75
AR, 75
Obverse Reverse
Type I. var. a.
Aureus
Head of Octavius r., bare, Similar.
slight beard; around, C. [Pl. lviii. 6.]
CAESAR. III.VIR. R. D.C (Montagu Coll.)
Type I. var. b
Aureus
Head of Lepidus 1., bare; Similar.
around, NM. LEPIDVS .
|||. VIR . R. Tº . C
[Babelon, vol. i., p. 134, no. 39.]
Type II.
Denarius -
Head of Mark Antony r., | Fortuna, draped, standing
bare, with beard. towardsl., holding Victory
on r, hand, and cornu-
copiae with 1. ; on r., C.
VIBIVS; on 1., VARVS
[Pl. lviii. 7.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar. Similar.
(Blacas Coll.)
Type II. var.
Denarius'
Head of Octavius r., * Similar.
slight beard.
* With the description of this denarius of Octavius, Babelon (vol. ii., p. 43, no. 86) figures
in error that of Antony with the same reverse type.


CIRC. B.C. 38; A.U.C. 716
589.
No.
4295
4296
4297
4298
Weight
49-5
(plated)
63-7
63.5
61-7
61.2
Metal
and Size
AR 75
AR 75
AR. 75
AR. 75
AR. 75
Obverse Reverse
Type III.
Denarius'
Head of Octavius r., bare. Minerva, helmeted and
draped, standing r., lean-
ing with r, hand on spear,
and holding [Victory]
on 1. ; at her side, shield;
before her, C. VIB|VS;
behind her, VARVS
[Babelon, vol. ii., p. 43, no. 87.]
SERIES II.
Type IV.
Denarius
Head of Bacchus r., bound A panther springing 1.
with wreath of ivy and towards a garlanded
grapes; hair collected into altar, on which are
a knot behind, one lock
and fillet of wreath falling
down his neck. -
Similar.
Similar ; lock of hair under
chin.
Similar.
placed a thyrsus and a
bacchic mask; in the
exergue, C. VIB|VS; on
r., VARVS
[Pl. lviii. 8.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
Similar.
Similar.
* Babelon (loc. cit.) describes this coin as plated.
obverse of the preceding coin and the reverse of no. 4301.
It is probably, a hybrid made up of the

590
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
4.299
4300
4301
4302
4303
4304
4305
Weight
123-6
122.2
66.8
61:0
65.7
62.5
59-9
Metal
and Sºže
AV '85
| AV 8
AR •75
AR 7
AR 75
AR. '75
AR 8
Obverse Reverse
Type W.
- Aureus
Bust of Roma 1., wearing | Nemesis, winged, standing
winged and crested r. ; she looks down at
helmet, and holding in the front of her dress,
r. hand, spear directed which she holds with
over shoulder, and on
l. arm, shield decorated
with star.
both hands; before her,
C. VIB|VS; behind her,
VARVS -
[Pl. lviii. 9..]
(Nott)
Type VI.
Aureus
Head of Apollo r., laureate,
hair collected into a knot
behind, and falling in two
locks down his neck.
Venus, naked to below the
waist, standing l. near a
column, and turned from
the spectator; she gazes
into a mirror, which she
holds in her 1. hand;
before her, C , VIBIVS;
behind her, VARVS
[PI. lviii. 10.]
Type VII.
Denarius
Head of Hercules r., lau-
reate.
Similar.
Minerva, helmeted and
draped, standing r., lean-
ing with r. hand on spear,
and holding Victory on 1.;
at her side, shield; before
her, C. VIB|VS; behind
her, VARVS
[Pl. lviii. 11.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
Type VIII.
Denarius
Bust of Minerva r., wearing
crested helmet and aegis.
Similar.
Similar.
Hercules, naked, standing
1. ; his r. hand rest-
ing on club ; lion's skin
over 1. arm ; behind him,
C. VIB|VS; before him,
VARVS -
Similar.
[Pl. lviii. 12.]
Similar.
(Townley Coll.)
CIRC. B.C. 37; A.U.C. 717 591
Metal
No. 'ei *
O. Weight and Size
Obverse Reverse
Circ. B.C. 37; A.U.C. 7171
O. : VOCONIVS VITVLVS
(QUINTUS VOCONIUS VITULUS )
Type I.
Aureus
4306 || 124-0 || AV 8 Head of Octavius r., bare, A calf (vitulus) walking 1.;
with slight beard; around, above, O. : VOCONIVS;
D|V| |VLI . F. in exergue, VITVLVS
[Pl. lviii. 13.]
(Wigan Coll.)
* The great resemblance between the issues of Quintus Voconius Vitulus and Tiberius Sem-
pronius Graceus shows that these moneyers were colleagues at the mint. They both struck coinſs
as quatuorviri of the mint, though Graccus alone uses this title, and also as quaestores designati.
This is interesting, as it proves that at this time the usually prescribed interval of two years at
least between the holding of different offices of the state was in some cases relaxed. Another
instance occurred in the case of L. Livineius Regulus, who appears to have held the posts of an
officer of the mint and of a praefectus Urbi, either in the same or in successive years (see
above, p. 579).
The obverse types of the coins of Vitulus and Graccus consist only of the portraits of
Octavius and Julius Caesar; those of Antony and Lepidus not being figured as on the coins of
the two previous years. The reverse types do not show the same uniformity, for those of
Vitulus are of a personal nature, relating to his own family history only. It may at first
sight appear difficult to account for the absence of the portraits of Antony and Lepidus, but in
fixing the issue of these coins to circ. B. c. 37, this circumstance can be explained. In B. c. 40
when Antony visited Italy a new division of the provinces was made between the triumvirs :
Lepidus retained Africa; Octavius took under his care all the parts of the empire west of the
town of Scodra in Illyricum ; and Antony the eastern provinces; whilst Italy was to be neutral
ground belonging to all three in common. This arrangement was confirmed by the marriage of
Antony with Octavia, the sister of Octavius. In B. c. 38, on account of the piratical excursions
of Sextus Pompey, who held sway in Sicily, Octavius determined to deprive him of his pro-
vinces, and with that view solicited the aid of the other two triumvirs, but they would not
give him the support he needed. Though Octavius at first suffered in the naval campaign,
many of his ships being destroyed by storms, he determined to prosecute the fight single-
handed, and when Antony, fearing his growing influence in Italy, sailed early in B.C. 37 with his
fleet to Tarentum, Octavius declined his assistance. These data show that by B.C. 37 the power
of Octavius with the Senate had become paramount in Italy, and this circumstance, together
with the unpopularity of Antony on account of his intrigues with Cleopatra, and the want of
loyalty on the part of Lepidus, would well account for the exclusion of their portraits from the
types of any money issued at the Roman mint during that year. This state of affairs is more
strongly emphasized by the coinage issued after B.C. 37, when the names of the moneyers
ceased to appear on the coins, and only types in honour of Octavius were employed. The
attribution of the coins of Vitulus and Graccus to B.C. 37 is also confirmed by the evidence of
finds, as none were present in any hoards assigned to this Period with the exception of those
of Arbanats and Carbonara I. The burial of these last two hoards could not have occurred
before B.C. 37 (see above, pp. 561, 562, and Tables of Finds).
Fr. Lenormant (La Mom. dams l’Ant., vol. iii., p. 175) has assigned the coinages of
Vitulus and Graccus to a somewhat earlier date, B.C. 41–40, basing his classification on the
circumstance that as Octavius was the only one of the triumvirs who was in Italy at that
time, the Senate placed his portrait only, and not those of his colleagues Antony and Lepidus,
on the coinage. This classification is, however, negatived by the conclusive evidence of
finds, and, moreover, according to Dion Cassius (xlviii. 20), Tlepidus was in Rome from
B. c. 42—40, and it was not till the middle of the latter year that he quitted Italy for Africa.
* Like most of the moneyers of this time, Q. Voconius Vitulus is only known from his coins,
on some of which he styles himself quaestor designatus. The exclusion of this title on others
would suggest that his nomination to that office was subsequent to his appointment as a quatuorvir
of the mint. He is the only member of the Voconia gens of whom we possess coins. On the
obverse he places either the head of Octavius or that of Julius Caesar, and the only design for
the reverse is a calf (witulus), a punning allusion to his cognomen. Niebuhr (Hist. of Rome,
vol. i., p. 14) supposed that Vitulus is merely another form of Italus, and remarks that we find
592 COINAGE OF ROME
No. Weight º 62 Obverse Reverse
Type I. var.
Aureus
4307||124-0 || AV '85 Similar; before head of Similar; on 1. and r. of
Octavius, lituus; behind, calf, S. C. (Senatus com-
DIVI . F sulto); above, O - VO
CONIVS; in exergue,
VITY: O. . (Quaestor
design, utus).
[Pl. lviii. 14.]
(de Salis Coll.)
Type II."
Denarius
4308|| 61-3 || AR 7 | Head of Julius Caesar r., | A calf (vitulus) walking 1.;
laureate; behind, lituus; above, O. . VOCONIVS;
before, DIVI - IVLl below, VITVLVS; simi-
lar to no. 4306.
4309 || 60:8 || AR, 7 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. lviii. 15.]
(Nott)
4310 537 AR 75 | Similar. Similar.
Type II. var.
Denarius
4311 || 59.1 | AR 75 | Head of Julius Caesar r., Similar ; on 1. and r. of
laureate. calf, S. C.; above, O. .
VO CON IVS ; below,
"...ºft.*; similar
to no. 4307.
(Nott)
4312 || 54-6 || AR, 8 || Similar. Similar.
[Pl. lviii. 16.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
in the same manner in the Mamilia gens the surname Turrinus, that is Tyrrhenus, as it was
customary for the great Roman houses to take distinguishing surnames from a people with whom
they were connected by blood or by the ties of public hospitality. From the coins, however, it
would appear that the Voconia gens adopted the symbol of a calf as a punning allusion to the
cognomen Vitulus. In previous instances the reverse types of coins struck in honour of the
triumvirs bore some special reference to them ; those relating to the moneyers or their families
forming a separate series. In the case of the coins of Vitulus this rule was not adhered
to. An important point of chronology in connection with the issues of Vitulus and Graccus is
that on all their coins, Octavius is styled DIVI IVLI F., or DIVI F. Previous to 37
he was styled C. CAESAR or CAESAR only ; but from B. c. 36–29 his title is exclusively
CAESAR D | V | F ,
1 Fabretti (Raccol. nwm., p. 264, no. 5044) describes a hybrid in the collection at Turin with
this reverse type, but with the obverse, head of Julius Caesar, laureate, and the legend,
C. CAESAR DICT, TER DETVO (see above, p. 545, no. 4154).
CIRC. B.C. 37; A.U.C. 717 593
No. Weight a; º, Obverse Reverse
TI . SENAT RON IVS GRACCVS
(TIBERIUS SEMPRONIUS GRACCUS )
Type I.
Aureus
4313||122-0 | A 8 | Head of Octavius r., bare, Fortuna, draped, standing
with slight beard; around, towardsl., holding rudder
D!VI VLI . F. with r. hand, and cornu-
copiae with 1. ; around,
TI . SENATR ON . GRAC
CVS || || . VIR . O. . D
(Quatuorvir, quaestor de-
Signatus).
[Pl. lviii. 17.]
(Devonshire Coll.)
Type II.
Denarius
4314 59.2 | AR 75 | Similar. Two military standards (a
Sigmum and an aquila), a
plough and a sceptre :
above, T1 . SENATRON:
below, GRACCVS; on r.,
| | | | .VIR.; onl., O. DESIG.
[Pl. lviii. 18.]
(Nott)
4315 57.2 AR 8 || Similar. Similar.
| Tiberius Sempronius Graccus, like his colleague Q. Voconius Vitulus, is only known
from his coins, and, also like him, he was quaestor designatus in his year of office as moneyer.
The date of his tenure of office has been discussed in dealing with the issue of Vitulus (see
above, p. 591).
The obverse types, the heads of Octavius and Julius Caesar, are precisely similar to those on
coins of Vitulus, but those of the reverse differ, inasmuch as they are not personal to the moneyer,
but relate only to Octavius The figure of Fortuna holding a rudder and a cornucopiae on the
aureus was probably intended to refer to the good wishes of the Senate and the people for his
success in the struggle with Sextus Pompey, which in B.C. 37 was at its height; and in the type
of his silver money we may see a reference to the promises made by Octavius to the veterans
of his army of lands and money as rewards for their services. On some of his coins Graccus
styles himself quatuorvir, but on all he gives his title of quaestor designatus.
4 G
594
COINAGE OF ROME
No.
4316
4317
4318
4319
4320
Weight
60-2
59-1
56-7
62-3
60-2
Metal
and Size
AR •8
AR. 8
AR. 8
AR, 8
AR, 75
Obverse
Reverse
Type III.
Denarius
Head of Julius Caesar r.,
laureate.
Similar.
Similar.
Similar; legend, TI-SEM
TRONIVS above and on
r. of type; GRACCVS
below; and . O. . DESIG.'
on 1.; in the field, S. C.
(Senatus consulto).
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar.
[Pl. lviii. 19.]
(Nott)
Similar. -
(Blacas Coll.)
Type III. var.
Similar; at sides of neck of Similar; legend S.C. omitted.
Julius Caesar, S. C (Sen-
atus consulto).
Similar.
[Pl. lviii. 20.]
(Cracherode Coll.)
Similar ; legend, DES. for
DESIG .
1 A variety reads DES for DESIG (Babelon, vol. ii., p. 433, no. 11); and Comm. Fr. Gnecchi
(Riv. Ital., 1896, p. 18) describes another without the legend S. C either on the obverse of
on the reverse. This last piece may not be a hybrid, but only the result of an interchange of
obverse and reverse dies.
END OF WOL. I.
JUN 8 - 1915
AUG †
* 9 194
|
k
|
LIBRARY


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