Another Republican Denarius for my Collection

Today, the postman brought another Roman Republican Denarius. How thoughtful, eh? Actually, I saw this coin and knew it was made for my collection. I was able to do some good old fashioned haggling with the seller, and truly got it at a very decent price. I saw one of these that Doug posted yesterday in the "Rape of the Sabine Women" thread.

L. THORIUS BALBUS AR Denarius; GENS THORIA
OBV: Head of Juno wearing goat-skin headdress, acronym I. S. M. R. behind
REV: Bull charging right, F. above, L THORIVS below, BALBVS in exergue
Struck at Rome, 195 BC
3.92g, 19mm
Cr 316/1, Sydenham 598, Thoria 1


This coin features a large portrait of the goddess Juno of Lanuvium wearing a goat skin and a scene of a charging bull. The moneyer, a native of Lanuvium, was described by Cicero as a man who enjoyed every pleasure imaginable. The charging bull is a type parlant to the name of Balbus.

The goddess Juno was the protector and special counselor of the Roman state and queen of the gods. She is a daughter of Saturn and sister ( but also the wife ) of the chief god Jupiter and the mother of Juventas, Mars, and Vulcan. As the patron goddess of Rome and the Roman empire she was called Regina ( "queen" ) and, together with Jupiter and Minerva, was worshipped as a triad on the Capitol (Juno Capitolina ) in Rome. She was also considered to be the guardian spirit of females and especially so during pregnancy. The peacock is her symbolic animal and the month of June was named in her honor.


From Wikipedia:

LUCIO THORIUM BALBO (Lucius Balbus Thorius)

People's Tribune in 111 BC, plebeian origin belonged to the gens lanuvio's summer (of Lanuvium, modern Lanuvio)the Thorii. Moneyer and console, known to history for a land law which takes its name; It is famous the minting of a coin of Nicomedia (capital of the Kingdom of Bithynia) with his name that is preserved in the National Museum of Naples. He participated in the Sertoriana war (77-72 BC) in Spain against Quintus Sertorius, as an officer of Quintus Caecilius Metellus, where he died in combat in an ambush.

Lucio Thorium Balbo was an atheist (he is said to have taunted religious rites) and follower of Epicurus. He was a great lover of pleasure. Cicero speaks of him in his work "De Finibus honorum et malorum", describing it full of life and describes it in this way:

"He lived to not deprive himself of any pleasure, and any kind of delicacy. Not only his craving of pleasure was known but also his great knowledge of the same. Was so little superstitious that he disdained sacrifices and the sanctuary of his country. He had so little fear of death who died in defense of Rome. Pursuing the delights not in terms of the doctrine of Epicurus but to the extent of his cravings. However he kept very much to health: practiced physical exercises to stimulate thirst and appetite, fed with refined dishes easily digested. Drank excellent wine but not to the point of harm to his health..."

 

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Very nice coin! Congrats!

Nathan
www.RomanCoinAuctions.com

 

Love it!


:thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

 

Ya another beautie jw, good info, i like this too..:thumb:, just to make up for the owl thing, one of my dealers just got over a hundred of the RR listed, little pricey but there nice to look at.., i'll pm you..

 

Trivia: This is one of the most common Republican types. They come with letters A through X above the bull (no J or U since they used I and V). I guess his tour as moneyer ended before Y and Z. I do not know what the letters meant and there are multiple dies with the same letters so it was not just a die accounting as seen on some other issues. There is a little variation in style but most are pretty well done (like this one). I showed my O coin yesterday on another thread.

Banti recognizes one variation found only on some coins with letters V and X where the moneyer's name is spelled RALBVS. The one below is clear but was not recognized by the seller. It is the sort of variation that only makes a post headed 'Trivia'.
http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=637295

 

It's a classic coin, my good man ... out-standing!!

:thumb:



I like it so much, that I'm gonna show ya mine ... I hope that's okay?






... oh, and I also have a brockge error of this coin-type (kinda cool)

 

My version has Marty Feldman Eyes!!

 

Jerry, that made me laugh out loud for the first time in weeks. Thanks. I'm still chuckling.

 

Nice coin and even nicer pics Bing. I see you have turned that corner, eh! Go black background.

 

I keep experimenting, but I think I like the blue background best.

 

Yea, you and I are in the same boat. I shoot my black background coins against a piece of black velvet. The I use paint to cover up the white "fibers" that attach to the velvet and show up in the photo. I actually like white the best. I think it makes the coin more true to real appearance. The flash against the black background washes the coin out. Natural light works the best but some of my coins have, different surfaces that react differently to the light. My Tyre shekel, initially I place it on the table on a white piece of paper and just shot it, and it looks close to what it does in hand. Then I shot it against a black background and was forced to use low natural light and then artificially boost the brightness in order to get a decent picture, with all the details clearly visible, but the coin looks different than it does in reality.

 

OK, here is my coin shot with both a black and a blue background. This is an unofficial survey. Which do you think looks best:

 

I actually find both pictures favorable. I like the way the coin appears in the "blue" picture. Although if the coin in the "blue" were against the "black" I think it would be better.

 

Here's the top image with some sharpness/exposure improvements and cropping:

 

To be honest AJ, I don't see much or any difference.

 

what program do you use AJ??

 

Photoshop CS5

There isn't much actual difference - it's the view I prefer (with some minor touch-ups which may not be visible at the posted image size, shapening the reverse and rotating it slightly). I shoot my coins against a white background, crop them/apply minor touch ups, and place them on a black background. Even if taken on a felt background or other static background, there will be slight differences in its color due to shadows so "smart cropping" generally will work best to have consistent images.

 

AJ I much appreciate the response I am gonna look into the program myself.

 

Anoob, I've been playing lately with the [limited] features of Windows Live Photo Gallery (usually use IrfanView) and I'm quite pleased with the results.

My latest purchase... :whistle:

 

Sick! Who's the king ,Ant. 3?