Cicero was protected in exile by the Gnaeus Plancius - who issued this coin in 55 BC as curule aedile. Gnaeus Plancius in turn was defended by Cicero when he faced charges for corrupt practices in running for office. For the full story on this coin, a Roman Empire TikTok theme, and more : https://www.sullacoins.com/post/pro-plancius Post your late 1st century RR denarii! or anything else you find interesting or entertaining.
M. PLAETORIUS M.F. CESTIANUS ROMAN REPUBLIC; GENS PLAETORIA AR Denarius OBVERSE: Head of Bonus Eventus right; horse's leg behind. Argentarii mark in obverse REVERSE: M. PLAETORI CEST. EX. S. C, winged caduceus Rome 57 BC 3.87g, 19 mm Cr405/5; Syd 807; Plaetoria 5 Q. SICINIUS ROMAN REPUBLIC; GENS SICINIA AR Denarius OBVERSE: FORT P.R, diademed head of Fortuna right REVERSE: Q. SICINIVS below, III. VIR across field, caduceus and palm in saltire, laurel wreath above Rome 49 BC 3.64g, 17mm CR 440/1; Sicinia 5
Great thread idea and a wonderful webpage article for your coin @Sulla80. Roman Republic GENS NAEVIA. Denarius (Serratus) Ar. 3.89g/19mm. 79 BC Auxiliary workshop of Rome. (FFC 937; Crawford 382/1b). Obv: Diademed head of Venus right, S.C behind, dotted border. Rev: Victory in triga to the right, with one horse looking backwards. Control marker L, above. C NAE BALB in exergue, dotted border. Gaius Naevius Balbus in 79 BC was a supporter of Sulla and may have been a prefect in Sulla’s army at the Battle of the Colline Gate in 82 BC. The obverse of the coin depicts Venus, the patron Saint of Sulla, while the reverse shows Victory, alluding to Sulla’s victory games. The gens Naevia, occasionally written Navia, was a plebeian or patrician family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned at the time of the Second Punic War, but the first of the Naevii to obtain the consulship was Lucius Naevius Surdinus, in AD 30. The nomen Naevius is generally regarded as a patronymic surname derived from the praenomen Gnaeus indicating a birthmark. Gnaeus and naevus, the usual form of the Latin word for a birthmark, were pronounced similarly, and a number of other Latin words could be spelled with either gn- or n-, such as gnatus and natus, "born". In the time of the Republic, the principal cognomina of the Naevii were Balbus and Matho. Balbus, a common surname, originally signified one who stutters.
Great coin and history Sulla, here's one of mine from the same year with an interesting history. Publius Fonteius P.f. Capito AR silver denarius. Struck 55 BC or later. P FONTEIVS CAPITO III VIR CONCORDIA, laureate, diademed, & veiled head of Concordia right. Reverse - T DIDI to left, VIL PVB to right, the Villa Publica: building consisting of two stories, each with a row of columns, to which gates are attached; the lower columns are surmounted by arches, the upper ones by a sloping roof; IMP below. Cr429/2b, Syd 901a. 18mm, 3.6g. Built to house the censor's records, the Villa Publica was later used by city magistrates to receive foreign ambassadors. In 82 BC, the Villa Publica was the scene of a horrific massacre, as Sulla ordered the deaths of some 4,000 Samnite and Democrat rebels holed up within (Seneca). Titus Didius, grandfather to the moneyer of this issue, P Fonteius Capito, undertook an extensive restoration of the Villa Publica in 93 BC. Interestingly, Capito himself would undertake to restore the building many years later, in 34 BC.
Grazie, @Curtisimo. I find the amount of attention on that the TikTok videos got this week entertaining. Thanks @Bing, I especially like your Sicinius (Crawford 440) celebrating Pompey and his defeat of Mithradates VI and the Cilician pirates as C. Marcellus charged him with the protection of Roman again - this time against Julius Caesar. Woytek is an excellent resource on these coins and he places this as normal issue before Caesar's occupation of Rome: "The beginning of the minting of RRC 440 probably dates to the days at the end of the year 50, when the consul C. Marcellus commissioned Pompey with the protection of the state, and it will have been in progress at the time of the Senate's declaration of war on January 7, 4." - Woytek, Arma et nummi, Forschungen zur römischen Finanzgeschichte und Münzprägung der Jahre 49 bis 42 v. Chr., pp. 96-97 Four days later Caesar crossed the Rubicon and the Pompeians fled Rome. Thanks you! An excellent Naevius Balbus, @expat, from the end of my favorite period (lifetime of Sulla 138 - 79 BC) and celebrating Sulla's victory over Mithridates in 85 BC. The name "Balbus" was also the name of Octavian's grandfather and mother: Julius Caesar's youngest sister Julia married Marcus Atius Balbus. Their second daughter of three, Atia Balba Caesonia and her husband Gaius Octavius were parents to Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, who became Julius Caesar's heir and subsequently emperor Augustus. Octavian used the sphinx as his seal - which could also be a wordplay on Balbus: more here https://www.sullacoins.com/post/roman-republican-sphinx Thanks, @Ancient Aussie, a nice coin that this still on my "want list". Horrific violence was not unusual in Rome in the first century - not only against neighbors, but also against each other.
The Sertorian Wars 80 – 72 BCE The Sertorian War (80-72 BC) was the last stand of the Marian faction after their defeat in Italy during Sulla’s second civil war, and saw Quintus Sertorius hold out in Spain for over a decade before finally being defeated by Pompey and Metellus Pius. Sadly no good complete narrative of the war has survived. The longest accounts come from Plutarch’s lives of Sertorius and of Pompey. Sertorius was one of the more able leaders on the Marian side during Sulla’s civil wars. He had served under Marius during the Cimbric Wars where he made quite a name for himself, starting as one of the few Romans to escape from the disaster atArausio. During the wars the wandering tribes had invaded Spain, and large parts of the country probably slipped out of Roman control. Sertorius served in Spain in 97-93 BC, where he further enhanced his reputation fighting against the Celtiberians. He was elected as Quaestor in 90 BC, the lowest ranked of the Roman magistrates. He fought with bravery and skill during the Social War and in 88 BC was so popular in Rome that he was greeted with a standing ovation during his first visit to the theatre after returning from the field. He attempted to stand for election as tribune, but he was blocked by Sulla, possibly because of his connection to Marius or possibly because of his relatively low social standing. Things didn’t get better for Sertorius, and towards the end of 83 BC he decided to leave Italy and take up his post as Governor of Nearer Spain, already allocated to him by the Marian establishment in Rome. Sertorius began to build up his excellent army. He recruited Lusitanians, and later Celiberians, as well as the Roman colonists of the area. He treated his Iberian troops very well, and for many years was able to rely on their loyalty. He created a flexible army that was able to more than hold it’s own in conventional battles (allowingSertorius to remain undefeated between 79 and 72 BC), and was also very able in guerrilla warfare. A Roman Republican coin printed in Spain.
Nice coin @expat. I have only an older pre-Palenzuelan issue: I think the details of the way the hair is engraved is the differentiator - and interested in any references you might have. You may enjoy this recent (and free/opensource) article: Noguera, J., Valdés, P., & Ble, E. (2022). New perspectives on the Sertorian War in northeastern Hispania: Archaeological surveys of the Roman camps of the lower River Ebro. Journal of Roman Archaeology,35(1), 1-32. Iberia, Bolskan, circa 150-100 BC, AR denarius (20mm, 4.07 g, 11h) Obv: Male head right; Iberian BON behind Rev: Horseman right, holding spear; Iberian BOLSKAN below.
Nice coins in this post. I just got one like @Ancient Aussie posted above: Roman Republic Denarius P. Fonteius P.f. Capito (55 B.C.) Rome Mint P·FONTEIVS·CAPITO·III·VIR · CONCORDIA, veiled and diademed head of Concordia r. / T·DIDI· | VIL·PVB, view of Villa Publica, IMP in exergue. Fonteia 18 and Didia 1; Crawford 429/2a; Syd. 901. (3.29 grams / 18 x 17 mm) eBay Sep. 2023 Die-Match Obv. & Rev.: Numismatica Ars Classica Auct. 92; Lot 1683; 23.05.2016 Gorny & Mosch Auct. 125; Lot 347; 13.10.2003 Karel de Geus Veiling 48; Lot 1806; 05.11.2019 Die-Match Reverse: VL Nummus Auction 5; Lot 40; 29.10.2016 (this coin also on FORVM) Notes: "The reverse appears to refer to a restoration of the Villa Publica by T. Didius, consul 98 B.C....The moneyer was probably related to him by marriage and Concordia probably refers to the good relations between the families. The Villa Publica was located in the Campus Martius...It served as the censors' headquarters and a base for army levies... No remains have been found and its exact location is unknown." FORVM
