I have seen this type posted over the years on here & now I finally own one. Picked this up for only opening bid so it made my day since I don't get Roman Republics too often. Ti. Quinctius. (112 - 111 B.C.) AR Denarius O: Laureate bust of Hercules left, seen from behind, with club over shoulder. R: Two horses galloping left, with a desultor riding the nearest one; •/H above, rat below, •D•S•S on tablet in exergue. Rome Mint 3.68g 20mm Crawford 297/1b; Sydenham 563; Quinctia 6
Very cool new coin @Mat. I don't think I've seen one where the rat is scurrying away from the sewer! My rat, like @Bings, is heading down the cloacae...
I like that @Mat 's rat is running from the horses, but @Bing and @Ryro's are running towards them defending his pile of refuse. I imagine that the former is a country rat and the latter are from the mean streets of Rome. Not afraid of a few horses.
I had not studied RR enough to have noticed that these come in rat left and rat right varieties. Mine is like mat's. I was aware (from Banti) that there are many variations of the letter in reverse field and the placement of the dot but Banti shows far fewer than full set. Does Crawford comment on this? Is there special meaning to the way the rat separates the TI and Q of the moneyer's name?
Crawford subdivides the issue based on the rat direction. 297/1a is rat left, 1b is rat right. 1b is a bit more scarce, though both varieties are common enough. Phil Davis
My rat goes to the right. 18 mm. 3.95 grams. Sear I 174. Crawford 297/1b (297/1a is rat to the left) "The desultor on the reverse perhaps portray a statue, if the tablet with the incuse legend D S S is intended to recall a statue-base. The formula "De Senatus Sententia" is a common one in building inscriptions" (Says Crawford on page 312)