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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;red_spork, post: 2248578, member: 74282&quot;][ATTACH=full]444491[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>In 121 BC, the Roman consul Quintus Fabus Maximus, with the help of Cnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, defeated the powerful Gallic tribe known as the Allobroges in the province of Gallia Transalpina(Gaul on the other side of the Alps). This victory was important because it helped secure a key land route linking Italy and Hispania(Spain). Not ones to let a good thing go to waste, the Romans quickly began building a road through the province, the &quot;Via Domitia&quot;, leading to Spain and founded Colonia Narbo Martius(modern-day Narbonne, France) along this road. Cnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus(son of the previously mentioned man of the same name) and L. Licinius Crassus were named magistrates of this new colony, along with junior magistrates M. Aurelius Scaurus, L. Cosconius, C. Malleolus, L. Pomponius, L. Porcius Licinus, and were apparently given the authority to mint denarii. Crawford lists 5 different varietes of this denarius, all serrate, and all with the same devices, differing only in that each one lists a different junior magistrate on the obverse. This one is variety 4, the most common, bearing the name of L. Pomponius on the obverse, however this is a slightly rarer subvariety in which the &quot;D&quot; in the reverse legend is reverse.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now that I&#039;ve bored you a bit with the history, take a look at the devices on this denarius. At first glance, it might look like your standard &quot;Roma/Victory in biga&quot; type, but upon closer inspection you&#039;ll see that it isn&#039;t victory at all in the biga. In place of victory is a bearded warrior holding a gallic-style shield and a carnyx, a traditional Celtic war horn, and hurling a spear. Some authors have tried to say that this is mars depicted in the biga, but as Crawford points out, there really can be no mistake, this is a Gallic warrior depicted on a Roman denarius, which makes this issue all the more fascinating. This, coupled with the fact that the issue is serrated and that there are multiple dies with reversed letters(which is almost unheard of with issues from the Rome mint) suggests that this is not a Roman issue but an issue of the mint at Narbo.</p><p><br /></p><p>Aside from the interesting-ness of this issue in general, a big factor in me choosing this coin was that the reverse is about as perfect as I could find that I could afford. Many of these come off struck or with bad metal, so to find one after months of looking whose reverse was nearly perfectly centered and with minimal wear, on top of beautiful toning, meant that the decision to purchase was made almost as soon as I saw the coin. I was lucky enough to talk the dealer into a very good deal as well, which made it even sweeter.</p><p><br /></p><p>AR denarius(21mm, 3.7g). L. Licinius Crassus, Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus and associates, 118 BC. Narbo, Gaul mint. L·POM – P – ONI – C NF Helmeted head of Roma right / Bearded warrior in fast biga r., holding shield, carnyx and reins and hurling spear; in exergue, L·LIC·CN·D(reverted)OM. Crawford 282/4. Sydenham 522a. BMCRR 1193.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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