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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Bing, post: 1721624, member: 44132&quot;]Today, the postman brought another Roman Republican Denarius.&nbsp; How thoughtful, eh?&nbsp; Actually, I saw this coin and knew it was made for my collection.&nbsp; I was able to do some good old fashioned haggling with the seller, and truly got it at a very decent price.&nbsp; I saw one of these that Doug posted yesterday in the &quot;Rape of the Sabine Women&quot; thread.</p><p><br /></p><p>L. THORIUS BALBUS AR Denarius; GENS THORIA</p><p>OBV:&nbsp; Head of Juno wearing goat-skin headdress, acronym I. S. M. R. behind</p><p>REV:&nbsp; Bull charging right, F. above, L THORIVS below, BALBVS in exergue</p><p>Struck at Rome, 195 BC</p><p>3.92g, 19mm</p><p>Cr 316/1, Sydenham 598, Thoria 1</p><p>[ATTACH]266924.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]266925.vB[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>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.</p><p><br /></p><p>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 ( &quot;queen&quot; ) 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.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>From Wikipedia:</p><p><br /></p><p>LUCIO THORIUM BALBO (Lucius Balbus Thorius) </p><p><br /></p><p>People&#039;s Tribune in 111 BC, plebeian origin belonged to the gens lanuvio&#039;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.&nbsp; 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.</p><p><br /></p><p>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 &quot;De Finibus honorum et malorum&quot;, describing it full of life and describes it in this way:</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;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...&quot;[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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