On 21 April, 753 BC ...

Want to found an Eternal City on this anniversary date? First, find a wolf to suckle you.



Post your Romulus and Remus coins!


Constantine I, AD 307-337.
Roman billon reduced centenionalis, 2.44 g, 17.4 mm, 12 h.
Constantina/Arles, AD 331-332.
Obv: VRBS ROMA, helmeted bust of Roma, left, wearing imperial robes.
Rev: Lupa Romana, left, suckling Romulus and Remus; branch between two stars above; SCONST in exergue.
Refs: RIC vii p. 273, 368; RCV 16497; LRBC I 371; Cohen 17.

 

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SEXTUS POMPEIUS FOSTLUS ROMAN REPUBLIC; GENS POMPEIA
AR Denarius OBVERSE: Head of "Minerva or Pallas" (personification of Rome) with winged helmet, earrings and necklace, looking to the right.
Below the chin, it is the "X" (although its value then was 16 aces) and behind the bust is a small jar
REVERSE: FOSTuLVS left and Sextus. Pompeius. to the right of the field. She-wolf suckling the twins Romulus and Remus.
Behind Ruminal fig tree is represented with three birds in their branches. On the left, the pastor Faustulus figure in an attitude of admiration for the wonder he sees. ROMA in ex
Struck at Rome 137 BC
3.63g, 19.5mm
Cr235/1a; Syd 461; Pompeia 1

CITY COMMEMMORATIVE
AE3
OBVERSE: VRBS ROMA, bust of Roma left wearing imperial mantle and plumed helmet
REVERSE: She-wolf left with twins, two stars above, dot GSIS dot in ex.
Struck at Siscia , 334-335 AD
2.73g, 19mm
RIC VII 240

 

You are a colony now, learn the origins of our great empire!


MYSIA, Parion, Severus Alexander (AD 222-235), AE 22, 5.85g
Obv: IMP CAES L SEP SEV ALEXANDER (Ss retrograde); Laureate and cuirassed bust right
Rev: C G I H / PAR (abbreviation for Colonia Gemella Julia Hadriana Pariana); She-wolf standing right, head left, suckling the twins Romulus and Remus

 

Roman Republic
AE Sextans 217-215 BCE, Anonymous
Æ 29.5mm., 24.54g.
Obv: She-wolf suckling twins; in exergue, two pellets.
Rev. ROMA Eagle standing r., holding flower in beak; behind, two pellets.
Ref: Sydenham 95. RBW 107. Crawford 39/3.
Comment: Nice brown-green patina.
Ex: From the E.E. Clain-Stefanelli collection.
Ex: Naville Numismatics

 

Happy birthday, Rome!

 

Happy 2773th anniversary of the founding of Rome!


Roman Republic, moneyer: Sex. Pompeius Fostlus, 137 BC, Rome mint. Obv: head of Roma, helmeted, r.; behind, jug; before, X. Rev: SEX·PO[M FOSTVLVS]; she-wolf suckling twins r.; behind, ficus Ruminalis with bird; in l. field, the shepherd Faustulus leaning on staff; in exergue, [RO]MA. 18mm, 3.87g.


City Commemorative under Constantine I, Roman Empire, AE 3, 330–337 AD, Thessalonica mint. Obv: VRBS ROMA; bust of Roma, helmeted, wearing imperial cloak, l. Rev: She-wolf, standing l., suckling twins; above, two stars; in exergue, SMTS∈. 18mm, 2.25g. Ref: RIC VII Thessalonica 187/229.

 

In reverse chronological order:

Constantine I, Billon reduced Centenionalis, Trier Mint 330-331 AD. Obv. VRBS ROMA, helmeted bust of Roma left/ Rev. She-wolf stg. left suckling twins (Romulus & Remus), 2 stars above; TRP• [Trier, First officina] in exergue. RIC VII 529, Sear RCV IV 16487. 17 mm., 2.4 g. (Found by metal detecting in Wiltshire, England, 2014).





The next one hasn't arrived yet, so I suppose I'm tempting fate by posting the seller's photo, but I'm going to take a chance, because it's not coming from overseas,* and because it was specifically issued for the 1000th anniversary of the founding date:

Philip I AR Antoninianus, 248 AD, Rome Mint, 2nd Officina. Obv. Radiate, draped, & cuirassed bust right, IMP PHILIPPVS AVG/ Rev. She-wolf standing left, suckling twins Romulus and Remus, SAECVLARES AVGG; II in exergue. RIC IV-3 15, RSC IV 178, Sear RCV III 8957 (ill.). 22.75 mm., 4.72 g. (Games commemorating 1,000th anniversary of founding of Rome.) (Purchased from Marc Breitsprecher.)



There's some controversy about whether this last one relates to Romulus and Remus because it doesn't actually show them, but I'll post it anyway:

Roman Republic, P. Satrienus, AR Denarius, 77 BCE. Obv. Helmeted head of Mars right, control-numeral [[upside-down T]XXXVIIII = 89] behind/ Rev. She-wolf standing left with right front paw raised, ROMA above, P. SATRIE-NVS in two lines below. RSC I Satriena 1, Crawford 388/1b, Sear RCV I 319 (ill.). 18 mm., 3.87 g., 3 hr.



Here's the controversy: according to Crawford (see Vol. I, No. 388, at pp. 403-404), "the she-wolf of the Capitol, apparently portrayed here, . . . . has no original connection with the wolf that nursed Romulus and Remus . . . , but was perhaps adopted as a symbol of Rome after the defeat of those rebel Italians who likened Rome to a predatory wolf . . . ; if this is right, the type is perhaps anti-Italian in intention." (Citations omitted.) Contra RSC I at p. 86, stating that this type does, in fact, "refer[] to the founding of Rome. Mars was the father of Romulus and Remus."

I have no personal opinion on who's right!

* Anyway, I just got an email saying that the package has "arrived at our NEW YORK NY DISTRIBUTION CENTER destination facility on April 21, 2020 at 11:03 am." So I'm not too concerned that it won't make it the rest of the way! (Knock on wood.)

 

Not many of this reverse type have a Chi-Rho.

Commemorative Series. AD 330-354. Æ Follis. Arles mint, 1st officina.
Struck under Constantine I, AD 334.
VRBS ROMA, helmeted and mantled bust of Roma, left.
She-wolf, left, suckling Romulus & Remus; Chi-Rho and 2 stars above;
Exergue: PCONST.
RIC VII 400. (Or 385?)

 

These two were struck in the run up to the 900th anniversary celebrations. The first one doesn’t actually feature Romulus and Remus, but if you look closely you’ll see a twinkle in Mars’s eye.

ANTONINUS PIUS
AE As. 11.34g, 27.8mm. Rome mint, AD 140 AD. RIC 694a. O: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P, laureate head right. R: TR POT COS III SC, Mars right, holding spear and shield, descending through the air toward sleeping Rhea Silvia.

ANTONINUS PIUS
AE As. 9.33g, 27.6mm. Rome mint, AD 140-143, RIC 734a. O: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PP TR P COS III, laureate head right. R: IMPERATOR II, She-wolf suckling the twins Romulus and Remus; boat in exergue, between S C.

 

DonnaML, Those are 3 great looking coins ! The tiny Constantine I bronze is in a remarkable state of preservation for a metal detector find . Do you know if it was found in a closed jar or other protective holder ? The points you make on the Republican denarius are interesting. I think Crawford missed the obvious on this coin . Mars = father, She-wolf = mother . This coin is a foundation commemorative.

 

Rome under Theodoric, Ostrogothic Kingdom
AE follis
Obv: IMVIC-TA ROMA, Roma helmeted, facing right
Rev: She-wolf standing left, suckling Romulus and Remus, XL (40) above, dot V dot in ex
Mint: Rome
Date: 496-528 AD
Ref: BMC 24

 

When I went with my son to Rome during the summer of 2008 as a high school graduation present for him, I took this photo at the Capitoline Museum of the famous statue of the wolf suckling Romulus and Remus -- the same statue posted by @Roman Collector at the beginning of this thread:



This statue, known as the Capitoline Wolf, was long believed to be an original ancient Etruscan statue of a she-wolf, with the twins added in the 15th century AD. However, "Radiocarbon and thermoluminescence dating was carried out at the University of Salento in February 2007 to resolve the question. The results revealed with an accuracy of 95.4 percent that the [entire] sculpture was crafted between the 11th and 12th century AD."

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitoline_Wolf.

 

That does make sense, doesn't it? Crawford doesn't even mention any significance to Mars being on the obverse.

Regarding the VRBS ROMA coin, the seller didn't tell me whether he found it loose or inside a jar or some other kind of container. All he said (and he sent me a signed written note with the coin confirming that statement) was when and where he had found it. But he did have quite a few other Roman coins from the same time-period for sale at the same time, mostly in similarly good condition, that he said he had also found by metal detecting in Wiltshire. So I would guess that he found them in some kind of container. Unless he made up the whole story, and I have no particular reason to believe that.

 

Here's mine. I like the details of the hair of the wolf on this one.
And I just noticed the spelling error in the description...

 

Somehow I've managed to go a year and a half collecting Roman coins without a single she wolf reverse type.

What is this sacrilege?

 

Auguri Roma, here's a brief video from the Mayor to recognize the 2773rd year AUC:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=2670465103052787

and 3 coins spanning ~450 years of Rome.

Anonymous, 115-114 BC, AR Denarius, Rome mint
Obv: Helmeted head of Roma right weating a winged Corinthian helmet, with curls on her left shoulder; X (mark of value) behind, border of dots
Rev: Roma, wearing Corinthian helmet, seated right on pile of shields and a helmet beside, holding spear in left hand, birds in flight to upper left and right; to lower right, she-wolf standing right, head left, suckling the twins Romulus and Remus.
Size: 3.8g, 18.5 mm
Ref: Crawford 287/1

Thrace, Deultum, Julia Avita Mamaea, AD 222-235 during the reign of Severus Alexander, with Julia and her mother as regents. Æ23
Obv: IVLIA MAMAEA AVG, Draped bust right, wearing stephane
Rev: COL FL PAC DEV-LT, She-wolf standing right, suckling twins
Ref: cn.deultum.100 (this coin), Jurukov 174 (same reverse die), Moushumov 3615, CNG Featured Coin (same dies), SNG Bobokov 675 (same obv. die), Windwinds shows Varbanov 2378 (same dies)
Obv: VRBS ROMA, helmeted bust of Roma left, wearing imperial mantle
Rev: She-wolf standing left, head turned right, suckling Romulus and Remus, palm branch between two stars above.
Date: AD 333-334
Mint: Trier
Ref: RIC VII p218 #561; Sear 16489 (branch)
Size: 3.0g 14.8-15.8mm

 

HADRIAN 117 - 138 A.D.
AV Aureus (6.87 g.) Rome ca. 124 - 125 A.D.
RIC II 192, RIC II.3 711 BMC 72
HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS Laureate bust right, drapery on l. shoulder. Rev. She-wolf stg. Left, suckling Romulus and Remus; COS above, III in exergue. Biaggi 598

The first Hadrian I acquired, and my only non-travel-series Hadrian.

 

Just a Wolf's HEAD:


Roman Republic
Egnatius Maxsumus 76 BCE
Bust Libertas pileus behind-
Roma and Venus standingg cupid on shoulder - Roma's foot on Wolf's Head at their feet
Sear 326 Craw 391-3

Cool story, very truncated: The moneyer's family were originally a plebeian family of equestrian rank and were Samnites. After the Social War, a part of the family moved to Rome, with a couple becoming Senators. However, one of the Senators was expelled, and also disowned his Senator Son. "No one has a saisfactory reason for this scene..." Hmmm... I wonder, this guy came from a Rebel Family (Samnites), who were virtually exterminated after the Social War by Sulla. I think Roma stepping on a Wolf's severed head might say something... LOL, GO SAMNIUM