Another recent Roman Republic coin I bought was this one: M. Marcius 134 B.C. Silver Denarius, 19 mm., 3.67 gm., Obv; Helmeted head of Roma right. Rev; Victory with whip, in galloping biga right. M MAR C, ROMA below, divided by two grain ears. Roma mint. Crawford 245/1; Sydenham 500
Nice! If you got this off recently, we were probably bidding against each other and you won obviously. As far as I can tell, there is nothing special about this issue except that it is a biga sreverse rather than a quadriga.
Nothing to be sorry about. There is no way we can know when any one of us are interested in any particular coin. It's like any other auction. Bid as much as you are willing to pay. Congratulations.
Very nice!!! I finally completed my biga, triga and quadriga types...now I'm trying to find a few more with 'alternative transportation' like TIF keeps posting And, yours is pre-121 BC which makes it a bit cooler!!! Congrats!!! Something about those neat RR denarii that makes me keep going after more....
Wow, @Topcat7 , my kinda coin! Love the Grain Ears device... nice change up! I like them worn, touched by many ancient hands!
Awesome => that's a very cool AR RR, Topcat (congrats) ... 134 BC, eh? ... that's a cool coin-era I have a humble example from around that time ... Sex. Pompeius Fostlus Roma & Wolf Suckling Twins 137 BC
I've got a few from the period but this one from 134 B.C. itself, also with grain ears on it: Roman Republic AR denarius(3.77g, 19mm). Ti. Minucius C.f. Augurinus, moneyer, 134 BC. Rome mint. Helmeted head of Roma right; behind, [XVI]. Border of dots / Spiral column; standing on column, statue holding staff in right hand; at base of column, two corn-ears; on left, togate figure holding loaves(?) in both hands and placing left foot on modius; on right, togate figure holding lituus in right hand; above, ROMA; on left, TI MINVCI C F upwards; on right, AVGVRINI downwards. Border of dots. Crawford 243/1; Sydenham 494; Minucia 9. Interesting note: This is the example on the wildwinds page for the type which I didn't realize until a month or so after I bought it
According to Crawford, "the modes and corn ears refer to an ancestor, Mn. Marcus, who aedilis plebis primum frumentum populo in modios assizes datavit" Roughly translated, I believe, his ancestor was responsible for a grain distribution
