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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Scipio, post: 6568393, member: 103869&quot;][ATTACH=full]1263710[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1263711[/ATTACH] This coin deserves a long write up...</p><p>This denarius alludes to the most ancient traditions of Rome and briefly illustrates the symbols of the founding of the city. The birds in flight, in particular, recall the auspices drawn by Romulus. It is significant that it is anonymous (the last authentically anonymous denarius), confirming the celebratory function of the city rather than of a gens. According to McCabe, it may have been issued by the gens Cornelia, due to the fact that it recalls the type of Fostulus (Cr. 235/1).</p><p>105 BC (648 BC), the year of the consulate of Gneo Manlio Massimo and Publio Rutilio Rufo, a terrible year for the city. The glorious city-state that federated Greeks and Italics around itself and then expanded its power throughout the western Mediterranean, conquering peoples with weapons and assimilating them with laws and engineering wonders, could disappear forever. The historical moment is already difficult in itself: the maintenance of the subjugated territories costs continuous and exhausting military efforts; the war against the Celtiberians lasted 20 years and ended only in 133, with the conquest of Numantia; the clashes with the Ligurians continued for a century, until the conquest of the Salluvii capital in 123; the revolt of Giugurta led to 7 years of fighting, which just ended with the capture of the king. But in this context there is a much greater danger, a mortal danger: a new invasion of Italy.</p><p>In 105 it certainly seemed possible to the Romans that their parable was about to end, that the city of the Tiber could suffer the same treatment it had inflicted on its rival Carthage. It is this sentiment to be kept in mind in order to understand - and appreciate - the work of an unknown, young magistrate who decided to take advantage of his position as triumvir monetalis to sing a solitary ode to the greatness of the city, to its humble but divine origins, to the her unwavering military strength that had always allowed her, like the mythological phoenix, to rise from the ashes. Coin issues have been used for years by moneyers to make their name known; the last anonymous denari appeared in 169/156 (RRC 182/1, 197/1 and 198/1) and in 143 (RRC 222/1), then nothing more. But our man, our Roman, does not want to pass on the memory of himself, although perhaps he belongs to an illustrious and very ancient patrician gens (like the Cornelii). He believes that his coin may be one of the last issued by the city and wants it to pass on its glory. Dust off, after forty years of oblivion, the practice of anonymous emissions; adopts a large flan, almost as if he wanted to produce a commemorative medal; and produces a beautiful coin, stylistically refined. On the obverse it bears the personification and name of Rome. The rear is even more significant. Rome appears again, or - better to say - the goddess Rome. Leaning on a spear, symbol of her warrior prowess, she reviews (I would say, &quot;melancholy&quot;) her mythical origins: two twins abandoned to the fury of the river and saved by a she-wolf; a flight of birds, the same as that of Romulus, one of the twins who had become an adult, confirmed the approval of the gods for the foundation of the city. Above all, an important detail, the goddess sits on a heap of shields and helmets. They are the weapons of the vanquished, the many who dared to oppose his mission by finding defeat. from this certainty its citizens must start again, in order not to be overwhelmed by panic after the defeat of Arausio. Rome, which started from very humble origins (= the she-wolf) but blessed by the favor of the gods (= the flight of birds), has become great thanks to the military valor (= the spear) with which it has defeated the armies (= the shields and the helmet) by absorbing the enemies into one&#039;s domain (= the act of sitting on the enemy&#039;s spoils).[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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