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<p>[QUOTE="DonnaML, post: 7915637, member: 110350"]Some examples of the great many Roman Republican coins believed to commemorate historical (or legendarily historical) events:</p><p><br /></p><p>Roman Republic, Anonymous [<i>probably Caecilius Metellus Diadematus or Caecilius Metellus Delmaticus</i>], AR Denarius 128 BCE. Obv. Head of Roma right, wearing winged helmet, <b>*</b> [monogram for value: XVI asses] behind; otherwise anepigraphic / Rev. Pax or Juno driving biga galloping right, holding reins and long scepter in left hand and branch (olive or laurel) in right hand; elephant head under horses, facing right with trunk curving down, wearing bell dangling from neck; ROMA in exergue. Crawford 262/1, RSC I Caecilia 38 (ill.), BMCRR 1044, Sear RCV I 138, Sydenham 496. 18.5 mm., 3.89 g., 11 h.*</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1367642[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>*One of only four anonymous Roman Republican denarii after ca. 154 BCE (see also Crawford 222/1, 287/1, & 350A/2), and the only one of the four that can be identified with near-certainty. See Crawford Vol. I at p. 287, explaining that the elephant head with dangling bell depicted on the reverse signals that the moneyer belonged to the Caecilii Metelli family, and recalls the victory of L. Caecilius Metellus, Cos. 251, over Hasdrubal at Panormus in 250 BCE, and the capture of Hasdrubal’s elephants. (See also the denarii depicting elephants or elephant heads issued by, e.g., M. Metellus Q.f. [127 BCE, Crawford 263/1a-1b], C. Caecilius Metullus Caprarius [125 BCE, Crawford 269/1]; Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius [81 BCE, Crawford 374/1]; and Q. Caecilius Metullus Pius Scipio [47-46 BCE, Crawford 459/1].) Therefore, it is generally accepted that this denarius was issued by either L. Caecilius Metellus Diadematus (Cos. 117), or L. Caecilius Metellus Delmaticus (Cos. 119), with the authorities seemingly preferring the former, given that his three brothers all held the moneyership. (Id.; see also Sear RCV I at p. 99; Harold B. Mattingly, “Roman Republican Coinage ca. 150-90 B.C.,” in <i>From Coins to History</i> (2004), pp. 199-226 at p. 219 n. 75.)</p><p><br /></p><p>The uncertainty in identifying the goddess in the biga arises from the inability to identify definitively the branch she holds: an olive branch would mean that the goddess is Pax, and a laurel branch would mean that she is Juno Regina. (See Crawford at p. 287.) Grueber (in BMCRR) and Seaby (in RSC) identify the goddess as Pax; Crawford and Sear note both possible identifications.</p><p><br /></p><p>Roman Republic, M. Caecilius Q.f. Metelllus, AR Denarius, 127 BC (Crawford, RSC, Sear), ca. 126 BCE (Mattingly, op. cit. at p. 258, Table 3), Rome Mint. Obv. Head of Roma right in winged helmet, star on helmet flap, ROMA upwards behind, <b>*</b> (XVI ligature, mark of value = 16 asses) below chin / Rev. Macedonian shield, decorated with elephant head in center wearing bell, M METELLVS Q F around beginning at 6:00, all within laurel wreath. Crawford 263/1(a), Sydenham 480, RSC I Caecilia 29, Russo RBW 1064, Sear RCV I 139 (ill.). 19.5 mm., 3.80 g., 9 hr.*</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1367645[/ATTACH]</p><p>*The coin is classified as Crawford 263/1a because the obverse "ROMA" legend goes upwards; the ROMA on 263/1b goes downwards. The moneyer was Consul in 115 BCE. The reverse design of a Macedonian shield encircled by a laurel wreath honors the moneyer's father, Q. Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus, who defeated the Macedonian pretender Andriscus in 148 BCE. See Crawford p. 288, Sear p. 99. Sear calls the coin “an early example of a moneyer commemorating his family history” (id.), and Mattingly states that the moneyer “broke new ground by honoring a <i>living</i> father.” (See Harold B. Mattingly, “Roman Republican Coinage ca. 150-90 B.C.,” in <i>From Coins to History</i> (2004), pp. 199-226 at p. 220 [emphasis in original].)</p><p><br /></p><p>The elephant head in the center of the shield, as with other coins of the Caecilii Metelli, recalls the victory of L. Caecilius Metellus, Cos. 251, over Hasdrubal at the Battle of Panormus in 250 BCE, and the capture of 100 of Hasdrubal’s elephants, which were paraded at Metullus’s triumph. See Crawford p. 288 (referencing the discussion on p. 287 of the symbolism of the elephant head on the reverse of Crawford 262); Mattingly p. 219 & n. 75.</p><p><br /></p><p>Roman Republic, M Fovri L.f. Philus, AR Denarius 119 BCE. Obv. Laureate head of Janus, M•FOVRI•L•F around / Rev. Roma with Corinthian helmet standing left holding scepter, crowning trophy surmounted by helmet and flanked by carnyx and shield on each side, Gallic arms around; star above, ROMA to right, PHLI in exergue. RSC I Furia 18 (ill.), Crawford 281/1, Sydenham 529, Sear RCV I 156 (ill.), BMCRR Italy 555. 20.13 mm., 3.66 g. [<i>According to Crawford (Vol. I p. 297), this reverse probably refers to "the defeat of the Allobroges and Arverni and the triumphs of 120."</i>]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1367646[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Roman Republic, C. Sulpicius C.f. Galba, AR Serrate Denarius, 106 BCE, Rome Mint. Obv. Jugate heads of Dei Penates left, D•P•P [<i>Dei Penates Publici</i>] beneath heads / Rev. Two soldiers facing each other, holding spears and pointing at sow lying down between them; S above; in exergue: C•SVL•ICI•C•F. [<i>Indication of undertype on right of reverse, causing loss of detail.</i>] RSC I Sulpicia 1, Crawford 312/1, Sydenham 572, BMCRR Rome 1324, Sear RCV I 189 (ill.) 18.12 mm., 3.83 g. [<i>See Sear RCV I at p. 108: “Crawford’s interpretation of this interesting type seems the most convincing: it refers to Aeneas’ [landing at and founding of] Lavinium (home of the Sulpicia gens) with the Penates, and the subsequent miracle of the great white sow [giving birth to 30 piglets], which foretold the founding of Alba Longa,” where the soil was more fertile, 30 years later</i>.] (<i>Ex. Madroosi Collection [Joe Blazick]</i>).</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1367649[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Roman Republic, Cn. Lentulus Clodianus Cornelia, AR Quinarius [half denarius], Rome 88 BCE. Obv. Laureate head of Jupiter right / Rev. Victory standing right, crowning trophy; in exergue, CN•LENT. Crawford 345/2, RSC I Cornelia 51a (ill.), BMCRR 2443-2444, Sear RCV I 255 (ill.), Sydenham 703, RBW Collection 1313. 14x15 mm., 1.99 g.*</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1367660[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>*The moneyer was Consul in 72 BCE (when he was sent against Spartacus but his legions were defeated), and was later Censor in 70 BCE, and a legate with praetorian imperium under Pompey in 67 BCE. This coin was issued after the end of the Social War, to celebrate the Roman victory and/or to commemorate the “victories of M. Claudius M.f. M.n. Marcellus over Hannibal in the Second Punic War, which culminsted in the capture of Syracuse in B.C. 212.” See RSC I at p. 39.</p><p><br /></p><p>Roman Republic, A. Postumius A.f. Sp.n. Albinus (Aulus Postumius Albinus, son of Aulus [mint magistrate ca. 96 BCE], and grandson of Spurius [Consul 110 BCE]), AR Serrate Denarius, 81 BCE, Rome mint. Obv. Veiled head of Hispania right, with disheveled hair; HISPAN behind / Rev. Togate figure standing left, raising right hand towards legionary eagle to left; fasces with ax to right; A •/ ALBIN/ N • S [AL in monogram] across fields; POST • A • F in exergue. Crawford 372/2, RSC I Postumia 8 (ill.), Sydenham 746, Sear RCV I 297 (ill.), BMCRR Rome 2839-42, Harlan RRM I Ch. 1 at pp. 6-7 [Harlan, Michael, <i>Roman Republican Moneyers and their Coins</i>, 81 BCE-64 BCE (2012)]. 19 mm., 3.92 g., 6 h. (<i>Purchased from Brad Bowlin; Ex.“old French collection in Paris.” Double die-match to Die AB for type, RRDP, Schaefer Binder 5, p. 193-0; see </i><a href="http://numismatics.org/archives/ark:/53695/schaefer.rrdp.b05#schaefer_372-2_b05_p193.)*" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://numismatics.org/archives/ark:/53695/schaefer.rrdp.b05#schaefer_372-2_b05_p193.)*" rel="nofollow"><i>http://numismatics.org/archives/ark:/53695/schaefer.rrdp.b05#schaefer_372-2_b05_p193.</i>)*</a></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1367655[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>* RSC I (p. 82), and BMCRR (p. 352 n. 1) agree that the coin may relate to the praetorship of the moneyer’s ancestor Lucius Postumius Albinus (Praetor 180 BCE) over Spain, his successful expeditions against the Vaccari and Lusitani, and the levying of troops for this campaign. Crawford concurs, stating (Vol. 1 at p. 389) that “the reverse, combining a togate figure on the one hand with an eagle and the fasces on the other, perhaps simply alludes to civilian and military <i>imperium</i>; taken with the obverse type, the reference is doubtless to the Spanish command of L. Postumius Albinus, Pr. 180.”</p><p><br /></p><p>Harlan also details the victories of Lucius Postumius Albinus in Further Spain, and his triumph in Rome in 178 BCE. RRM 1 at p. 7. However, Harlan also ties this coin to contemporary events, namely the fact that after Sulla’s victory over Marius, there remained one bastion of Marian resistance to Roman <i>imperium</i>, namely in Spain, where the governor, Sertorius, refused to obey the Senate, establishing an independent state and a refuge for the defeated Marians. Sulla sent an army against Sertorius in late 82 BCE, although the conflict continued at least until 80. Sertorius found his greatest support among the Lusitanians; hence the relevance (beyond the moneyer’s family history) of L. Postumius Albinus’s victories over the Lusitanians a century earlier. Id. at pp. 6-7. Thus, according to Harlan, the “unnamed togate magistrate flanked by the fasces and the legionary eagle is a symbol of Roman <i>imperium</i>. Postumius’ coin shows that Spain, represented by Hispania on the obverse, must also recognize Roman <i>imperium</i> and embrace Rome as the head of things just as Italy had done. Id. at p. 7. (See this moneyer’s other coin, Crawford 372/1, and its theme of Rome as <i>caput rerum</i> for Italy. RRM I Ch. 1 at pp. 1-6.)</p><p><br /></p><p>Roman Republic, A. Postumius A.f. Sp.n. Albinus (Aulus Postumius Albinus, son of Aulus [mint magistrate ca. 96 BCE], and grandson of Spurius [Consul 110 BCE]), AR Serrate Denarius, 81 BCE. Obv. Draped bust of Diana right, with bow and quiver over shoulder, figure of stag’s head at end of bow (horns to left), bucranium above [<i>off flan</i>] / Rev. Roman priest standing facing on rocky ground (on Aventine Hill), head left, with right arm extended holding aspergillum, sprinkling heifer [<i>Harlan, RRM I</i>*], bull [<i>Crawford & Sear</i>], or ox [<i>RSC</i>] which he is about to sacrifice, a lighted altar between them, A POST - AF - SN • ALBIN [<i>AL in monogram</i>] around. RSC I Postumia 7, Crawford 372/1, Sydenham 745, Sear RCV I 296 (ill.), Harlan, RRM I Ch. 1 at pp. 1-7, BMCRR 2836. 18.54 mm., 3.85 g. <i>Ex. Spink & Sons Ltd. </i>(<i>before 2000 because of address on Spink coin tag; probably before 1974 given citation to Sydenham but not Crawford.</i>) SB Binder 5 RRC 372/1 (173, 184, 188, 189, 192)</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1367656[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>* See Michael Harlan, <i>Roman Republican Moneyers and their Coins</i>, 81 BCE-64 BCE (2012) (“RRM I”) (using this coin-type as the cover illustration for his book). At pp. 3-4, Harlan argues that in the legend which, as Crawford acknowledges, is the basis for the reverse of this coin -- namely, the sacrifice to Diana on the Aventine Hill founding her temple there ca. 500 BCE, establishing Rome as the <i>caput rerum</i> for all of Italy [and symbolizing the victory of Sulla over the rebel Italians in 82 BCE] -- the sacrificed animal was a heifer with wondrous horns, not a bull or an ox. (Citing Livy, <i>The History of Rome</i>, Book 1, ch. 45 [available at <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0145%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D45" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0145%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D45" rel="nofollow">http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0145:book=1:chapter=45</a>].) </p><p><br /></p><p>Roman Republic, Mn. Aquillius Mn.f. Mn.n. [Manius Aquillius, son of Manius and grandson of Manius], AR Serrate Denarius, 71 BCE [Harlan: 67 BCE], Rome Mint. Obv. Helmeted and draped bust of Virtus right; III VIR downwards behind, VIRTVS upwards in front / Rev. Manius Aquillius [the moneyer’s grandfather, Consul 101 BCE] standing facing, head right, bearing shield on his left side, raising with his right hand a prostrate Sicilia [personification of Sicily], kneeling left at his feet; MN. AQVIL. upwards to right, MN. F. MN. N. [each MN in monogram] downwards to left; SICIL in exergue. Crawford 401/1, RSC I Aquillia 2 (ill.), Sear RCV I 336 (ill.), Sydenham 798, Harlan RRM I Ch. 31, pp. 183-188 [Harlan, Michael, <i>Roman Republican Moneyers and their Coins</i>, 81 BCE-64 BCE (2012)]. 18x20 mm., 3.76 g.*</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1367657[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>*See Sear RCV I at p. 135, noting that this coin has the “first appearance on the coinage of the triumviral title of a moneyer (III VIR = tresvir).” This is also one of only two Republican coins to depict Virtus on the obverse. The reverse design on the coin commemorates the moneyer’s grandfather, Manius Aquillius (identified in the legend), and his successful suppression in 101 BCE of a slave revolt in Sicily that had begun in 104 BCE. Sicily is portrayed as an under-nourished, helpless girl shielded and uplifted by Mn Aquillius and the military might of Rome. See Harlan at pp. 183-188. Harlan notes that although the moneyer’s grandfather was awarded an ovation in 100 BCE after his victory (a lesser form of triumph, awarded for defeating slaves, pirates, etc.), he was later charged with having engaged in extortion and bribe-taking in Sicily (although he was acquitted because of his bravery in the war), and ultimately, while serving as ambassador on a mission to Asia, was defeated and captured by Mithridates VI of Pontus, who ordered his execution in 88 BCE by the method of having molten gold poured down his throat. In issuing this coin, the moneyer obviously chose to focus on his grandfather’s earlier successes in Sicily rather than his unfortunate end, perhaps (according to Harlan) trying to equate his grandfather’s successes with the recent suppression of the Spartacus slave revolt -- ironically enough by Crassus, given his supposed execution by the Parthians after Carrhae by exactly the same method.</p><p><br /></p><p>And one Imperial coin celebrating victory over Dacia:</p><p><br /></p><p>Trajan AR Denarius, 106 AD, Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate bust right; IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TRP COS V P P / Rev. Captive Dacian in peaked cap with wide brim, seated right on shield in mournful attitude with left elbow on raised left knee, and face resting in left hand; below, curved Dacian sword (falx) right; SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI. RIC II 219 (<a href="http://numismatics.org/ocre/results?q=RIC+II+Trajan+219" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://numismatics.org/ocre/results?q=RIC+II+Trajan+219" rel="nofollow">http://numismatics.org/ocre/results?q=RIC+II+Trajan+219</a>); RSC II 529; Sear RCV II 3168 (obv. var.); BMCRE 175 (<a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_R-11584" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_R-11584" rel="nofollow">https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_R-11584</a>). 17 mm., 3.02 g., 6 h.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1367659[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="DonnaML, post: 7915637, member: 110350"]Some examples of the great many Roman Republican coins believed to commemorate historical (or legendarily historical) events: Roman Republic, Anonymous [[I]probably Caecilius Metellus Diadematus or Caecilius Metellus Delmaticus[/I]], AR Denarius 128 BCE. Obv. Head of Roma right, wearing winged helmet, [B]*[/B] [monogram for value: XVI asses] behind; otherwise anepigraphic / Rev. Pax or Juno driving biga galloping right, holding reins and long scepter in left hand and branch (olive or laurel) in right hand; elephant head under horses, facing right with trunk curving down, wearing bell dangling from neck; ROMA in exergue. Crawford 262/1, RSC I Caecilia 38 (ill.), BMCRR 1044, Sear RCV I 138, Sydenham 496. 18.5 mm., 3.89 g., 11 h.* [ATTACH=full]1367642[/ATTACH] *One of only four anonymous Roman Republican denarii after ca. 154 BCE (see also Crawford 222/1, 287/1, & 350A/2), and the only one of the four that can be identified with near-certainty. See Crawford Vol. I at p. 287, explaining that the elephant head with dangling bell depicted on the reverse signals that the moneyer belonged to the Caecilii Metelli family, and recalls the victory of L. Caecilius Metellus, Cos. 251, over Hasdrubal at Panormus in 250 BCE, and the capture of Hasdrubal’s elephants. (See also the denarii depicting elephants or elephant heads issued by, e.g., M. Metellus Q.f. [127 BCE, Crawford 263/1a-1b], C. Caecilius Metullus Caprarius [125 BCE, Crawford 269/1]; Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius [81 BCE, Crawford 374/1]; and Q. Caecilius Metullus Pius Scipio [47-46 BCE, Crawford 459/1].) Therefore, it is generally accepted that this denarius was issued by either L. Caecilius Metellus Diadematus (Cos. 117), or L. Caecilius Metellus Delmaticus (Cos. 119), with the authorities seemingly preferring the former, given that his three brothers all held the moneyership. (Id.; see also Sear RCV I at p. 99; Harold B. Mattingly, “Roman Republican Coinage ca. 150-90 B.C.,” in [I]From Coins to History[/I] (2004), pp. 199-226 at p. 219 n. 75.) The uncertainty in identifying the goddess in the biga arises from the inability to identify definitively the branch she holds: an olive branch would mean that the goddess is Pax, and a laurel branch would mean that she is Juno Regina. (See Crawford at p. 287.) Grueber (in BMCRR) and Seaby (in RSC) identify the goddess as Pax; Crawford and Sear note both possible identifications. Roman Republic, M. Caecilius Q.f. Metelllus, AR Denarius, 127 BC (Crawford, RSC, Sear), ca. 126 BCE (Mattingly, op. cit. at p. 258, Table 3), Rome Mint. Obv. Head of Roma right in winged helmet, star on helmet flap, ROMA upwards behind, [B]*[/B] (XVI ligature, mark of value = 16 asses) below chin / Rev. Macedonian shield, decorated with elephant head in center wearing bell, M METELLVS Q F around beginning at 6:00, all within laurel wreath. Crawford 263/1(a), Sydenham 480, RSC I Caecilia 29, Russo RBW 1064, Sear RCV I 139 (ill.). 19.5 mm., 3.80 g., 9 hr.* [ATTACH=full]1367645[/ATTACH] *The coin is classified as Crawford 263/1a because the obverse "ROMA" legend goes upwards; the ROMA on 263/1b goes downwards. The moneyer was Consul in 115 BCE. The reverse design of a Macedonian shield encircled by a laurel wreath honors the moneyer's father, Q. Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus, who defeated the Macedonian pretender Andriscus in 148 BCE. See Crawford p. 288, Sear p. 99. Sear calls the coin “an early example of a moneyer commemorating his family history” (id.), and Mattingly states that the moneyer “broke new ground by honoring a [I]living[/I] father.” (See Harold B. Mattingly, “Roman Republican Coinage ca. 150-90 B.C.,” in [I]From Coins to History[/I] (2004), pp. 199-226 at p. 220 [emphasis in original].) The elephant head in the center of the shield, as with other coins of the Caecilii Metelli, recalls the victory of L. Caecilius Metellus, Cos. 251, over Hasdrubal at the Battle of Panormus in 250 BCE, and the capture of 100 of Hasdrubal’s elephants, which were paraded at Metullus’s triumph. See Crawford p. 288 (referencing the discussion on p. 287 of the symbolism of the elephant head on the reverse of Crawford 262); Mattingly p. 219 & n. 75. Roman Republic, M Fovri L.f. Philus, AR Denarius 119 BCE. Obv. Laureate head of Janus, M•FOVRI•L•F around / Rev. Roma with Corinthian helmet standing left holding scepter, crowning trophy surmounted by helmet and flanked by carnyx and shield on each side, Gallic arms around; star above, ROMA to right, PHLI in exergue. RSC I Furia 18 (ill.), Crawford 281/1, Sydenham 529, Sear RCV I 156 (ill.), BMCRR Italy 555. 20.13 mm., 3.66 g. [[I]According to Crawford (Vol. I p. 297), this reverse probably refers to "the defeat of the Allobroges and Arverni and the triumphs of 120."[/I]] [ATTACH=full]1367646[/ATTACH] Roman Republic, C. Sulpicius C.f. Galba, AR Serrate Denarius, 106 BCE, Rome Mint. Obv. Jugate heads of Dei Penates left, D•P•P [[I]Dei Penates Publici[/I]] beneath heads / Rev. Two soldiers facing each other, holding spears and pointing at sow lying down between them; S above; in exergue: C•SVL•ICI•C•F. [[I]Indication of undertype on right of reverse, causing loss of detail.[/I]] RSC I Sulpicia 1, Crawford 312/1, Sydenham 572, BMCRR Rome 1324, Sear RCV I 189 (ill.) 18.12 mm., 3.83 g. [[I]See Sear RCV I at p. 108: “Crawford’s interpretation of this interesting type seems the most convincing: it refers to Aeneas’ [landing at and founding of] Lavinium (home of the Sulpicia gens) with the Penates, and the subsequent miracle of the great white sow [giving birth to 30 piglets], which foretold the founding of Alba Longa,” where the soil was more fertile, 30 years later[/I].] ([I]Ex. Madroosi Collection [Joe Blazick][/I]). [ATTACH=full]1367649[/ATTACH] Roman Republic, Cn. Lentulus Clodianus Cornelia, AR Quinarius [half denarius], Rome 88 BCE. Obv. Laureate head of Jupiter right / Rev. Victory standing right, crowning trophy; in exergue, CN•LENT. Crawford 345/2, RSC I Cornelia 51a (ill.), BMCRR 2443-2444, Sear RCV I 255 (ill.), Sydenham 703, RBW Collection 1313. 14x15 mm., 1.99 g.* [ATTACH=full]1367660[/ATTACH] *The moneyer was Consul in 72 BCE (when he was sent against Spartacus but his legions were defeated), and was later Censor in 70 BCE, and a legate with praetorian imperium under Pompey in 67 BCE. This coin was issued after the end of the Social War, to celebrate the Roman victory and/or to commemorate the “victories of M. Claudius M.f. M.n. Marcellus over Hannibal in the Second Punic War, which culminsted in the capture of Syracuse in B.C. 212.” See RSC I at p. 39. Roman Republic, A. Postumius A.f. Sp.n. Albinus (Aulus Postumius Albinus, son of Aulus [mint magistrate ca. 96 BCE], and grandson of Spurius [Consul 110 BCE]), AR Serrate Denarius, 81 BCE, Rome mint. Obv. Veiled head of Hispania right, with disheveled hair; HISPAN behind / Rev. Togate figure standing left, raising right hand towards legionary eagle to left; fasces with ax to right; A •/ ALBIN/ N • S [AL in monogram] across fields; POST • A • F in exergue. Crawford 372/2, RSC I Postumia 8 (ill.), Sydenham 746, Sear RCV I 297 (ill.), BMCRR Rome 2839-42, Harlan RRM I Ch. 1 at pp. 6-7 [Harlan, Michael, [I]Roman Republican Moneyers and their Coins[/I], 81 BCE-64 BCE (2012)]. 19 mm., 3.92 g., 6 h. ([I]Purchased from Brad Bowlin; Ex.“old French collection in Paris.” Double die-match to Die AB for type, RRDP, Schaefer Binder 5, p. 193-0; see [/I][URL='http://numismatics.org/archives/ark:/53695/schaefer.rrdp.b05#schaefer_372-2_b05_p193.)*'][I]http://numismatics.org/archives/ark:/53695/schaefer.rrdp.b05#schaefer_372-2_b05_p193.[/I])*[/URL] [ATTACH=full]1367655[/ATTACH] * RSC I (p. 82), and BMCRR (p. 352 n. 1) agree that the coin may relate to the praetorship of the moneyer’s ancestor Lucius Postumius Albinus (Praetor 180 BCE) over Spain, his successful expeditions against the Vaccari and Lusitani, and the levying of troops for this campaign. Crawford concurs, stating (Vol. 1 at p. 389) that “the reverse, combining a togate figure on the one hand with an eagle and the fasces on the other, perhaps simply alludes to civilian and military [I]imperium[/I]; taken with the obverse type, the reference is doubtless to the Spanish command of L. Postumius Albinus, Pr. 180.” Harlan also details the victories of Lucius Postumius Albinus in Further Spain, and his triumph in Rome in 178 BCE. RRM 1 at p. 7. However, Harlan also ties this coin to contemporary events, namely the fact that after Sulla’s victory over Marius, there remained one bastion of Marian resistance to Roman [I]imperium[/I], namely in Spain, where the governor, Sertorius, refused to obey the Senate, establishing an independent state and a refuge for the defeated Marians. Sulla sent an army against Sertorius in late 82 BCE, although the conflict continued at least until 80. Sertorius found his greatest support among the Lusitanians; hence the relevance (beyond the moneyer’s family history) of L. Postumius Albinus’s victories over the Lusitanians a century earlier. Id. at pp. 6-7. Thus, according to Harlan, the “unnamed togate magistrate flanked by the fasces and the legionary eagle is a symbol of Roman [I]imperium[/I]. Postumius’ coin shows that Spain, represented by Hispania on the obverse, must also recognize Roman [I]imperium[/I] and embrace Rome as the head of things just as Italy had done. Id. at p. 7. (See this moneyer’s other coin, Crawford 372/1, and its theme of Rome as [I]caput rerum[/I] for Italy. RRM I Ch. 1 at pp. 1-6.) Roman Republic, A. Postumius A.f. Sp.n. Albinus (Aulus Postumius Albinus, son of Aulus [mint magistrate ca. 96 BCE], and grandson of Spurius [Consul 110 BCE]), AR Serrate Denarius, 81 BCE. Obv. Draped bust of Diana right, with bow and quiver over shoulder, figure of stag’s head at end of bow (horns to left), bucranium above [[I]off flan[/I]] / Rev. Roman priest standing facing on rocky ground (on Aventine Hill), head left, with right arm extended holding aspergillum, sprinkling heifer [[I]Harlan, RRM I[/I]*], bull [[I]Crawford & Sear[/I]], or ox [[I]RSC[/I]] which he is about to sacrifice, a lighted altar between them, A POST - AF - SN • ALBIN [[I]AL in monogram[/I]] around. RSC I Postumia 7, Crawford 372/1, Sydenham 745, Sear RCV I 296 (ill.), Harlan, RRM I Ch. 1 at pp. 1-7, BMCRR 2836. 18.54 mm., 3.85 g. [I]Ex. Spink & Sons Ltd. [/I]([I]before 2000 because of address on Spink coin tag; probably before 1974 given citation to Sydenham but not Crawford.[/I]) SB Binder 5 RRC 372/1 (173, 184, 188, 189, 192) [ATTACH=full]1367656[/ATTACH] * See Michael Harlan, [I]Roman Republican Moneyers and their Coins[/I], 81 BCE-64 BCE (2012) (“RRM I”) (using this coin-type as the cover illustration for his book). At pp. 3-4, Harlan argues that in the legend which, as Crawford acknowledges, is the basis for the reverse of this coin -- namely, the sacrifice to Diana on the Aventine Hill founding her temple there ca. 500 BCE, establishing Rome as the [I]caput rerum[/I] for all of Italy [and symbolizing the victory of Sulla over the rebel Italians in 82 BCE] -- the sacrificed animal was a heifer with wondrous horns, not a bull or an ox. (Citing Livy, [I]The History of Rome[/I], Book 1, ch. 45 [available at [URL='http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0145%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D45']http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0145:book=1:chapter=45[/URL]].) Roman Republic, Mn. Aquillius Mn.f. Mn.n. [Manius Aquillius, son of Manius and grandson of Manius], AR Serrate Denarius, 71 BCE [Harlan: 67 BCE], Rome Mint. Obv. Helmeted and draped bust of Virtus right; III VIR downwards behind, VIRTVS upwards in front / Rev. Manius Aquillius [the moneyer’s grandfather, Consul 101 BCE] standing facing, head right, bearing shield on his left side, raising with his right hand a prostrate Sicilia [personification of Sicily], kneeling left at his feet; MN. AQVIL. upwards to right, MN. F. MN. N. [each MN in monogram] downwards to left; SICIL in exergue. Crawford 401/1, RSC I Aquillia 2 (ill.), Sear RCV I 336 (ill.), Sydenham 798, Harlan RRM I Ch. 31, pp. 183-188 [Harlan, Michael, [I]Roman Republican Moneyers and their Coins[/I], 81 BCE-64 BCE (2012)]. 18x20 mm., 3.76 g.* [ATTACH=full]1367657[/ATTACH] *See Sear RCV I at p. 135, noting that this coin has the “first appearance on the coinage of the triumviral title of a moneyer (III VIR = tresvir).” This is also one of only two Republican coins to depict Virtus on the obverse. The reverse design on the coin commemorates the moneyer’s grandfather, Manius Aquillius (identified in the legend), and his successful suppression in 101 BCE of a slave revolt in Sicily that had begun in 104 BCE. Sicily is portrayed as an under-nourished, helpless girl shielded and uplifted by Mn Aquillius and the military might of Rome. See Harlan at pp. 183-188. Harlan notes that although the moneyer’s grandfather was awarded an ovation in 100 BCE after his victory (a lesser form of triumph, awarded for defeating slaves, pirates, etc.), he was later charged with having engaged in extortion and bribe-taking in Sicily (although he was acquitted because of his bravery in the war), and ultimately, while serving as ambassador on a mission to Asia, was defeated and captured by Mithridates VI of Pontus, who ordered his execution in 88 BCE by the method of having molten gold poured down his throat. In issuing this coin, the moneyer obviously chose to focus on his grandfather’s earlier successes in Sicily rather than his unfortunate end, perhaps (according to Harlan) trying to equate his grandfather’s successes with the recent suppression of the Spartacus slave revolt -- ironically enough by Crassus, given his supposed execution by the Parthians after Carrhae by exactly the same method. And one Imperial coin celebrating victory over Dacia: Trajan AR Denarius, 106 AD, Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate bust right; IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TRP COS V P P / Rev. Captive Dacian in peaked cap with wide brim, seated right on shield in mournful attitude with left elbow on raised left knee, and face resting in left hand; below, curved Dacian sword (falx) right; SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI. RIC II 219 ([URL]http://numismatics.org/ocre/results?q=RIC+II+Trajan+219[/URL]); RSC II 529; Sear RCV II 3168 (obv. var.); BMCRE 175 ([URL]https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_R-11584[/URL]). 17 mm., 3.02 g., 6 h. [ATTACH=full]1367659[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]
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