CoinImages

The rise of Rome was an existential threat to the independent Greek cities long before the incorporation of Greece as a province of the Roman republic after the Achaean War in 146 BC. The Greek cities of Southern Italy had earlier come into conflict with an expanding Rome as part of its consolidation of power against rival tribes. In 328 BC war broke out between Rome and Neapolis, which was resolved when a pro-Roman faction took control of the city. But from then the fate of the Greek cities was intertwined with the rise of Roman power, sometimes in alliance, such as in 284 BC when Thurium sought Roman aid against the Lucanians, but more often in conflict, as this in turn drew them into conflict with Taras, leading to the Pyrrhic wars.

Contact with the Greeks had prompted a need for silver coinage in addition to the bronze currency that the Romans were using at that time. The first distinctively Roman silver coin appeared around 226 BC, properly known as a quadrigati, derived from the quadriga, or four-horse chariot, on the reverse. This, with a two-horse chariot or biga which was used as a reverse type for some early denarii. The first denarii appeared in about 211 BC during the second Punic war alongside a short-lived denomination called the victoriatus. The denarius of 211 BC weighed about 4.55g but underwent a debasement around 200 BC to settle at around 3.90g. A denarius was initially worth 10 copper As, but was re-tariffed in 141 BC to equal 16 asses due to a decrease in weight of the As. Production of Roman coin was under the control of three annually appointed moneyers called Tresviri Aere Argento Auro Flando Feriundo, literally "three men for casting (and) striking bronze, silver (and) gold (coins)". These officials controlled the minting process including the design on the coins, which led to the production of coins containing political messages, intended to further the career of the moneyers themselves (or their families).

The quality of the coins, their political nature and the vast history associated with the Roman republic makes these coins very collectable and in discussing Greek coins I think it is fair to devote a minor section to those of Rome.

Pinarius Natta. Denarius circa 155, AR 17.50 mm., 3.85 g. Obv: Helmeted head of Roma, behind, X. Rev: Victory in prancing biga r.; below, NAT and ROMA in tablet.

Pinarius Nata is only known to us as the moneyer at the time of the production of these coins. The coin itself is completely standard, with the head of ROMA clearly identified on the obverse and Victory in a biga chariot on the reverse. Pinarius Natta would have been s a member of the ancient Roman gens Pinaria, an aristocratic family with a long history in Roman society. The Pinarii were one of the oldest patrician families in Rome, reputed to have been among the original families of the Roman state. The Natta branch of the Pinarii is less well-documented but carried on the family's traditions and status. While there may not be extensive records about Pinarius Natta specifically, other notable members of the gens Pinaria held significant positions. For instance, Lucius Pinarius, a consul in 472 BC, and another Lucius Pinarius, a military tribune involved in the Second Punic War. He may have held the office of moneyer a few years later when there is another small series of denarii with the name NATTA attached.

Rome, C. Renius. AR Denarius, 138 BC. Obv: Helmeted head of Roma right; behind, X. Rev: Juno in biga of goats right; below, C·RENI; in exergue, ROMA. . AR. 3.76 g. 18.00 mm.

According to Grueber the gens Renius is only known to us from coins and from an inscription which mentions a C. Rennius C. F. Laetus found on the site of the ancient city of Lanuvium. He then links the reverse to the worship of Juno Caprotina at that city as the goddess is represented wearing a goat-skin on her head. This sounds a bit tenuous and Crawford agrees, also suggesting that the Rennius in the inscription may be of no relevance. That leaves us with no information on the moneyer and we are left with an intriguing puzzle of the story behind a biga drawn by two goats. The moneyer would not have substituted horses for goats unless it indicated an important story related to his family.

Roman Republic, Rome, AR Denarius. Obv: Head of Roma, right, with necklace of pendants. Border of dots. Rev: ROMA M·BAEBI·Q·F: Apollo in quadriga, right, holding bow and arrow with reins in left hand and branch in right hand. Line border.

Silver denarius minted by republican moneyer, known only from his coins, marked M·BAEBI·Q·F TAMPIL in 137 BCE. However, he may be the father of the M. Baebius who was Tribune of the Plebs in 103 BC. He is presumably descended from one of the Consular Baebii Tampili of the early second century. Obverse is helmeted head of Roma, left, X before, TAMPIL behind. Reverse is Apollo holding bow and arrow, reigns and branch, driving galloping quadriga right. ROMA below and M BAEBI A F in exergue. The roman consuls in 137 BCE were M. Aemilius Lepidus Porcina and C. Hostilius Mancinus. This seems to have been a pretty quiet year, the biggest issue being the Numantine war (Celtibarian wars in Spain). in 137 BC, 20,000 Romans surrendered to the Celtiberians of Numantia (population between 4,000-8,000). The young Roman officer Tiberius Gracchus, as quaestor, saved the Roman army from destruction by signing a peace treaty with the Numantines, an action generally reserved for a Legate.

Roman Republic, Rome. Q. Fabius Maximus. Denarius circa 127, AR 17.80 mm., 3.86 g. Obv: Q·MAX – ROMA Helmeted head of Roma right. Below chin, *. Rev: Cornucopia over thunderbolt within wreath of barley ears and wheat with assorted fruits.

This is another moneyer of whom little is known. The gens Fabia was one of the most ancient patrician families at Rome, playing a prominent part in history soon after the establishment of the Republic. Three brothers are said to have been invested with seven successive consulships, from 485 to 479 BC. The house derived its greatest lustre from the patriotic courage and tragic fate of the 306 Fabii in the Battle of the Cremera in 477 BC. The Fabii were not distinguished as warriors only; several members of the gens were also important in the history of Roman literature and the arts (from Numista).

Lucius Caesius - Denarius 112-111 BC - Mint: Rome. Obv: Youthful, draped bust of Vejovis left, hurling thunderbolt; monogram to right. Rev: Two Lares seated right on rock, each holding a staff; dog standing right between them, head of Vulcan and tongs above - 3.62g.

The gens Caesia was a plebeian family at Rome during the late Republic, and through imperial times. The first member of the gens to achieve prominence was Marcus Caesius, praetor in 75 BC. Under the Empire, the gens was distinguished for its literary achievements. Vejovis is an ancient Roman deity (pre-dating Greek influences) whose attributes and functions are somewhat obscure and subject to various interpretations by scholars. He is often considered a god of healing, associated with averting plagues and providing relief from illness. He is also sometimes seen as a chthonic deity, related to the underworld, or as an avenger of injustice. The ambiguity surrounding his role makes it difficult to pin down a specific function. Vejovis had temples in Rome, notably on the Capitoline Hill and the Tiber Island. His cult involved sacrifices, including the offering of a goat. Monogram on obverse appears to be listed by all catalogues as AP letters; however, the middle bar of the A in shape of the letter M added to the R and A clearly visible would rather make this a monogram for ROMA. The O would then be the upper part of the R. This view is contradicted by Crawford, who assesses the monogram to represent Ap(ollo) rather than R(om)a and from this that the figure on the obverse is Apollo rather than Vejovis.

Roman Republic. L. Titurius L.f. Sabinus, 89 BC. AR Denarius, Rome. Obv: SABIN / L TITVRI. The rape of the Sabine women. Bareheaded, bearded head of King Tatius right. Rev: SABIN behind, palm branch below chin. The rape of the Sabine women: two Roman soldiers, each bearing a woman in his arms. L. TITVRI in exergue.

Obverse is bare head of King Tatius right, SABIN behind, palm branch below chin. Reverse is the rape of the Sabine women; two roman soldiers each bearing a woman in his arms. L TUTVRI in exergue. The consuls of the year were Cn. Pompeius Strabo and L. Porcius Cato. Lucius Titurius L.F. Sabinus was a moneyer in 89 B.C. and issued three Denarius types all related to his family’s claimed descent from King Titus Tatius, a legendary Sabine King. As a moneyer, Sabinus would have been a Quaestor, or junior Roman senator in 89 B.C. As such, he would have likely served in the Social War at some point. While not much is known as to his service at this point, he is believed to have been a Legate under Metellus Pius or Pompey the Great in 75 B.C. in the Sertorian War in Spain The obverse depicts Titus Tatius, the legendary Sabine king who attacked and took Rome, aided by Tarpeia’s treachery after the rape of the Sabine women. The Sabine women however, convinced Tatius and Romulus to rule jointly over the Romans and the Sabines, marking the first entry of new peoples into the Roman state. Tatius would die, leaving Romulus to rule alone, and thus Tatius was not counted among the seven kings of Rome.

Roman Republic. Q. Fufius Kalenus and Mucius Cordus. Silver serrate denarius, 70 BC. Rome. Obv: jugate heads of Virtus, helmeted and Honos, laureate, right; KALENI below, HO behind, VIRT (ligate) before. Rev: Italia standing right, holding cornucopia and clasping hands with Roma, standing left, with foot on globe and holding sceptre; winged caduceus and ITAL monogram in left field, RO in right field, CORDI in exergue.

Denarii with serrated edges appeared around 209 BC, two years after the introduction of denarius coinage. Roman serrati display a typical sawtooth pattern on the edges - the process of serration was done by hand. There were further issues between 106 and 105 BC and again between 83 and 79 BC, with several examples continuing to be struck towards the end of the Republican era. This coin is an example of one of the last issues of Roman serrati. This type is 'an allusion to the recent pacification of Italy after the Social War, and conveys the intimation that in future this alliance would be under the special care of the divinities Honos and Virtus' (D. R. Sear RSC I, p. 49). Quintus Fufius Kalenus was a plebeian tribune in 61 BC rising to Praetor in 59 BC with the support of Caesar. Fufius later served under Caesar at the close of the Gallic Wars and during the civil war that followed. For his services he was made consul in 47 BC. After Caesar's death in 44 BC, he supported Mark Antony and was given command of the legions in the north of Italy. Mucius Cordus is believed to be Mucius Scaevola, who perhaps signed this way to associate himself with the Mucius Cordus who made the failed assassination attempt on Lars Porsena (the Etruscan king who besieged Rome after the exile of Tarquinius Superbus. Ex Andrew McCabe Collection, Classical Numismatic Group, Electronic Auction 420 (9/5/2018).

Roman Republic. L. Aemilius Paullus Lepidus, 62 BC. AR Denarius, PAVLLVS LEPIDVS behind and above, CONCORDIA before, diademed and veiled head of Concordia right. TER above, PAVLLVS in exergue, trophy; to left, the captives King Perseus of Macedon and his two sons standing right; to right, Paullus standing left.

Obverse is head of Concordia veiled and diademed with PAULLUS LEIPDUS CONCORDIA around. Reverse is L Aemilius Paullus to the right of trophy, Perseus and his sons to the left with he lettering TER above. L. Aemilius Lepidus Paullus was a moneyer in 62 BC. The consuls of the time were D. Junius Silanus and L. Licinius Murena (Paullus was consul in 50 BCE). It would have had PAULUS in the exergue. Lucius Aemilius Paullus (flourished 1st century BC) was a Roman politician. He was the brother of triumvir Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and son to Marcus Aemilius Lepidus the consul of 78 BC. His mother may have been a daughter of Lucius Appuleius Saturninus. Paullus supported Cicero during the Catiline Conspiracy. He never supported Pompey, probably because he held a grudge against him for betraying his father in 77. Paullus was quaestor in 59 BC, aedile in 55, praetor in 53 and consul in 50. During Paullus' consulship, Julius Caesar bribed him for his support. He reconstructed the Basilica Aemilia in Rome, with part of his bribery money. According to Valerius Maximus: "When the senate decreed that the temples of Isis and Serapis be demolished and none of the workmen dared touch them, consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus took off his official gown, seized an axe, and dashed it against the doors of that temple" In 179 BC Philip V of Macedon died and Perseus took the throne. Soon Rome and Perseus went to war in the Third Macedonian War (171-168 BC). Although Perseus had some initial success, the war ended with the King's surrender to the Roman general Lucius Aemilius Paullus after his decisive defeat at the Battle of Pydna, and his eventual imprisonment in Rome with his half-brother Philippus and son Alexander. Perseus was led as a captive in the triumph of Paullus, then thrown in prison, where - according to Plutarch - after two years, the Romans decided to kill him, and had him kept from sleeping to the point that he died from exhaustion in 166 BC. Traditionally L. Aemilius Lepidus had three great triumphs, the third (as noted by the legend 'TER' for tertius) at Pydna in 168 when he defeated King Perseus and his two sons.

Julius Caesar, Denarius, military mint moving with Caesar, spring-summer, 48 BC. Obv: diademed head of Pietas right, wearing an oak wreath, hair tied back and ornamented with jewels, lii behind. Rev. caesar below trophy of Gallic arms with shield, horned helmet and carnyx, axe right.

On 10 January 49 BC Caesar crossed the Rubicon, effectively declaring war on the Roman senate. With so many Northern Italian cities opening their gates to Caesar the senate fled south, abandoning Rome. Over the summer of 49 BC Caesar defeated the Senatorial armies in Spain and then sought out the remaining Senatorial armies, lead by Pompey Magnus. He defeated Pompey at Pharsalus in an exceedingly short engagement in 48 BC. To enable his troops to have access to official currency to facilitate trade and pay for supplies, Caesar would have had a travelling military mint that could produce coins as needed during this period. This coin is an example of those produced in the military mint accompanying Caesar. The reverse has an image of his most famous victory, reminding the troops that he was the General who defeated the Gauls who had been viewed with fear by the Romans since they first sacked Rome after the Battle of the Allia in 390 BC. It would have boosted morale as they marched to face Pompey at Pharsalus, where he fielded a substantially larger army. The image of Pietas (literally piety or duty) reinforced the values of Roman society and the importance of fulfilling one's obligations to both the divine and the community (or in this case, the army). Pietas is first represented on Roman coins on denarii issued by Marcus Herennius in 108 BC.

Roman Empire - Silver Antoninian, Otacilia Severa (244-249 AD) (wife of Philip the Arab, 244-249 AD) silver Antoninianus from Rome. Obv: M OTACIL SEVERA AVG, head with diadem draped bust on half moon to the right. Rev: CONCORDIA AVGG, Concordia sitting to the left, holding offering bowl and double cornucopia. 23.0mm 3.97g

Marcia Otacilia Severa or Otacilia Severa was the Empress of Rome and wife of Emperor Marcus Julius Philippus or Philip the Arab, who reigned over the Roman Empire from 244 to 249. She was a member of the ancient gens Otacilia, of consular and senatorial rank. Her father was Otacilius Severus or Severianus, who served as Roman Governor of Macedonia and Moesia, while her mother was a member of gens Marcia or was related to the gens. The antoninianus, or pre-reform radiate was a coin used during the Roman Empire thought to have been valued at 2 denarii. It was initially silver, but was slowly debased to bronze with a minimal silver content. The coin was introduced by Caracalla in early 215 AD. It was silver, similar to the denarius except that it was slightly larger and featured the emperor wearing a radiate crown, indicating it was a double denomination. Antoniniani depicting women (usually the emperor's wife) featured the bust resting upon a crescent moon. Even at its introduction, the silver content of the antoninianus was only equal to 1.5 denarii. This created inflation: People rapidly hoarded the denarii (Gresham's law), while both buyers and sellers recognized the new coin had a lower intrinsic value and elevated their prices to compensate. Silver bullion supplies began running short because the Roman Empire was no longer conquering new territory, the Iberian silver mines had been exhausted, and a series of soldier emperors and usurpers needed coin to pay their troops and buy their loyalty. Each new issue of the antoninianus thus had less silver in it than the last, and thus contributed to ever-increasing inflation. Modern numismatists use "antoninianus" because it is not known what it was called in antiquity.

M. Vargunteius. Denarius circa 130 BC, AR 20.00 mm., 3.90 g. Obv: Helmeted head of Roma right; behind, M·VARG and below chin, *. Rev: Jupiter in slow quadriga r., holding thunderbolt and branch. In exergue, ROMA.

Virtually nothing is known of M. Vargunteius (this is to early to be the person associated with the Cataline conspiracy). Therefore all we can say is that according to Crawford he was in office at the same time as M.Ancilius and Q. Metellus based on the similarity of the use of the slow quadriga on the reverse, which is quite unusual for the period.

Roman Republic, AR Denarius, Rome mint. Obv: Helmeted and draped bust of Mars right; behind, TI VET. Rev: Youth kneeling left head right, holding a pig; flanked by a soldier on either side, who each hold a spear and touch the pig with their sword; above, ROMA.

Obverse is helmeted and draped bust of Mars right; behind, TI VET (Ti. Veturius T.f. Gracchi). Reverse is a youth kneeling left head right, holding a pig; flanked by a soldier on either side, who each hold a spear and touch the pig with their sword; above, ROMA. Minted in Rome, 137 BC. The roman consuls in 137 BC were M. Aemilius Lepidus Porcina and C. Hostilius Mancinus. The denarius of Ti. Veturius is the first to break with the traditional charioteer type. The oath-taking scene relates to one of Rome’s most traumatic defeats, in 321 BC during the second Samnite War. The Roman army, marching to relieve the siege of Luceria was trapped in the defile of the Caudine Forks, and faced extermination by the Samnians holding the high ground. The two consuls commanding the army, Ti. Veturius Calvinus and Sp. Postumius, agreed to surrender and the sponsio or sacrifice of a pig, was a sacred oath to abide by the terms of the surrender. When the two consuls returned to Rome they declared that Rome and rest of the army was not bound by the agreement, since it was not a formal treaty, and they would surrender themselves to the Samnites as oath-breakers and allow Rome to pursue the war. Less romantically, Crawford also links the scene depicted to the treaty of 137 BC negotiated by Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, the moneyer's cousin, during the Numantine War.

Roman Republic, Sex. Pompeius Fostlus. Denarius, 137 BC. Obv: Helmeted head of Roma right; behind, jug; below chin, X. Rev: She-wolf suckling twins; behind, ficus Ruminalis; on left, the shepherd Faustulus leaning on staff; around SEX·PO FOSTLVS; in exergue, ROMA. AR. 3.90 g. 19.00 mm.

The gens Pompeia was a plebeian family, and at the same time a consular family, which appears to derive its name from the town of Pompeii in Campania. It furnished the Republic of Rome with several illustrious citizens. This moneyer may have been the Sextus Pompeius who married Lucilia, a sister of the poet C. Lucilius, the grandfather of Pompey the Great. The obverse, which has as its type the typical the head of Roma, has the numeral X to the right, indicating a value of ten asses. In fact, from the start of the denarius in around 217 BC it was valued at sixteen asses (save for the pay of soldiers which was continued to be reconned as a denarius of 10 asses). It should be noted the Romans had ceased production of the As at this time, not recommencing minting of it until around 91 BC. In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus are twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the founding of the city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his fratricide of Remus. The image of a she-wolf suckling the twins in their infancy has been a symbol of the city of Rome and the ancient Romans since at least the 3rd century BC. According to mythology, Faustulus was the shepherd who found the twins Romulus and Remus on Palatine Hill where they had been left exposed to die. Hence, the moneyer in this instance is reminding everyone that his family was associated with one aspect of the founding of Rome. Faustulus found the twins being suckled by a she-wolf under a fig tree, which is also represented on the coin.

Roman Republic, C. Porcius Cato. Denarius (123 BC). Rome mint. Obv: Helmeted head of Roma right; X (mark of value) behind. Rev: C CATO / ROMA. Victory driving biga right, holding reins and whip.

Gaius Porcius Cato was a Roman politician and general, notably consul in 114 BC. He was the grandson of Cato the Censor and was a moneyer in 123 BC. The consuls of that time were Q. Caecilius Metellus Balearicus and T. Quinctius Flamininus. Gaius is first mentioned in the sources as a supporter of Tiberius Gracchus, the famous social reformer and tribune of the plebs in 133. His first recorded position was as triumvir monetalis in 123, the year of the first tribunate of Gaius Gracchus, which suggests he also supported Tiberius' younger brother. It seems that he deserted the cause of the Gracchi soon after though, as he was later prosecuted by a Gracchan court. Cicero describes him as a "mediocre orator". Nothing is known of his activities until his consulship in 114, but Gaius was surely praetor by 117, as the Lex Villia required a three-year wait between holding magistracies. His province was likely Sicily, as Cicero tells that Gaius' baggage was confiscated by the Mamertines, the inhabitants of Messina. The reason is unknown, but Gaius was likely on his way to take on (or returning from) his post in Syracuse. Gaius was elected consul in 114, alongside the other plebeian Manius Acilius Balbus. He is described as consul posterior while Balbus is consul prior, which means the Centuriate Assembly elected Balbus first. Erich Gruen considers that Gaius was a supporter of the conservative Caecilii Metelli—the most powerful family at the time. Gaius was assigned Macedonia as his province, which was normally given to a praetor, but a war against the Scordisci—a Celtic or Illyrian tribe from east Serbia—had broken out and a consul was needed. During the Summer Gaius nevertheless suffered a crushing defeat against the Scordisci in northern Thrace, who then could enter Roman territory as far as Delphi and the Adriatic. It was the first major Roman defeat in a generation. The disaster triggered a "religious hysteria" at Rome, with a return to human sacrifice for the last time in Roman history.

Roman Republic - AR Denarius, Q. Lutatius Cerco, 109-108 BC. Rome mint. Obv. Helmeted head of Roma (or Mars) right; mark of value to left. Rev. Galley right with head of Roma on prow; all within oak wreath.

Cerco was a Roman moneyer who would have been active in the years that the consuls were Q. Caecilius Metellus (Numidicus) and M. Junius Silanus (109 BC). In 108 BC they were Ser. Sulpicius Galba and M. Aurelius Scaurus. He does not seem to have been very successful in Roman politics and is not known to have progressed beyond the quaestorship. This coin is 3.87g which aligns with the debasement of around 200 BC when the denarius fell from a weight of 4.55g (first struck in 211 BC). Contact with the Greeks had prompted a need for silver coinage in addition to the bronze currency that the Romans were using at that time.

Cn. Lentulus Clodianus, Rome, 88 BC. AR Denarius. Obv: Helmeted bust of Mars right, seen from behind. Rev: Victory driving biga right, holding wreath and reins.

Lentulus Clodianus was one of the triumvirs in 88 BC and followed on to have a career both as consul and as a rather unsuccessful general. He was adopted into the patrician Cornelii Lentuli and in 75BC he was elected quaestor, and then in 72 BC he was elected consul, probably due to his close connections and support of Pompey. He returned the favour by legislating to validate grants of citizenship by Pompey in Hispania and also for the recovery of funds confiscated by Sulla during the proscriptions of the Social war (91-87 BC). He was appointed together with his consular colleague Publicola to confront the rising threat of Spartacus, who was leading a slave revolt in Italy. They divided the forces and were defeated in succession by Spartacus, with the Clodianus’ first defeat taking place in the Lentula valley. Both consuls were subsequently retired back to Rome and replaced by Crassus, who was more successful in quelling the revolt. In 70 BC, Clodianus helped contribute to Cicero's famous prosecution of the corrupt governor Verres by submitting evidence in support of Cicero's case (Verres was notoriously corrupt and had pillaged Sicily for personal profit). A clue to his character may be found in an extract quoted from Sallust "But Gnaeus Lentulus, his colleague, surnamed Clodianus, a man of patrician family — and it is not at all easy to say whether he was more churlish or more unreliable — proposed a bill for exacting the money which Sulla had remitted to the purchasers of property." The coin itself is quite traditional, almost a throwback, with the head of Mars on the obverse and a biga racing right on the reverse, driven by Nike. Grueber in Coins of the British Museum notes that there were two ordinary moneyers in this year, of which Clodianus was one, and two extraordinary ones - M. Fannius and L. Critonius, who issued a joint coinage in their capacity as aediles.

Roman Republic, M. Plaetorius Cestianus (67 BC) Denarius AR. 3.97 g. Rome. Obv: CESTIANVS Head. Turret of Cybele on the right, behind, lion's muzzle, in front of a globe. Rev: M· PLAETORIVS· AED· TRC EX· S·C. Curule chair. On the left, a hammer.

The gens Plaetoria was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. A number of Plaetorii appear in history during the first and second centuries BC, but none of this gens ever obtained the consulship. Several Plaetorii issued denarii from the late 70s into the 40s, of which one of the best known alludes to the assassination of Caesar on the Ides of March, since one of the Plaetorii (L. Plaetorius Cestianus) was a partisan of Pompey during the Civil War. Marcus Plaetorius Cestianus was a praetor around 64 BC and later became the governor of Macedonia. He struck a large series of coins, of which this is an example of type VI. This type has been recognised as a reference of the Megalenses Ludi, a festival celebrated in Ancient Rome from April 4 to April 10, in honour of Cybele which was under the control of the curule aediles. Cybele is an Anatolian mother-goddess (and Phrygia's only known goddess). In Rome, Cybele became known as Magna Mater ("Great Mother"). The Roman state adopted and developed a particular form of her cult after the Sibylline oracle in 205 BC recommended her conscription as a key religious ally in Rome's second war against Carthage (218 to 201 BC). Roman mythographers reinvented her as a Trojan goddess, and thus an ancestral goddess of the Roman people by way of the Trojan prince Aeneas. In the Roman Republic the curule chair was the seat upon which magistrates holding imperium were entitled to sit (including .praetors and curule aediles).

Roman Republic, M. Aemilius Scaurus and P. Plautius Hypsaeus . Denarius (58 BC). Rome. Obv: M SCAVR / AED CVR / EX S C / REX ARETAS. Nabatean King Aretas kneeling right, holding reins and filleted olive branch before camel standing right. Rev: P HVPSAEV / AED CVR / CAPTV / C HVPSAE COS / PREIVE. Jupiter driving galloping quadriga left, holding reins and hurling thunderbolt; scorpion below horses. Weight: 3.91 g. Diameter: 17 mm.

Scaurus belonged to the important patrician gens Aemilia and was the stepson of Sulla. Initially a supporter of Pompey, Scaurus fought under his command during the Third Mithridatic War, and later governed Syria. Ascending the cursus honorum, he threw magnificent games while curule aedile and later served as praetor. Receiving as his province Sardinia, he was charged with extortion on his return to Rome but was successfully defended by many eminent senators. His bid for the consulship of 53 BC was unsuccessful; in 52 BC he was convicted of bribery during those elections and went into exile. His fall was perhaps due to his marriage with Mucia, a former wife of Pompey, with whom he fell out of favour as a result. In this obverse we see a celebration of the Nabateans in 64 BC from which he increased the coffers of Pompey by 300 talents. This is the first instance where a moneyer celebrates in coin an event connected with his own history. Hypsaeus was Quaestor in around 60 BC under Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, and he was said to have had his political backing. He was Aedile Curulus in 58 BC and Praetor in 55 BC. In 52 BCE, Hypsaeus was one of three men who campaigned for the consulship. Their campaign was divisive, involving extensive bribery of the people and the formation of armed gangs loyal to each candidate. The open hostility was particularly marked between Publius Clodius Pulcher and Titus Annius Milo. Milo, backed by Cicero, was on one side, while Clodius and both Hypsaeus and Scipio were on the other. Their open violence culminated in the murder of Clodius and the burning down of both the Curia Julia and the Basilica Porcia in the Forum Romanum. In consequence, the elections for the consulship and praetorship could not be completed, and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus was made sole Consul for the year. [Wikipedia]. Hypsaeus has previously struck coins in 61 BC and here he repeats the reverse of his previous issue with only slight modifications.

L. Plautius Plancus (47 BC). AR denarius (19mm, 3.97 gm, 6h). Rome. Obv: L•PLAVTIVS, head of Medusa facing, coiled snake on either side. Rev: PLANCVS, Victory (or Aurora) flying forward, head left, holding palm branch in left hand over shoulder, reins in both hands, leading the four horses of the sun charging right.

Lucius Plautius Plancus was the brother of the L. Munatius Plancus who was praefectus Urbi under Caesar in 45 BC and two years later, as proconsul of Gallia Comata, was the founder of the colony of Lugdunum (modern Lyon). Lucius Plautius appears in July 44 as in charge of assignment of land to Caesar’s veterans. According to Cicero, he was praetor in 43 and intermediary between his brother in Gaul and the senate, he somehow ended up on the triumviral Proscription list and perished. The reverse type, remarkably, can be tied to a specific ancient work of art, a painting by the 4th century BC artist Nikomachos of Thebes. This notable picture may well have been in the possession of the moneyer during his period of office and have been reproduced as a coin type in celebration of Caesar's military successes in 48 and 47 BC. There is a distinct suspicion that his brother (L Munatius Plancus) was involved in his proscription and inherited the painting, which he dedicated to the Capitol at his Gallic Triumph.

Diomedes Ancient Coins