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Crawford 394/1, ROMAN REPUBLIC, C. Postumius, AR Denarius
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Rome, The Republic.
C. Postumius, 74-73 BCE.
AR Denarius (3.95g; 20mm).
Rome mint.
Obverse: Draped bust of Diana facing right, with bow and quiver over shoulder.
Rev: Hound running to right; spear below; C. POSTVMI and AT or TA (ligate) in exergue.
References: Crawford 394/1a; Sydenham 785; BMCRR 3238; Postumia 9.
Provenance: Ex Student and Mentor Collection [NAC 83 (20 May 2015) Lot 347]; ex Frank Sternberg Auction VII (24-5 Nov 1977), Lot 390; ex Cuzzi Collection [Baranowski (Dec 1929) Lot 280].
The moneyer may have been the Caius Postumius that prosecuted Lucius Licinius Murena for election fraud in 63 BCE. It is uncertain what the ligate letters AT (or TA) denote on the reverse, and there is another variety of this issue without the monogram. Diana is a popular deity on coinage produced by the Postumia gens, and the hound and spear on the reverse are also attributes of Diana, the huntress. Diana appears so frequently on Postumian coins because on the eve of the battle of Lake Regillus (c. 496 BCE), during a sacrifice to Diana, the augurs foretold the domination of Rome over Latium. A. Postumius Albinus led the troops at this decisive battle. Thus, the gens subsequently claimed responsibility for fulfilling the prophecy of Diana.
Crawford dated this issue to 74 BCE, but Hersh and Walker in Mesagne down-dated the issue to 73 BCE. Michael Harlan suggests an even later date of 71 BCE.
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