Cr 231/1 AR Denarius C. Renius

138 BCE Rome mint
o: Helmeted head of Roma right, X behind
r: Juno (Caprotina?) in biga of goats right, C. RENI below goats, ROMA in exergue.
Renia 1. 3.73 gm 18.00 mm
What can one say about a type that prominently features goats pulling a cart? Apparently a great deal if you are one of the great Republican numismatists and historians, who have a wide variety of explanations for why one of the more serious goddesses is being pulled around in a goat chariot on a fairly common coin. Crawford spends half a page saying why his predecessors are wrong to say the reverse depicts "Juno Caprotina" or other variations on the type. However, all he concludes is that it has something to do with Juno and and something to do with a goat, but not apparently "Juno of the Goat". This is one of those explanations in Crawford that leave something to be desired, such as clarity.

However, clarity is not a problem with this coin, which is nearly perfect except for the awkward chip in the flan from separation from the strip. I feel that the worker who separated the coins really tried to get the best out of this one.