L. Titurius L.f. Sabinus

SABIN
Bare head of King Tatius right, bearded. Palm branch before

L TITVRI
Tarpeia facing, buried to her waist in shields, trying to ward off two soldiers who are about to cast their shields on her, star within crescent moon above

Rome, 89 BC

3.84g

Sear 251, RRC 344/2a

Ex-ANE from an old collection

Jet black toning.

One of the great legends of Rome commemorated on a coin. It tells the story of Rome being besieged by the Sabine king Titus Tatius after the "Rape" of the Sabine women. Tarpeia, daughter of the Roman commander Spurius Tarpeius, went out to the Sabine camp and offered them entry to the city in exchange for "what they bore on their left arms". She had meant their gold bracelets worn on their arms. Once inside the citadel the Sabines threw their shields—carried on the left arm—upon her, crushing her to death. Her body was then thrown from a steep cliff of the southern summit of the Capitoline Hill. The cliff was named the Tarpeian Rock after Tarpeia and would become the place of execution for Rome's most notorious traitors. King Tatius and Romulus soon were reconciled through the efforts of the abducted Sabine women who had come to love their Roman abductors. They jointly ruled over Rome for the next 5 years until Tatius death.