Severed Head!!! (Roman Republican Coins--Detailed information?)

[kjmalla]

One of the things I enjoy about Republican coins is the history or story behind the images portrayed. 

For example, below is a coin I own. According to one source, the Roman
warrior being displayed was the grandfather of the moneyer (Silus).
He was a hero of the 2nd Punic War, although he was wounded and
ended up having his right arm amputated (and replaced with an iron arm).
The grandfather went on the fight in Gaul, where the image below
is taken: His Grandfather holding a sword and severed Celtic warrior's
head in his LEFT hand.

Is there some books, or other means, by which I can find out that level of detailed info (if it exists) for other coins of the republican period?

thanks!
Ken

[PLINIUS]

Hi Ken

the best soruce of informations on Republican Coins is Crawford's Roman Republican Coinage, Cambridge 1974, a 2 volume book quite expensive  (about 270 €).

Otherwise, a good book is Roman Republican Moneyers and their coins 63-49 bc by M Harlan Seaby London 1995, and Sear's The history and coinage of the roman imparators 49-27 bc. Spink  London 1998.

Here another Sergia's denarius

Plinius

[Gilgamesh]

Another way to get detailed information is to go to primary sources. Livy is available in paperback quite cheaply and is the major source for the period. It is also available on-line.
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/

[curtislclay]

The most convenient place to get such details about the types of Roman Republican coins is still Grueber's British Museum Catalogue of 1910, which is fairly available (though not usually cheap) since a reprint was issued in 1970.
Grueber, for example, confirms the details you give above about M. Sergius Silus, and names the source, Pliny's Hist. Nat. vii. 104-6.  Crawford 286 also gives the story and source, but with less detail; his primary interest was the chronology of the coinage and economic reasons for its production, not the explanation of the types.

[kjmalla]

Thanks for all the responses! I'm looking forward to digging deeper
into the sources mentioned.

Thanks again,
Ken

[kjmalla]

Found this searching the archives Gilgamesh provided:

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aid%3Dsilus-sergius1

They also have Pliny the Elder's Natural History book, Livy..and so on and so forth.

Very interesting.

Ken

[kjmalla]

Here is the detailed account from Pliny the Elder (last paragraph) for anyone interested:

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0137&query=page%3D%23672&word=Sergius

regards,
Ken

[Bohemond]

Here's mine