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Last additions - Joss
379-1_Procilia.jpg
379/1. Procilia - denarius (80 BC)AR Denarius (Rome, 80 BC)
O/ Laureate head of Jupiter right; S C downwards behind.
R/ Juno Sospita standing right, holding shield and hurling spear; snake before; L PROCILI/F downwards behind.
3.57g
Crawford 379/1 (104 obverse dies/116 reverse dies)

* Lucius Procilius:

The life of Procilius is sparsely known. Besides, he is the only recorded member of the gens Procilia for the Republic and the lack of a cognomen further indicates a humble origin. Dictionaries often record two different Procilius (a historian and a politician), but they were possibly the same person. Since there are 35 years between this denarius and the dated events of Procilius' life, the moneyer could have been the father of the politician and historian.

Regarding Procilius the historian, none of his writings has survived, even as fragments, but he is quoted by Varro about the origin of the Lacus Curtius on the Forum (Latin Language, v. 148), Pliny the Elder on a text related to Pompey (Natural History, viii. 2), and Cicero alludes that he wrote on Greek constitutions (Atticus, ii. 2). The scope of his works must have therefore been quite extensive. In the aforementioned letter, Cicero shows his dislike for Procilius, which is perhaps related to Procilius' political role.

Indeed, in other letters, Cicero mentions that Procilius was also a Tribune of the Plebs in 56, and that he was allied to Gaius Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger's cousin) and Marcus Nonius Sufenas, also Tribunes that year. They supported Publius Clodius Pulcher, Tribune in 59 and Aedile in 56, who -- as Tribune -- had banned Cicero from Rome for his repression of the Catiline Conspiracy, hence the animosity of Cicero towards Procilius. In 56, Pulcher and the three tribunes, including Procilius, prevented the elections from taking place, in order to force an interregnum, so that Crassus and Pompey could be chosen consuls for 55 (Cassius Dio, Roman History, xxxix. 27-33).

They used violence and bribery to prevent this election and were therefore sued. Cato and Sufenas were acquitted, but Procilius was found guilty on 4 July 54 (Cicero, Atticus, iv. 15). Apparently, he was not condemned for the complete illegality of his deeds, but because he had killed a man in his house; and Cicero complains that 22 judges on 49 still wanted to absolve him. In the following letter to Atticus (ii. 16), Cicero adds that there are rumors about Sufenas and his judges, possibly about corruption, but does not give more details.

The use of Juno Sospita refers to the town of Lanuvium, where she was worshiped, probably the hometown of Procilius.

JossOct 25, 2018
423-1_Servilia2.jpg
423/1. Servilia - denarius (57 BC)AR Denarius (Rome, 57 BC)
O/ Head of Flora right; lituus behind; FLORAL PRIMVS before.
R/ Two soldiers facing each other and presenting swords; C SERVEIL in exergue; C F upwards on right.
3.87g; 18mm
Crawford 423/1 (99 obverse dies/110 reverse dies)
- ROMA Numismatics, E-Sale 42, lot 484.
- Artemide Aste, 11-12 June 2016, lot 253.

* Gaius Servilius C.f. (Brocchus?):

The gens Servilia was originally patrician, but our moneyer was most likely a plebeian because at this time, the only remaining patrician branch of the gens was the Caepiones. The Servilii Gemini, likewise patricians at first, lost their status during the Second Punic War for an unknown reason and their descendants had erratic cognomina, making it difficult to reconstruct the genealogical tree of the gens. The one given by Crawford for RRC 239 is dubious, although possible.

Crawford also says that our moneyer was perhaps a brother of Marcus Servilius C.f., Tribune of the Plebs in 43 BC. He was possibly the Gaius Servilius Brocchus, son of Gaius, mentioned as Military Tribune by Flavius Josephus (Jewish Antiquities, xiv. 229), who tells that he served under the Consul L. Cornelius Lentulus Crus in Asia. It would match a career started in the 50, during which the Pompeian party was dominating, and continued as Pompey's supporter during the Civil War.

The meaning of his denarius has been debated. According to Crawford, the obverse legend refers to the priesthood of Flora, probably held by the gens, contradicting the view of Mommsen, who thought it was celebrating the establishment of the Ludi Florales in 173. This view has been in turn challenged by Robert Palmer, but without giving an explanation of his own*. It should also be mentioned that Pliny the Elder tells that there were statues of Flora, Triptolemus and Ceres by Praxiteles in the "Servilian gardens" (Natural History, xxxvi. 4), which obviously belonged to the gens, showing that Flora was of special importance for the Servilii.

The reverse reuses a common theme on Servilii's denarii: the duels of Marcus Servilius Pulex Geminus, Consul in 202, who was famous for his 23 victories in single combats (Plutarch, Aemilius Paullus, 31). The scene was depicted with variations on RRC 264 (horseback duel), RRC 327 (duel on foot), and RRC 370 (rider charging). It is also possible that RRC 239 shows another duel on horse, but disguised as the Dioscuri riding apart. The fact that our moneyer used this theme links him to the other direct descendants of Servilius Pulex Geminus, thus supporting Crawford's theory that he was a grandchild of Gaius Servilius, Praetor in 102.

* "Flora and the Sybil", in Ten Years of the Agnes Kirsopp Lake Michels Lectures at Bryn Mawr College, edited by Suzanne B. Faris, Lesley E. Lundeen, Bryn Mawr, 2006, pp. 58-70.
3 commentsJossOct 25, 2018
421-1_Nonia2.jpg
421/1. Nonia - denarius (59 BC)AR Denarius (Rome, 59 BC)
O/ Head of Saturn right, head of a harpoon and conical stone behind; S C upwards behind; SVFENAS downwards before.
R/ Roma seated left on a pile of trophies, holding sceptre and sword, crowned by Victory standing behind; PR L V P F around; SEX NONI in exergue.
3.90g; 19mm
Crawford 421/1 (56 obverse dies/62 reverse dies)
- Collection of Walter Friedrich Stoecklin, Amriswil, Switzerland, before 1975. W. F. Stoecklin was the second member of a dynasty of coin collectors based in Switzerland.
- Obolos 9, lot 77.

* Marcus Nonius Sex.f. Sufenas:

Sufenas belonged to the plebeian gens Nonia, a relatively new gens at this time. He was the son of son of Sextus Nonius Sufenas, who had played a crucial part in 86 BC by leading the defection to Sulla among Fimbria's troops during the Civil War. Sulla then rewarded him with a praetorship in 81 BC. In turn, Sextus organised the first Victory games celebrating his patron (the Ludi Victoriae Sullanae), as explained on the reverse (Sextus Nonius praetor ludos Victoriae primus fecit).

Marcus Sufenas' career relied on the patronage of Pompey, whom he devotedly served. In 56 he was Tribune of the Plebs, and with the famous Publius Clodius Pulcher, Gaius Porcius Cato, and Lucius Procilius, they sabotaged the consular elections in order to force the choice of Pompey and Crassus as Consuls for 55 (Cassius Dio, Roman History, xxxix. 27-33). Pompey then used his influence to acquit Sufenas (Cicero, Atticus, iv. 15).

Since he was governor of Macedonia or Cyrenaica in 51 (Cicero, Atticus, vi. 1 & viii. 15), Broughton conjectured that he had been Praetor in 52. He was still in his province by 49, so he probably helped Pompey after his flight from Italy. Plutarch mentions him just before the Battle of Pharsalus (Life of Cicero, 38). As he disappears from ancient sources after this, he might have died during the battle.
2 commentsJossOct 25, 2018
394-1b_-_Postumia.jpg
394/1b. Postumia - denarius (74 BC)AR Denarius (Rome, 74 BC)
O/ Bust of Diana right, draped, with bow and quiver over shoulder.
R/ Hound running right; spear below; C POSTVMI in exergue.
3.96g; 17mm
Crawford 394/1b (192 obverse dies/213 reverse dies, both varieties)
- ex Lockdales 145, lot 1414.

* Gaius Postumius At. or Ta. (Albinus Atilianus?):

This variant without the monogram in exergue is very rare; only three reverse dies seem to exist.

The moneyer belonged to the great patrician gens Postumia, but his family is much more difficult to ascertain. The patrician Postumii had few different branches and only one had survived by the 1st century: the Albini. There were also plebeian Postumii.

His obverse with Diana reproduces those of Aulus Postumius S.f. S.n. Albinus (RRC 335/9), and his probable son Postumius A.f. S.n. Albinus (RRC 372/1), thus implying that he was a member of the patrician family. However, the Albini never used the praenomen Gaius. It is nonetheless possible that our moneyer was adopted into the gens, as it occurred with Decimus Junius Brutus (RRC 450), adopted by an Aulus Albinus. The Postumii seem to have had difficulties producing male heirs; they indeed had 9 consulships between 186 and 99 BC, but very few magistrates bore that name in the 1st century. The disaster of the campaign against Jugurtha by the brothers Spurius and Aulus Postumius Albinus might have hit the gens hard; Aulus was also murdered during the Social War (Livy, Periochae, 75).

The monogram in exergue could therefore be deciphered as AT for the plebeian gens Atilia -- the possible family of Gaius Albinus before his adoption. Another moneyer, Lucius Atilius Nomentanus, likewise ligatured the first two letters of his name on his denarii in 141 (RRC 225/1). This theory would explain both the unusual praenomen for the gens and the monogram. His adoptive father could also be one of the two moneyer mentioned above.

Crawford links the moneyer with a Gnaeus Postumius who accused Lucius Licinius Murena, the consul elect for 62, of bribery in the famous Pro Murena by Cicero (56-58), who also says that Postumius was a (unsuccessful) candidate to the praetorship that year. The case was won by Cicero and no doubt that accusing a Consul of bribery did not help his career and the fate of the Albini, as they disappeared from history after this.
1 commentsJossOct 25, 2018
465-2b_Considia.jpg
465/2b. Considia - denarius (46 BC)AR Denarius (Rome, 46 BC)
O/ Laureate head of Apollo right; A behind; no border.
R/ Curule chair, garlanded, on which lies wreath; C CONSIDI above; PAETI in exergue.
3.6g
Crawford 465/2b (93 obverse dies/103 reverse dies, two varieties)
- Rollin & Feuardent, 1903, Collection Charvet de Beauvais, lot 265 (together with 3 other Considia). Sold for Fr.19 with lots 264 and 266.

* Gaius Considius Paetus:

Like the other two moneyers for 46 BC (Titus Carisius and Manius Cordius Rufus), Paetus belonged to a small gens. The Considii are indeed unattested before the 1st century, apart from a Tribune of the Plebs in 476. The gens came to prominence in the 50s, when two of its members became Praetors: Gaius Considius Longus between 58-52, and Marcus Considius Nonianus between 54-50.

Like his colleagues, Paetus was doubtlessly a supporter of Caesar. The curule chair on the reverse alludes to Caesar's right to sit on a curule chair between the Consuls in the Senate (Cassius Dio, xliii. 14). There is therefore a chance that he was the same person as the Gaius Considius mentioned in the Pseudo-Caesar's 'De Bello Africo' (§89) as the son of the Praetor of 54-50 -- a supporter of Pompey who died after Thapsus -- nonetheless absolved by Caesar after the war. This theory fits well with Caesar's policy of generously granting pardon to his former enemies, and was accepted by Mommsen, following Borghesi (cf. Mommsen, 1860, p. 657). However, Crawford did not mention this possibility.
JossOct 25, 2018
323-1_-_Ivlia.jpg
323/1. Julia - denarius (101 BC)AR Denarius (Rome, 101 BC)
O/ Helmeted head of Roma right; corn-ear behind.
R/ Victory in biga right, holding reins in both hands; L IVLI below.
3.84g; 19mm
Crawford 323/1 (47 obverse dies/59 reverse dies)

* Lucius Julius:

Although our moneyer belonged to the very famous gens Julia, his life is completely unknown. The Julii had been among the important patrician gentes of the early Republic, but fell in obscurity in the fourth century. In the second century, a new branch emerged, the Julii Caesares, but Crawford notes that our moneyer cannot be a Caesar because he did not use this cognomen and his coins lack a reference to Venus (cf. RRC 258 and 320).

The corn ear on the obverse refers to grain distributions, which often featured on Republican coins (RRC 242, 243, 245, 260, 261, 306, 330).
JossOct 25, 2018
297-1b_Quinctia.jpg
297/1b. Quinctia - denarius (112-111 BC)AR Denarius (Rome, 112-111 BC)
O/ Bust of Hercules seen from behind, with head turned to left and club over shoulder.
R/ Desultor right, wearing cuirass; control-mark behind; rat right between TI Q below; D.S.S. incuse on tablet in exergue.
3.82g; 118mm
Crawford 297/1b (87 obverse dies/109 reverse dies)
- Naville Numismatics Live Auction 36, lot 534.

* Tiberius Quinctius:

The attribution of this issue to a Tiberius Quinctius is dubious as the few letters on the reverse could mean different things. Crawford rules out the possibility that the Q stands for Quaestor, so it should only be the first letter of a nomen, hence the attribution to a Quinctius. However a Quinctilius is also possible.

The significance of the rat below the horses is an enigma. It apparently cannot be related to any cognomen; Crawford may be right to reject previous attempts to link it to a name -- the solution is probably not as easy as simply translating "rat", "mouse" or "rodent" in Latin. Mus ("mouse") was nonetheless an attested cognomen, but the gens Decia that bore it was already extinct by the end of the 2nd century.

The reverse with the desultor was perhaps a statue, as the legend DSS stands for "de Senatus Sententia", usually found on public monuments.
2 commentsJossOct 25, 2018
298-1_Caesia.jpg
298/1. Caesia - denarius (112-1 BC)AR Denarius (Rome, 112-111 BC)
O/ Bust of Apollo seen from behind, with head turned to left and thunderbolt in right hand; APO on right.
R/ Lares Praestites seated facing, with dog between, each holding staff in left hand; bust of Vulcan with tongs over shoulder above; LA on left; PRE on right; L CAESI in exergue.
3.79 g; 20mm
Crawford 298/1 (50 obverse dies/62 reverse dies)
- Collection of Walter Mirko Stoecklin, Winterthur, Switzerland, acquired prior to 1981. W. M. Stoecklin was the third member of a dynasty of coin collectors based in Switzerland.
- Obolos 9, lot 34.

* Lucius Caesius:

Our moneyer is the first known member of the minor gens Caesia, but the rest of his life is completely unknown. Mommsen (Monnaie Romaine, II, p.370) thought that he could have been the father of Lucius Caesius, praetor in 75 BC (Cicero, In Verrem, II, 1, 130), but there were other Caesii around this time, so they were not necessarily related.

The deity represented on the reverse could be Apollo, as shown by the monogram behind his head, or Vejovis, an obscure god with the attributes of both Apollo and Jupiter (especially the thunderbolt). The reverse depicts the Lares Praestites, the guardians of the city of Rome, whom Ovid described their statues with a dog between them (Ovid, Fasti, v. 129-145).

The bust of Vulcan and the tongs were possibly the emblems of the moneyers.
1 commentsJossOct 25, 2018
207-1_Decimia.jpg
207/1. Decimia or Flavia? - denarius (150 BC)AR Denarius (Rome, 150 BC)
O/ Helmeted head of Roma right; X behind.
R/ Luna in biga right, holding whip & reins; FLAVS below; ROMA in exergue.
3.95g; 19mm
Crawford 207/1 (61 obverse dies/76 reverse dies)
- Collection of Frederick Sydney Clark (1923-2016), British collector in East Sussex.
- Toovey's, 01/11/2017, Lot 701.

* Decimius Flavus or Gaius Flavius Fimbria:

This issue has been given to a member of the plebeian gens Decimia, of Samnite origin. The gens was relatively new at the time since its first identified member Numerius Decimius distinguished himself during the Second Punic War (Livy, xxii. 24), and probably received the Roman citizenship as a result. Two Decimii used the cognomen Flavus: a military tribune in 207 named Gaius Decimius Flavus (Livy, xxvii. 14), and his probable son of the same name, who was Urban Praetor in 184, but died immediately after his election (Livy, xxxix. 38).

Three other Decimii are then known: Marcus, Gaius, and Lucius, all ambassadors in Greece in 172-171 (Livy, xlii. 19, 35, 37 respectively). They were possible sons of the Praetor of 184, in which case our moneyer was the son of one of them, although nothing is known of him. However, none of them had a cognomen and Flavus simply meant "blond hair", a rather common cognomen unlikely to feature alone on a coin.

So the name could refer to another gens; it is indeed possible to read it as FLAVIVS. This name, widespread during the Empire after Vespasian, was nevertheless uncommon in the second century and therefore distinctive enough so that the moneyer did not need to add the rest of his name. Besides, only one Flavius is known in this century: the Popularis Gaius Flavius C.f. Fimbria, Consul in 104 alongside Marius. Fimbria was therefore born no later than 146 (the Consulship was reserved to men aged at least 42 years old), a date which would remarkably fit with his father moneyer in 150 and therefore in his 20s. As Fimbria was a novus homo, the moneyership held by his father would testify the ascension of the family before him.
JossOct 25, 2018
249-3_Maenia.jpg
249/3. Maenia - quadrans (133 BC)AE Quadrans (Rome, 132 BC)
O/ Head of Hercules right, wearing lion's skin; 3 pellets behind.
R/ P MAE ANT M F above prow right; 3 pellets before; ROMA below.
4.65g, 19mm
Crawford 249/3 (28 specimens in Paris)
- Ex-Thersites Collection (bought on 18 April 1986)
- Roma Numismatics, e-sale 33, lot 336.

* Publius Maenius M.f. Antiaticus:

Antiaticus belonged to the plebeian gens Maenia, but his relatives are not known. Other Maenii are recorded in the 2nd century, such as Titus, Gaius, and Quintus Maenius, Praetors respectively in 186, 180, and 170, or Publius Maenius, moneyer in 194-190. However, Antiaticus mentioned on his coins that he was the son of Marcus, who is not known, and none of the aforementioned Maenii shared his cognomen.

Antiaticus must have therefore belonged to another branch of the gens, which descended from Gaius Maenius, Consul in 338, Dictator in 320 and 314, who defeated the Volsci by taking their city of Antium in 338, thus putting an end to the Second Latin War and also the conquest of Latium. The cognomen Antiaticus comes from this victory, for which Gaius Maenius was also rewarded by a statue on the Forum, possibly at the top of a column (Cicero, Pro Sestio, 58; Livy, VIII, 13).

The life of Antiaticus is still very obscure, and it seems he did not hold other office. He is only known through his coins.

Eckel read ME at the end of this legend and conjectured that it might have been the first letters of an agnomen Megellus or Medulinus (V, p. 240-1), but it seems very unlikely that a moneyer could have received an agnomen so early in his career. Perhaps Eckhel could not see good examples of this type; in any case, the legend on this coin clearly reads as MF, for "Marcus filius".
JossOct 25, 2018
261-1_Domitia.jpg
261/1. Domitia - denarius (128 BC)AR Denarius (Rome, 128 BC)
O/ Helmeted head of Roma right; corn-ear behind; XVI below chin.
R/ Victory in biga right, holding reins in left hand and whip in right hand; ROMA above; man fighting lion below; CN DOM in exergue.
3.84g; 18mm
Crawford 261/1 (71 obverse dies/89 reverse dies)

* Gnaeus Domitius (Calvinus?):

Our moneyer belonged to the old plebeian gens Domitia, but his identity is unknown. Babelon and ancient numismatists thought he was Ahenobarbus, the Consul of 96 BC, but it is not possible as he was already moneyer in 118 (the Narbo issue). Crawford postulated that he was from a collateral branch of the Ahenobarbi, and therefore a cousin of the Consul of 96, because he considered here that the Senatus Consultum De Agro Pergameno dates from 131 BC, but it is now dated 101, thus the Cn. Domitius Cn. f. mentioned there is doubtless the future Consul of 96*.

Gnaeus Domitius was more likely a Calvinus, from the other main stirps of the Domitii, but none of them is known during the 2nd century.

The figure below the chariot on the reverse is quite mysterious. Earlier numismatists thought it was a reference to the dogs fought by Ahenobarbus, the Consul of 122 who vanquished the Allobroges, but it is impossible as the battle was fought in 121, seven years after the denarius. Crawford considers the beast to be a lion, and therefore a reference to games organised by an Aedile; the corn-ear on the obverse would be a further reference to an aedileship.

* Harold B. Mattingly, "The Date of the Senatus Consultum De Agro Pergameno" in The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 93, n°3, 1972, pp. 412-423.
JossOct 25, 2018
210-1_Junia2.jpg
210/1. Junia - denarius (149 BC)AR Denarius (Rome, 149 BC)
O/ Helmeted head of Roma right; X behind.
R/ The Dioscuri right; C IVNI C F below; ROMA in exergue.
3.80g; 19mm
Crawford 210/1 (56 obverse dies/70 reverse dies)
- Naville Numismatics Live Auction 39, lot 402.

* Gaius Junius C.f.:

Gaius Junius belonged to the very famous gens Junia, which was originally patrician, but turned plebeian in the first century of the Republic. He and his homonymous father are not known, partly due to the lack of a cognomen. They certainly did not belong to the two main stirpes of the Junii -- the Brutii and the Silanii -- as none of them used the praenomen Gaius before the end of the 1st century BC. Other minor families of the gens however counted some members named Gaius, such as the Bubulci, or the Pulli.

JossOct 25, 2018
200-3_Pinaria.jpg
200/3. Pinaria - semis (155 BC)AE Semis (Rome, 155 BC)
O/ Laureate head of Saturn right; S behind.
R/ Prow right; NAT above; S before; (ROMA below).
12.48g; 27mm
Crawford 200/3 (7 specimens in Paris)
- Numismatik Naumann 57, lot 500.
JossOct 25, 2018
200-2_Pinaria.jpg
200/2. Pinaria - as (155 BC)AE As (Rome, 155 BC)
O/ Laureate head of Janus; I above.
R/ Prow right; NAT above; I before; ROMA below.
26.59g; 33mm
Crawford 200/2 (13 specimens in Paris)

* Pinarius Natta:

This moneyer came from the old patrician gens Pinaria (Cicero, De Divinatione, ii. 21). Despite its ancestry, this gens produced very few noteworthy members, although some of them are recorded until the empire.

The cognomen Natta is old; the first known Pinarius to bear it was Lucius Pinarius Natta, Magister Equitum in 363, and Praetor in 349 BC. Then, nobody else of that name is recorded until our moneyer, and his probable brother (RRC 208, 150 BC), who are both completely unknown apart from their coins. Finally, the last Natta of the Republic was a Pontifex in 56, brother-in-law to Clodius Pulcher, the famous Tribune (Cicero, Pro Domo, 118). It seems that the Nattae had lost their political influence early, but retained some religious duties until the end of the Republic, as Cicero says that they learnt "their sacred ceremonies from Hercules himself" (Pro Domo, 134).

The Pinarii indeed claimed to descend from a mythical Pinarius, who had welcomed Hercules with a banquet when he came to Latium (Livy, i. 7). This myth was so deeply stuck in the Roman mythology that it was still used by Caracalla on an unique aureus (leu 93, lot 68).
JossOct 25, 2018
128-1_Decia_2.jpg
128/1. Decia - denarius (206-200 BC)AR Denarius (uncertain mint, 206-200 BC)
O/ Helmeted head of Roma right; X behind head.
R/ The Dioscuri galloping right; shield & carnyx below horses; ROMA in exergue.
4.01g; 20.5mm
Crawford 128/1 (less than 10 obverse dies/less than 12 reverse dies)
- Privately bought from Münzen & Medaillen Basel.
- Ex collection of Elvira Elisa Clain-Stefanelli (1914-2001), former director of the National Numismatic Collection (part of the Smithsonian Institute).
- Naville Numismatics Live Auction 29, lot 479.

* Anonymous (shield & carnyx), Decius?:

This very rare issue has traditionally been attributed to a descendant of a line of three heroes named Publius Decius Mus. The first of that name was Consul in 340 BC; he received the Grass Crown after having saved his army from destruction against the Samnites, then sacrificed himself at the Battle of Vesuvius during his consulship in an act of devotio (exchanging his life against the victory of his army). His son was four times Consul (312, 308, 297 and 295 BC) and similarly sacrificed himself at the Battle of Sentinum in 295 BC against a coalition of Etruscans, Samnites, and Gauls. The third of that name was Consul in 279 BC and fought against Pyrrhus, who successfully thwarted his attempt to sacrifice himself like his ancestors (cf. discussion in Broughton, vol. I, p. 193).

300 years later, Trajan restored several issues of the Republic, including this one, but with the addition of DECIVS MVS on the obverse (RIC 766). Babelon thus assumed that this denarius was minted by the son of the last Publius Decius Mus (Decia 1). In this hypothesis, the shield and Carnyx refers to the second Mus -- the one who fought the Gauls.

However, Crawford contested this view, writing: "The restoration of this issue by Trajan with the added legend DECIVS MVS provides no grounds whatever for supposing that it was originally struck by someone of that name - the family was certainly extinct by this period."

It is still very strange that Trajan picked this rare denarius, from an irregular mint, for restoration. He could have chosen many other anonymous issues of the early Roman coinage, and simply add the name of Decius Mus. It thus shows that the imperial mint had retained some specimens or archives of previous issues up to the 3rd century BC, because due to its rarity, this denarius had already disappeared from circulation by the time of Trajan. A list of the magistrates behind each issue could therefore have been kept as well; Trajan might have selected the moneyers whom he thought were significant for the history of Rome and restored their issue. A Publius Decius Subulo was living in these years (Livy, xliii. 17) and perhaps minted this coin; his name could have been preserved in the archives of the mint, which might have led Trajan to pick his denarius for restoration.
1 commentsJossOct 25, 2018
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