Posted 16 days ago
Golgatha
(214 items)
In 509 BC the Romans abolished the kingdom and the republic was introduced. The Romans were now led by two consuls elected for one year at a time. Always two. They didn't want to return to the kingdom's one-man-rule. The consuls had several duties. They were judges, they led religious ceremonies and - important for a nation often at war with it's Mediterranian neighbors - they led the army. But the currency was taken care of by a moneyer, elected among the most respected by the Senate. With his name on the silver denarii from 211 BC and onwards he guaranted that the amound of silver in the denarii had a value of one denarius. Today they are identified by their Crawford number. At that time the only mass medium was the coins and they were also used for that purpose. This one, Cr. 204/1, was struck in 152 BC by the moneyer L. Saufeius, about whom we don't know anything other than his name. On the avers we see the helmeted Roma goddess, meaning: Rome is armed and ready for war ! On the revers we see Victory in biga, meaning: Rome will be victorious ! The second Punic war had ended 49 years earlier, but - what the Romans didn't know - a third and final Punic war would break out three years later. A good thing that they were armed and ready for war !
Denarius Saufeia: Lucius Saufeius; L SAVF ROMA
Denarius (Saufeia: Lucius Saufeius; L SAVF ROMA) - obverseDenarius (Saufeia: Lucius Saufeius; L SAVF ROMA) - reverse
© Heritage Auctions
Features
Issuer Rome › Roman Republic (509 BC - 27 BC)
Period Republic (509 BC - 27 BC)
Type Standard circulation coins
Year 152 BC
Value Denarius (1)
Currency Denarius of 10 Asses (221 – 141 BC)
Composition Silver
Weight 3.99 g
Diameter 19 mm
Shape Round (irregular)
Technique Hammered
Orientation Variable alignment ?
Demonetized Yes
Number N#66757Help
References RRC#?204/1, CRR#?384, RSC#?1, RCV I#?83
Obverse
Helmeted head of Roma right; behind, denomination mark.
Script: Latin
Lettering: X
Reverse
Victory in a biga galloping right, holding reins in left hand and whip in right hand.
Moneyer mark in field below horses; inscription in exergue.
Script: Latin
Lettering:
L • SAVF
ROMA
Translation: Lucius Saufeius
In the currency of ancient Rome, the bigatus (plural bigati) is a type of denarius stamped on the reverse with a biga, a two-horse chariot. It began to appear in the first decade of the 2nd century BC as an alternative to the victoriatus, and most numismatists believe that it was not used before 190 BC.[1] A denarius with a four-horse chariot (quadriga) had already been in use for some time; see quadrigatus, likewise named for its chariot icon and depicting in addition the Dioscuri.[2]
The first bigatus depicted Luna in her two-horse chariot. It continued in use along with the Dioscuri quadrigatus until 170 BC, when the denarius was temporarily suppressed. The denarius was revived around 157 BC with the Dioscuri type and a new bigatus depicting Victory in her biga, probably to commemorate Rome's dominance following the Battle of Pydna.[3] Tacitus and Plutarch mention a statue of Victory in a biga.[4]
The date at which the bigatus began to be issued is complicated by the uncertain usage of the word bigati by the Augustan historian Livy. In writing about the events of 216 BC, before bigati are known to have come into circulation, Livy uses the word to refer to silver money taken as spoils in Cisalpine Gaul or Hispania, and then displayed at triumphs between 197 and 190 BC.[5] Bigati may be used loosely for denarii, and not the specific type.[6] It has also been conjectured that bigatus had become a slang term for denarii in a broader sense of "two-horsed," which might also apply to the image of the Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux) as horsemen.[7] None of these explanations has been universally satisfying.[8]
In his ethnography Germania, Tacitus (56–117 AD) notes that while most Germanic peoples in his day still relied on barter, those along the borders of the Empire engaged in commerce and used currency, but trusted only the value of "old and well-known" coins such as bigati and serrati, the latter being those with serrated edges.[9] Since plated coins had begun to circulate during the time of Julius Caesar and after (see fourrée), they had cause to be wary; however, other older coins should also have relieved them of their concerns, and the reasons for their preference are unclear, especially since plated bigati existed.[10]
enhance it and stop buying coins --end of discussion
Thank you, prostata !
it is a rather rude statement of mine but i mean the best , stay out of it if you haven,t the right subscripton and databeses and don,t use numista, you gonna get hurt
Thank you. The photo is in fact of the specimen in British Museum, so I believe it's genuine. I have one too, but couldn't get my photo as good as this one.