Crawford 316/1

Moneyer: L. Thorius Balbus, 105 BC.

Denomination: Denarius

Obverse: I•S•M•R Head of Juno Sospita to right, wearing goat-skin headdress

Reverse:   L•THORIVS / BALBVS Bull charging to right; above, control mark in the form of letter "V" 

Reference: Crawford 316/1

Mint: Rome

Weight: 3,99 g

Notes: This coin's moneyer, L. Thorius Balbus, chose the goddess Juno Sospita as the obverse type to celebrate his family's origins in Lanuvium, where the goddess was particularly worshipped in her guise as the protectress of newly married and pregnant women. The accompanying legend, 'I•S•M•R', is the abbreviation for Juno Sispes (or Sospites) Mater Regina. The reverse type of a charging bull was the family's badge, representing both strength and ferocity, and was likely also on the family name, Thorius, since it is pronounced somewhat similarly to 'taurus', 'bull'.

L. Thorius Balbus was the only member of his gens to strike coins as a moneyer, and the type is certainly one of the most commonly encountered that was struck during the Republican period. There are two varieties: one with a smaller, higher relief head of Juno, which is quite rare, and other coins with a lower relief obverse, which are typically struck on a broader flan. Balbus would later go on to command troops in Spain against Sertorius, where he was eventually defeated and killed in battle fighting Sertorius' second-in-command, the legate Hirtuleius.

Collection : 16 Roman Republic