25
3032
C. Naevius Balbus. Silver Denarius (3.81 g), 79 BC.
Rome. S C behind, diademed head of Venus right; be-
fore, B.
Reverse:
C N(AE) B(AL)B in exergue, Victory,
holding reins, driving galloping triga right. Crawford
382/1a; Sydenham 769; Naevia 6b. Well struck, per-
fectly centered and lustrous.
Nearly Mint State.
The moneyer is unattested other than on this spe-
cial coinage authorized by senatorial decree (ex
senatus consulto), which should most probably be
viewed as another issue to finance operations in
the the Sertorian War in Spain. The triga depicted
on the reverse is most interesting. At the time this
coin was struck it was already an archaic conven-
tion, Homeric in origin, originally borrowed from
the Greeks and used in Rome only during the ludi
Romani, the games celebrating the Roman vic-
tory at Lake Regillus. It appears only one other
time during the Republican period, on coins struck
111-110 BC under the moneyers Appius Claudi-
us Pulcher, T. Manlius Mancius, and Q. Urbinius.
Estimated Value .........................................$500 - 600
Ex Tkalec (27 October 2011), 143.
3033
L. Papius. Silver Denarius (4.00 g), 79 BC.
Rome. Head
of Juno Sospita right, wearing goat’s skin headdress;
behind, amphora.
Reverse:
L PAPI in exergue, griffin
springing right; below, hydria. Crawford 384/1 (symbols
2); Sydenham 773; Papia 1. Boldly struck and perfectly
centered. Rare symbol. Amazing detail throughout and
delicately toned.
Superb Extremely Fine.
Although the moneyer is unknown except for his coins,
the coins are very popular with collectors for the inter-
esting controls they display, which according to Craw-
ford “are no more than a random selection of pairs of
everyday objects” (p. 399). Papius used two related
symbols, one on the obverse die, the other on the re-
verse, to keep track of production and to control losses
amongst the slaves at the mint. Each pair of controls
only has one set of dies. On this particular coin the
paired symbols are an amphora and a hydria, both re-
lated to wine, the amphora for storage and the hydria
for mixing wine with water (unlike barbarians with the
uncouth habit of consuming it undiluted, the Romans
and Greeks always drank their wine mixed with water,
often with the addition of spices or honey for flavoring).
Estimated Value ....................................... $1,500 - 2,000
Ex Triton XV (3-4 January 2012), 1472.
