Roman Republic - rarely seen coins

Assembling a numismatic set of the administrative magistrates of the Roman Republic would be a lifetime’s collecting activity. Compared with the coinage of Rome, whose moneyers are predictably early-career noblemen, unknown at the time of their coinage – although often famous later in life – the magistrates who issued the provincial coinages were in many cases big men in their own right, in some cases even consulars. Here’s just a small selection of them, appetizers for a collection that could run to 100s of coins.

1. Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio, as Imperator, cistophoric tetradrachm struck in Mysia Pergamon, 49-48BC. Scipio was the father-in-law of Pompey the Great and when Pompey he left Rome for the East in 49BC Scipio was set the task of governing (extracting money from) Asia Minor and Syria. His base was Pergamon where these coins were struck, no doubt used to pay Pompey’s legions. After Pompey’s defeat at Pharsalus Scipio fled to Africa where he produced a very finely designed and evocative coinage with African themes. He eventually killed himself after losing the naval battle of Hippo Regius.
2. M. Aemilius Lepidus, the Triumvir colleague of Octavian and Antony, was governor of Gaul Narbonensis from 44 to 42BC, and provincial coins were struck in his name. This little coin weighing just 0.47 grams is a remarkable Republican denomination, a silver dupondius, and was issued in Cabellio, today’s Cavaillon.
3. Manius Acilius Balbus was consul in 114 BC and probably issued this bronze As, 6.1 grams, in Panormus, Sicily as Quaestor about 120 BC. The coin clearly describes his name and position. The Aes coinages of Panormus, with or without magistrates names, were considered by Renaissance numismatists to be part of the regular Republican coinage, understandable given their types.
4. Duovirs of Paestum, L. Artue and C. Comin, marked these small semisses – weight 4.2 grams and issued mid 1st century BC – with their names and title L.ARTVE C.COMIN II VIR. Nothing s now known of these minor town councilors however they left for us a fascinating series of coins with many magistrates names extending over a couple of centuries.
5. Gaius Papirius Carbo was appointed Praetor and Governor of Bithynia and Pontus in 62BC with Proconsular imperium. These bronze coins, 6.45 grams, have types similar to earlier Greek coins of Bithynia but with the magistrates full name Gaius Papirius Carbo in Greek lettering.
6. Macedon issued a prolific coinage in the name of Aesillas, Quaestor, in the early first century BC. Although Aesillas was Quaestor in the 90s BC findings from a die study by Robert Bauslaugh in combination with hoard evidence linking the coinage to later Athenian tetradrachms suggests that this coinage was struck unchanged for a number of decades.
7. Cnaeus Domitius Calvinus, Consul two times and Imperator, was appointed governor of Spain by Octavian, and in this role in 39BC issued denarii at Osca. The mint-name is marked on the coins. Although included in Crawford’s catalogues, both the type, whose obverse is strongly influenced by the local Iberian denarius, and mint-name, mark this out as a coinage expected to circulate locally, and hence provincial in nature.
8. Gaius Publilius was Quaestor in Macedonia 148-146BC, though second in command to his provincial boss, the winner of the 4th Macedonian war, the Praetor Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus. The coin has strong Roman allusions, featuring the  head of Roma in winged helmet with griffins head like that of the hero Perseus. After Macedon was converted to a Roman province in 146BC the coinage became less Roman in nature.
9. P. Cornelius P. F. Lentulus Spinther, issued this cistophoric tetradrachm in Laodiceia, 56-54BC. Lentulus was the governor of Cilicia and Cyprus and won the title Imperator for a victory in Cilicia. He had a very famous successor as governor of Cilicia - Cicero in 51BC. The coins of Cicero in Cilicia are very rare indeed, restricted to bronzes which carry his portrait.
10. Cnaeus Statilius Libo, Praefect, issued this bronze semis in Spain about 30BC, and the portrait is likely that of Libo. It is an elegant coin in a style quite unlike those of contemporary Spanish issues, but we know nothing of Libo and are uncertain of where the coin was issued - RPC assigns it to an uncertain mint in farther Spain. It used traditionally be assigned to Carthago Nova - there is an essay with that attribution in From Imperium to Auctoritas.

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photos: 1,2,5,6,710. author; 3,4. Ancient Imports; 8. Jeffrey Michniuk; 9. Harlan J. Berk

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