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Triskeles Sale 19  17 March 2017
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Lot 441

Estimate: 150 USD
Price realized: 150 USD
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L. Scribonius Libo. 62 B.C. AR denarius (19 mm, 3.94 g, 6 h). Rome. BON EVENT before, LIB[O] behind, diademed head of Bonus Eventus right / PVTEAL above, [S]CRIBON in exergue, garlanded well-head decorated with two lyres and hammer. Crawford 416/1a; Sydenham 928; Scribonia 8a. Lightly toned. Good very fine.

From the Big Sky Collection.

The reverse depicts the puteal Scribonianum (Scribonian well-head) which had been set up by a distant ancestor of the moneyer. The well-head was quite ornate, being either festooned with garlands or, more likely, engraved with their likeness, and was located near the arch of the Fabii in the Roman Forum. The type comes in three varieties, with either a pair of tongs, a hammer, or an anvil set at the base of the well-head. Built upon a bidental, a spot that had been struck by lightening, the puteal Scribonianum served as an important meeting place for litigants and moneylenders in Rome as it was conveniently located near the praetor's tribunal. The obverse is appropriately dedicated to the deity Bonus Eventus, the bringer of good outcomes, who appealed equally to all parties involved in any legal dispute.

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