Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XVIII 29 Sep 2019
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The Social War, Marsic Confederation AR Denarius. Corfinium, circa 90 BC. Laureate head of Italia left; ITALIA upwards behind / Oath-taking scene: eight soldiers, four on each side, pointing their swords at pig held by kneeling youth; standard with pennant in the background, C in exergue. Campana 63i, D36/R54 (this coin); Sydenham 620; HN Italy 415c. 3.64g, 19mm, 6h.
Extremely Fine.
From the Dr. Nicholas Lowe Collection;
This coin published in A. Campana, La monetazione degli insorti Italici durante la guerra sociale 91-87 A.C. (Modena, 1987);
Ex Baldwin's Auctions Ltd - M&M Numismatics Ltd - Italo Vecchi Ltd, The New York Sale I, 3 December 1998, lot 4;
Ex 'R. J. Graham' (Paul Tinchant) Collection, J. Schulman, Auction 243, 8 June 1966, lot 1400.
Marcus Livius Drusus, who was Tribune of the Plebeians in 91 BC, attempted to bring Roman citizenship to the Italian allies. This, along with his land reform proposals, proved unpopular with the Senate and Roman landowners and he was assassinated before his plans were brought to fuition. With the promise of citizenship rights removed, a rebellion of the Italic allies began which came to be known as the Social War (cf. Livy, Periochae 71), from the Latin 'socii' (allies), thus in Latin: Bellum Sociale - the War of the Allies. During this conflict, the allies of the Marsic confederation (the Marsi, Peligni, Piceni, Vestini, Samnites, Frentani, Marrucini, and Lucani) struck coins which were often inspired by the types found on Roman denarii, with some detailing the names of the rebel generals. This was to be the last struggle of the Italic allies for independence against the dominant leadership of Rome; the coins not only helped pay for the troops, but were also used as propaganda against Roman overlordship. The circulation of these coins continued even after the conflict ended, and were used alongside their republican models.
Extremely Fine.
From the Dr. Nicholas Lowe Collection;
This coin published in A. Campana, La monetazione degli insorti Italici durante la guerra sociale 91-87 A.C. (Modena, 1987);
Ex Baldwin's Auctions Ltd - M&M Numismatics Ltd - Italo Vecchi Ltd, The New York Sale I, 3 December 1998, lot 4;
Ex 'R. J. Graham' (Paul Tinchant) Collection, J. Schulman, Auction 243, 8 June 1966, lot 1400.
Marcus Livius Drusus, who was Tribune of the Plebeians in 91 BC, attempted to bring Roman citizenship to the Italian allies. This, along with his land reform proposals, proved unpopular with the Senate and Roman landowners and he was assassinated before his plans were brought to fuition. With the promise of citizenship rights removed, a rebellion of the Italic allies began which came to be known as the Social War (cf. Livy, Periochae 71), from the Latin 'socii' (allies), thus in Latin: Bellum Sociale - the War of the Allies. During this conflict, the allies of the Marsic confederation (the Marsi, Peligni, Piceni, Vestini, Samnites, Frentani, Marrucini, and Lucani) struck coins which were often inspired by the types found on Roman denarii, with some detailing the names of the rebel generals. This was to be the last struggle of the Italic allies for independence against the dominant leadership of Rome; the coins not only helped pay for the troops, but were also used as propaganda against Roman overlordship. The circulation of these coins continued even after the conflict ended, and were used alongside their republican models.