Nomos AG
obolos 27 21 Mar 2023
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Sex. Pompeius Fostlus, 137 BC. Denarius (Silver, 19 mm, 4.14 g, 5 h), Rome. Helmeted head of Roma to right; behind, jug; below chin, X (mark of value). Rev. SE [X PO] FOSTLVS / ROMA She-wolf standing right, head left, suckling Romulus and Remus; behind, the shepherd Faustulus standing to right; in background, birds in a fig tree (ficus Ruminalis). Babelon (Pompeia) 1. BMCRR 926-7. Crawford 235/1 a-c. RBW Sydenham 461. Crawford and others differentiate between different variants based on the reverse legend. Alas, the relevant part of the legend is off the flan of our coin. Light deposits, otherwise, very fine.
It was the childless shepherd, Faustulus, shown on the reverse of this coin holding his staff, who discovered the twins, Romulus and Remus, along the banks of the Tiber while they were being suckled by the she-wolf Lupa. He and his wife, Acca Laurentia, then raised the boys in their home as if they were their own. Years later, after Romulus had killed his brother in a fit of rage, he founded the city of Rome on the old family homestead.
The fig tree depicted in the background of the reverse-scene is the mythical ficus Ruminalis in whose branches the basked of the twins got stuck when floating down the river Tiber.
It was the childless shepherd, Faustulus, shown on the reverse of this coin holding his staff, who discovered the twins, Romulus and Remus, along the banks of the Tiber while they were being suckled by the she-wolf Lupa. He and his wife, Acca Laurentia, then raised the boys in their home as if they were their own. Years later, after Romulus had killed his brother in a fit of rage, he founded the city of Rome on the old family homestead.
The fig tree depicted in the background of the reverse-scene is the mythical ficus Ruminalis in whose branches the basked of the twins got stuck when floating down the river Tiber.