Obolos 19

Q. Thermus M.f, 103 BC. Denarius (Silver, 18 mm, 3.89 g, 12 h), Rome. Head of Mars to left, wearing crested helmet ornamented with plume and annulet. Rev. Q · (THE)RM · (MF) Two warriors fighting, each armed with a sword in his right hand and a shield on his left arm; the one on the left protects a fallen comrade, the other wears horned helmet. Babelon (Minucia) 19. Crawford 319/1. Sydenham 592. Light iridescent toning. An attractive, well struck example. Good very fine.

From the W. F. Stoecklin Collection, Amriswil, Switzerland, acquired in 1973.

As Roman moneyers typically promoted their family history on their coinage, the reverse design probably recalls a specific event of one of the moneyer's ancestors. Perhaps it illustrates the deeds of one Quintus Minucius Thermus, consul in 193 BC, who distinguished himself by killing 9,000 Ligure warriors in the neighborhood of Pisa and driving the remaining enemy from the field of battle (Livy XXXV, 21.7-8). For this heroic deed the ancestor was not awarded a triumph, although he had received one earlier for conquering the Iberians near Turdo in Spain.