Obolos 31

Augustus, 27 BC-AD 14. Denarius (Silver, 17.5 mm, 3.98 g, 6 h), Rome, M. Durmius, 18 BC. CAESAR AVGVSTVS Bare head of Augustus to right. Rev. M DVRMIVS / III•VIR Wild boar standing right, pierced by spear. BMC 61. Cohen 430. RIC 317. Somewhat rough surfaces, otherwise, good very fine.

From a French collection.

This coin is one of the last Roman imperial issues to have a moneyer’s name on its reverse. It reminds us of Augustus’s support for Republican tradition in allowing the names of the triumviri who had charge of the mint to put their names on the coinage. This magistracy was a relatively junior one, but was a stepping stone on the cursus honorum that led to the consulate. Each member of the collegium forming the IIIviri monetalis could choose the types and sign the gold, silver and aes coins for which he was responsible. Thus, not only could the types vary between different collegia, but also from moneyer to moneyer within a collegium. Marcus Durmius, the moneyer here, was in a collegium with P. Petronius Trupilianus and L. Aquilius Florus in c. 19 BC. The main topics of their types were the return of the standards lost to Parthia, the honours of 27 BC, and the so-called “family” types, of which this is one. The reverse is clearly based on the types used at Velia some three hundred years earlier and it seems likely that the Durmii came from that area.