| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 143 | Auction date: 7 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 277 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot  | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: The Dioscuri Collection. The Roman Republic. L. Manlius Torquatus. Denarius 65, AR 18 mm, 4.01 g. Ivy-wreathed head of Sybil r.; below neck truncation, SIBYLLA. Rev. L·TORQVAT / III·VIR Tripod on which stands amphora flanked by two stars. All within torque. Babelon Manlia 12. Sydenham 835a. RBW 1490. Crawford 411/1b. Rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. A portrait of excellent style struck in high relief and unusually well centred. Good extremely fine Ex Sternberg XIX, 1987, 480 and Hess-Divo 307, 2007, 1485 sales. The Apollo and tripod types of types of this denarius are believed to refer to the Roman priestly college of the Quindacemviri sacris faciundis (literally, "Fifteen Men for doing Sacred Things"), to which the moneyer L. Torquatus is assumed to have belonged. The college actually began its existence as a duumvirate of two priests drawn from the patrician class, but in 367 BC the number of members was increased to fifteen with half to be drawn from patrician and half from the plebeian families. The duties of the Quindecemviri were focused on the protection and interpretation of the Sibylline Books, a series of written oracles obtained from the famous Sibyl of Cumae, but they also had responsibility for overseeing the worship of foreign gods introduced to Rome and of interpreting omens. The depiction of Apollo and his mantic tripod on this coin refer to his role as the god from whom the oracles of the Sibylline Books were believed to come. The laurel wreath used as a border on the reverse is a modification of the traditional torque or neck-ring used in similar fashion on earlier coins struck by Torquati serving as moneyers. The torque was a visual allusion to the cognomen Torquatus, but here it is composed of the laurel leaves sacred to Apollo. Estimate: 4000 CHF |  |
