Marcus Porcius Cato, silver denarius, 4.09 g.
Title
Marcus Porcius Cato, silver denarius, 4.09 g.
Creator
Marcus Porcius Cato
Date
c. 93 - 91 BCE
Description
Obverse: Draped and diademed female bust right, hair tied with band; [behind, ROMA]; below, [M CA]TO. Border of dots.
Reverse: Victoria Virgo, seated right, holding patera in extended right hand and palm branch in left hand and over shoulder; in exergue [VICTRIX]. Border of dots.
Style/Period: Roman Republic
With this coin Marcus Porcius Cato commemorates the construction of a shrine to Victoria Virgo by Cato Censorius in 194 BCE (see Livy, xxxx.9.6). The female bust on the obverse may be either Libertas or Roma. Victoria Virgo is a specific depiction of Victoria as a virgo or virgin.
-- Bradford W. Wendel, LU '96
Bibliography: E. Babelon, Description historique et chronologique des monnaies de la republique romaine (Paris and London 1885-1886) Porcia, 5; H. A. Grueber, Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum (London 1910), II, 303, no. 657; T. R. S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, II (New York 1952) 449; E. A. Sydenham, The Coinage of the Roman Republic (London 1952) 83, no. 596; R. Rowland, Jr., "M. Porcius the Wine Merchant," Historia 18 (1969) 374-375; M. H. Crawford and T. P. Wiseman, "The Coinage of the Age of Sulla," Numismatic Chronicle 4 (1964) 156; M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London 1974) 351, no. 343/1b.
-- Bradford W. Wendel, LU '96
Bibliography: E. Babelon, Description historique et chronologique des monnaies de la republique romaine (Paris and London 1885-1886) Porcia, 5; H. A. Grueber, Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum (London 1910), II, 303, no. 657; T. R. S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, II (New York 1952) 449; E. A. Sydenham, The Coinage of the Roman Republic (London 1952) 83, no. 596; R. Rowland, Jr., "M. Porcius the Wine Merchant," Historia 18 (1969) 374-375; M. H. Crawford and T. P. Wiseman, "The Coinage of the Age of Sulla," Numismatic Chronicle 4 (1964) 156; M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London 1974) 351, no. 343/1b.
Source
Classics Department Collection
Identifier
C026
Rights
Wriston Art Center Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI,wriston-gallery@lawrence.edu,920-832-6890
Files
Citation
Marcus Porcius Cato, “Marcus Porcius Cato, silver denarius, 4.09 g.,” Lawrence University Classics Department & Ottilia Buerger Coin Collections, accessed November 5, 2026, https://thor.lawrence.edu/omeka/buerger/items/show/387.