Lucius Titurius Sabinus, silver denarius (Type I), 3.87 g.
Title
Lucius Titurius Sabinus, silver denarius (Type I), 3.87 g.
Creator
Lucius Titurius Sabinus
Date
c. 88 BCE
Description
Obverse: Bearded head of Tatius facing right; to left, SABIN; to right, TA. Border of dots.
Reverse: Two soldiers facing each other, each carrying off a Sabine woman; in exergue, L TITVRI. Border of dots.
Style/Period: Roman Republic
The magistrate honors himself by depicting on the reverse a scene commemorating one of his ancestors. Lucius Titurius Sabinus refers to the possible origins of his family name by depicting the rape of the Sabine women (Livy 1.9). The TA on the obverse may declare that his family was actually related to Tatius, king of the Sabines, or it may designate the magistrate as tribunus aerarius, the paymaster of the soldiers.
-- Bradford W. Wendel, LU '96
Bibliography: E. Babelon, Description historique et chronologique des monnaies de la republique romaine (Paris and London 1885-1886) Tituria, 1; H. A. Grueber, Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum (London 1910), I, 297, no. 2322; T. R. S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, II (New York 1952) 454; E. A. Sydenham, The Coinage of the Roman Republic (London 1952) 108, no. 698; J. M. C. Toynbee, "Picture-Language in Roman Art and Coinage," Essays in Roman Coinage presented to Harold Mattingly (London 1956) 222-224; L. R. Taylor, The Voting Districts of the Roman Republic (Papers and Monographs of the American Academy in Rome, 20; Rome 1960) 260; J.-P. Morel, "Thèmes sabins et thèmes numaïques dans-le monnayage de la République romaine," Mélanges d'archéologie et d'histoire de l'École Française de Rome 74 (1962) 32-36; M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London 1974) 352-356, no. 344/1a; J. P. C. Kent, Roman Coins (New York 1978), pl. 14, no. 44; R. A. G. Carson, Principal Coins of the Romans, I (London 1978) 43, no. 134; Portraits and Propaganda: Faces of Rome. An exhibition held at the David Winton Bell Gallery, List Art Center, Brown University, January 21-March 5, 1989 (Providence 1989) 24, no. 4.
-- Bradford W. Wendel, LU '96
Bibliography: E. Babelon, Description historique et chronologique des monnaies de la republique romaine (Paris and London 1885-1886) Tituria, 1; H. A. Grueber, Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum (London 1910), I, 297, no. 2322; T. R. S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, II (New York 1952) 454; E. A. Sydenham, The Coinage of the Roman Republic (London 1952) 108, no. 698; J. M. C. Toynbee, "Picture-Language in Roman Art and Coinage," Essays in Roman Coinage presented to Harold Mattingly (London 1956) 222-224; L. R. Taylor, The Voting Districts of the Roman Republic (Papers and Monographs of the American Academy in Rome, 20; Rome 1960) 260; J.-P. Morel, "Thèmes sabins et thèmes numaïques dans-le monnayage de la République romaine," Mélanges d'archéologie et d'histoire de l'École Française de Rome 74 (1962) 32-36; M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London 1974) 352-356, no. 344/1a; J. P. C. Kent, Roman Coins (New York 1978), pl. 14, no. 44; R. A. G. Carson, Principal Coins of the Romans, I (London 1978) 43, no. 134; Portraits and Propaganda: Faces of Rome. An exhibition held at the David Winton Bell Gallery, List Art Center, Brown University, January 21-March 5, 1989 (Providence 1989) 24, no. 4.
Source
Classics Department Collection
Identifier
C029
Rights
Wriston Art Center Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI,wriston-gallery@lawrence.edu,920-832-6890
Files
Citation
Lucius Titurius Sabinus, “Lucius Titurius Sabinus, silver denarius (Type I), 3.87 g.,” Lawrence University Classics Department & Ottilia Buerger Coin Collections, accessed November 5, 2026, https://thor.lawrence.edu/omeka/buerger/items/show/390.