Lucius Scribonius Libo, silver denarius, 3.96 g.
Title
Lucius Scribonius Libo, silver denarius, 3.96 g.
Creator
Lucius Scribonius Libo
Date
c. 55 - 54 BCE
Description
Obverse: Diademed head of Bonus Eventus right; behind, LIBO downwards; before, BON EVENT downwards. Border of dots.
Reverse: Puteal Scribonianum, decorated with garland and two lyres; at base, hammer; above, PVTEAL; below, SCRIBON. Border of dots.
Style/Period: Roman Republic
Lucius Scribonius Eventus was consul in 34 BCE and father-in-law to Sextus Pompey. He defected from the army of Sextus Pompey to join Octavian. The depiction of Bonus Eventus on the obverse has several possible meanings. Bonus Eventu was the god of good fortune who favored agriculture and was invoked before a major journey or undertaking or to provide for a bountiful harvest. He had a temple in the Campus Martius and was very popular. His depiction could represent the successful prosecution of Catiline by Cicero. It could also allude to Beneventum, the home town of the Scribonius family. The reverse depicts the Puteal Scribonianum, a stone enclosure placed at the mouth of a well in the Forum Romanum. It was struck by lightning and repaired and rededicated by Scribonius Libo. The symbols on the reverse are those of Vulcan.
-- Bradford W. Wendel, LU '96
Bibliography: E. Babelon, Description historique et chronologique des monnaies de la republique romaine (Paris and London 1885-1886) Scribonia, 8; H. A. Grueber, Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum (London 1910), I, 419, no. 3377; T. R. S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, II (New York 1952) 451; E. A. Sydenham, The Coinage of the Roman Republic (London 1952) 155, no. 928; E. Nash, Pictorial Dictionary of Ancient Rome (Rome 1961-1962), II, 259-261, s.v. Puteal Libonis; M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London 1974) 441-442, no. 416/1a; George C. Brauer, Jr., "The Genius figure on Roman Coins," SAN Journal of the Society of Ancient Numismatics 13 (1982) 24-26.
-- Bradford W. Wendel, LU '96
Bibliography: E. Babelon, Description historique et chronologique des monnaies de la republique romaine (Paris and London 1885-1886) Scribonia, 8; H. A. Grueber, Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum (London 1910), I, 419, no. 3377; T. R. S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, II (New York 1952) 451; E. A. Sydenham, The Coinage of the Roman Republic (London 1952) 155, no. 928; E. Nash, Pictorial Dictionary of Ancient Rome (Rome 1961-1962), II, 259-261, s.v. Puteal Libonis; M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London 1974) 441-442, no. 416/1a; George C. Brauer, Jr., "The Genius figure on Roman Coins," SAN Journal of the Society of Ancient Numismatics 13 (1982) 24-26.
Source
Classics Department Collection
Identifier
C039
Rights
Wriston Art Center Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI,wriston-gallery@lawrence.edu,920-832-6890
Files
Citation
Lucius Scribonius Libo, “Lucius Scribonius Libo, silver denarius, 3.96 g.,” Lawrence University Classics Department & Ottilia Buerger Coin Collections, accessed November 5, 2026, https://thor.lawrence.edu/omeka/buerger/items/show/401.