Principal Coins of the Roman Republic
Part 10 RRC 236 to RRC 279, 137BC to 121BC, Tiberius and Gaius Gracchi and their land reforms

RRC 239 C.SERVEILI M.F Servilia triens. This very small and rare coin looks like an uncia but is in fact a triens - the value marks can be seen before the prow, above which are a wreath and pennant flag.

RRC 239 C.SERVEILI M.F Servilia quadrans, RRC 240 C.CVR F Victory bronzes, RRC 241 L.TREBANI Trebania denarius. The C.CVR F. types without Victory above the prow are probably imitations - they are on average of lighter weight and poorer style than those with Victory above. As with the above C.SERVEILI triens, the quadrans is also a tiny coin on a dumpy flan. They cannot have been popular in circulation!

RRC 241 L.TREBANI Trebania bronzes, RRC 242 C.AVG Minucia denarius. A recently proposed theory suggests that the columns on the denarii of the Minucii - the above RRC 242 as well as RRC 243 below - do not represent any historical monument. Jane de Rose Evans in "The Restoration of Memory, Minucius and his Monument" suggests that the scene depicted was a non-existent column with non-existent ancestors, all a made-up story to lend an undeserved gloss to family history. It was an attempt by the Minucii who had long been out of power to restablish their families reputation and promote the brothers into the Senate. The impossible form of the column and its associated bells and whistles is a large part of her thesis. She consideres the statue on top to be "Consus", who was the Roman god who protected grain and grain storage silos. He had an underground altar near the Circus Maximus, and for this reason Consus also was the god of secret conferences, and his name was related to consilium ("council, assembly"). The Minucius cognomen 'Augurinus' may refer to the augurate of M. Minucius Faesus, who was one of the first plebeians in the college of augurs in 300 BC. Most modern scholars follow the interpretation that the use of the cognomen for earlier Minucii in the consular fasti are interpolations from the later Republic, which would fit with de Rose Evans' view that the monument is a fiction. See also Wiseman, T.P. 1996. The Minucii and Their Monument.

RRC 242 C.AVG Minucia semis, RRC 243 TI. MINVCI C.F. AVGVRINVS Minucia denarius, bronzes. Note the lituus above the name TI.AVGVRIN on the RRC 243 triens and quadrans.

RRC 244 C.ABVRI GEM Aburia bronzes, RRC 245 M. MARCI MN.F Marcia bronzes. It is evident that the bronzes of this period were struck from copper or from a high-copper bronze without the lead and iron inclusions generally found in Republican struck bronzes preceding RRC 219; thus they were not struck from melted struck bronzes or aes grave but from fresh metal.

RRC 246 C.NVMITORI Numitoria denarius. This is a rare type that is still missing from the Ahala collection.

RRC 246 C.NVMITORI Numitoria bronzes, RRC 247 P.CALP Calpurnia denarius. The bronzes of Numitoria are quite common and are all engraved in a characteristic and highly artistic style.

RRC 247 P.CALP Calpurnia bronzes, RRC 248 L. MINVCIV Minucia quadrans, RRC 249 P.MAE.ANT Antestia denarius. The P.CALP bronzes deviate from the standard reverse types: both show a complete ship (not a prow). Victory stands facing, holding a wreath, on the centre of the deck between the two raised masts and a ship's pilot is by the mast at the stern.

RRC 249 P.MAE.ANT Antestia uncia, RRC 250 M.ABVRI GEM Aburia denarius, RRC 251 M.FABRINI Fabrinia bronzes. Note the Antestia uncia, one of the less-rare signed unciae in the Republican series.

RRC 251 M.FABRINI Fabrinia bronzes, RRC 252 L.POST ALB Postumia denarius, RRC 253 L.OPEIMI Opeimia denarius

RRC 253 L.OPEIMI Opimia quadrans. A very rare type with a club in wreath as the reverse.

RRC 255 M.ACILI Acilia denarius. Davis coll.

RRC 255 M.ACILI Acilia bronzes, RRC 256 Q.METE Caecilia bronzes

RRC 257 M.VARG Vargunteia bronzes

RRC 258 SEX.IVLI CAISAR Julia denarius, RRC 259 Q.PILPIVS Marcia denarius, RRC 260 T.CLOVLI Cloulia denarius RRC 261 CN.DOMIT Domitia denarius.

RRC 261 CN.DOMI Domitia bronzes, RRC 262 elephant head Caecilia denarii. The RRC 262 Caecilia denarii come in two main varieties, that with a branch behind the goddess in the biga, and with a bell on the elephant (right-hand coin) and that missing both branch and bell (left hand coin).

RRC 262 elephant head Caecilia bronzes, RRC 263 M.METELLVS Q.F Caecilia denarius. There is a small elephant head in the central boss of the shield on the RRC 263 denarius, although it is rarely clearly visible. On this photo I inadvertently rotated the reverse, which adds to the difficulty in seeing the elephant!

RRC 263 M.METELLVS Caecilia quadrans, RRC 264 C.SERVEILI Servilia bronzes, RRC 265 Q.MAX Fabia quadrans. Bronzes of this period often combine symbols with the moneyers name. On the Caecilia quadrans there is a Macedonian shield above the prow. The very rare Servilia semis shows a lion above the prow, and the related quadrans shows crossed ears of corn above. Excepting RRC 16 Goddess/Lion type, there are no other examples of a lion appearing on a Republican bronze.

RRC 263 M.METELLVS Caecilia dodrans. This dodrans, or nine uncia, is considerably rarer than the Cassia RRC 266 dodrans. A bes, or eight unciae, which also occurs in RRC 266, has now also been identified for this RRC 263. These odd denominations remain a mystery, as they hardly were of much use in the marketplace. Perhaps they were issued as donative, or perhaps they were issued as exact change for corn-dole or similar government handouts. The same explanations could account for the continued issue of unciae until about 100BC.

RRC 266 C.CASSI Cassia denarius, dodrans and bes, RRC 267 T.Q. Quinctia denarius. This tray features an attractive dodrans and an unattractive bes of C.Cassius. Vulcan is a very rare type on regular Roman or Greek coinage, although he was commonly used on Spanish types as well as imitative coins. The obverse of the bes depicts Liber.

RRC 267 T.Q. Quinctia bronzes, RRC 269 C.METELLVS Caecilia denarius. The Caecliae were very fond of their elephants.

RRC 269 C.METELLVS Caecilia semis, RRC 273 Q.FABI Fabia denarius, quadrans, RRC 275 M.FAN C.F. Fannia denarius. The form of prow and the elephant head on the RRC 269 semis should not be confused with the much more common RRC 262 semis. On RRC 269, the prow has the words C.METELLVS inscribed at keel line on letters which converge towards the rostrum tridens. The word ROMA is also on the obverse before Saturn's head instead of its usual place on the reverse.

Part 1           RRC 1 to RRC 27     300-225BC Early Roman Coinage Part 2         RRC 28 to RRC 43     230-213BC Quadrigatus coinage Part 3         RRC 44 to RRC 66     214-207BC Italy Sardinia Part 4         RRC 67 to RRC 96     212-207BC Sicily Apulia Part 5       RRC 97 to RRC 111     212-207BC Luceria Etruria Part 6     RRC 112 to RRC 138     206-190BC Conquest of Spain Part 7     RRC 139 to RRC 172     190-170BC Macedonian wars Part 8     RRC 173 to RRC 198     170-155BC Bronze-only currency Part 9     RRC 199 to RRC 235     155-137BC Carthage, Greece Part 10   RRC 236 to RRC 279     137-121BC The Gracchi brothers Part 11   RRC 280 to RRC 335     120-93BC Scaurus, rise of Marius Part 12   RRC 336 to RRC 358     92-83BC Social War, rise of Sulla Part 13   RRC 359 to RRC 404     83-70BC Sulla's dominance Part 14   RRC 405 to RRC 439     69-50BC First Triumvirate Part 15   RRC 440 to RRC 462     49-46BC Caesar versus Pompey Part 16   RRC 463 to RRC 482     46-44BC Julius Caesar as Dictator Part 17   RRC 483 to RRC 497     43-41BC Second Triumvirate Part 18   RRC 498 to RRC 515     43-42BC Brutus and Cassius Part 19   RRC 516 to RRC 543     41-32BC Antony versus Octavian Part 20   RRC 544 to RRC 550     35-27BC Actium

Specialist Supplements:
1. Roman Coins of Luceria and Canusium
2. Anonymous Struck Bronze Coins of the Roman Republic
3. Anonymous Roman Republican Denarii and Victoriati (Steve Brinkman's site)