DR-368 | Crawford: 344/3
Lucius Titurius Sabinus
Lucius Titurius Sabinus

Gens: Tituria
Moneyer: Lucius Titurius Sabinus
Date and mint: 89 BC - Rome


Obverse: Bearded head of King Tatius, right. Dotted border.
Legend: SABIN
Symbols: Reverse exergue, control mark

Reverse: Victoria in biga, right, reins in left hand and crown in right. Dotted border.
Legend: L TITVRI

Comment: The gens Tituria, of Sabine origin, did not stand out particularly in the politics of Roma, but left testimony of its identity through the coinage of Lucius Titurius Sabinus in 89 BC. All its broadcasts revolve around the Sabines and their integration into Rome, underlining an ancient and proud lineage. Later, another descendant, Quintus Titurius Sabinus, would be Caesar's legate in Gaul and would end up dead in the famous ambush of Ambiorix in 54 BC, confirming the continuity of the family in Romen military and political life.

The year 89 B.C. It was a decisive moment of the Social War. Roma, after years of fighting with its Italian allies, approved the Lex Plautia Papiria, which opened citizenship to those who abandoned their weapons. In this context of conflict and integration pacts, the memory of the Sabine king Titus Tatius and the victory of Roma acquire a strong symbolic value.

On the obverse of the coin appears the bearded head of Titus Tatius, with the legend SABIN. Once again, the moneyer man insists on claiming his family's Sabine roots. The reverse shows Victoria driving a biga to the right, holding the reins in her left hand and a crown in her right. The legend L TITVRI in the exergue identifies the magistrate.

The propaganda message combines tradition and triumph. After evoking on other coins the abduction of the Sabine women and the betrayal of Tarpeia, here Sabinus resorts to the classic image of Victoria in a chariot, which connects his lineage with the military glory of Roma. The victory not only recalled the recent war successes in the Social War, but also the inevitable destiny of Roma as a winning power and as a city capable of integrating its former enemies.

Provenance: Numismatica Ars Classica (2019)
Price: 700 €