Description

The Coin

L. Roscius Fabatus (c. 64 BCE).
Roman Republic. Denarius
Obv: L. Rosci below the hand of Juno Sospita right, wearing goat’s skin, symbol behind.
Rev: Female standing right feeding serpent erect before her.

L. Roscius Fabatus

This coin is a silver denarius of the Roman moneyer (individual who minted coins) Lucius Roscius Fabatus. It is thought to have been minted between 64 and 59 BCE. Roscius was best known for being a lieutenant of Julius Caesar during his campaign in Gaul. Caesar himself notes in the fifth book of Commentarii de Bello Gallico that he gave command of a legion to Roscius to winter among the Esubii tribe of Gaul. Caesar also commends Roscius for warning him of preparations for an attack by the Gauls against him. Roscius also fights on the side of Caesar during the Civil War. He was killed in 43 BCE, either in the battle of Forum Gallorum or the battle of Mutina (which occurred two weeks apart), while fighting with the consul Pansa and a young Octavian against the legions of Marcus Antonius.

The obverse side depicts the head of Juno Sospita and the inscription L. ROSCI. The depiction of Juno Sospita on coins was common practice for moneyers from the Lanuvium region in Italy (south of Rome), the home of Roscius. This was because the cult of Juno Sospita, a rather esoteric branch of Roman religion, was centered in Lanuvium, where her temple stood in a sacred grove. As a result, a portrayal of the goddess on a coin would highlight the moneyer’s Lanuvian roots. As she does on this denarius, Juno Sospita appears with a goat-skin (and often a spear and shield), distinguishing her from other depictions of Juno.

The reverse side of the coin depicts a girl offering something to a snake and the inscription FABATI, of which the I  is omitted due to the way the coin was struck. This image likely refers to a ritual practiced by followers of the cult of Juno Sospita, in which a virgin girl would go beneath the temple of Juno Sospita with an offering of food for a snake. If the girl was indeed chaste, the snake would take the food and she would return; however, if she was not chaste, she would be eaten by the serpent.