Romulus & Reemus, couldn't they have just made ice cream together like Ben and Jerry?

[Ryro]

Don't do it kid. Step back really slowly.  Don't knock over that Zeus damn tile or we get two thousand years of mediocrity!

(If you are a Roman coin collector and don't get this meme, please stop, sell your coins NOW and go collect bobbleheads, hot wheels or some other such chochkies)

Ahh, irrumabo!!! The kid in the sky did it and here we are 2 millenia later swimming in the slop, surrounded by masses following a bunch of man made rules attributed to the divine.

Welp, since we're stuck here together we may as well show coins of Roms and Reems (as their friends surely called them) getting a little mother's milk:Anonymous AR Denarius. Rome, 115-114 BC. Head of Roma right, wearing winged and crested helmet, hair falling in two locks down neck, X behind, ROMA below / Roma, helmeted, seated right on two shields, holding spear before her; wolf standing right at her feet, head turned back, suckling Romulus and Remus, in left and right fields, two birds flying towards her. Crawford 287/1. 3.58g, 21mm, 10h.

 

"This issue is contemporaneous and shares the same devices with the signed triple-magistrate issues for Gargonius, Ogulnias and Vergilius so it must be considered related to that issue, but the reason for its existence is unclear."

and then Roma looking like Satan to clean this thing up a bit:Cornelius. Pub Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus. Denarius. 100 BC. Auxiliary mint of Rome. (Ffc-617). (Craw-329 / 1b). (Rsc-478). Anv .: Bust of young Hercules right, turned from spectator, wearing lion's skin, club over shoulder, shield and Latin letter K and dots behind. ROME, below. Rev .: LENT MAR F, (NT and MAR interlace), in exergue. Roma standing facing, being crowned by the Genius of the Roman People, same letter K between them, all within laurel-wreath. Ag. 2.95 g. VF. Purchased from Tauler & Fau 4/2021

 

"The bust of Hercules must be identified with that of Hercules Respiciens which perhaps underlines the origin of the gens Cornelia (in this case, the father of our monetary) is not unlike the denarius of Tiberius Quinctius ( RCV. 174). For the law, there are two varieties, the second with P E S C for “pecunia erogata senatus consulto” which translates as (currency paid with the agreement of the Senate) which would seem to demonstrate a partition in this monetary issue. Monetary, Publius Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus, son of Marcus Claudius Marcellus is also the father of Cn و us Lentulus (RRC. 397). On the reverse, the unusual representation of Rome crowned by victory will be repeated later in 74 BC, this time associating the Genius of the Roman people crowned by Victory in the name of Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sphinter.

 

History: In 100 BC Marius was consul for the sixth time with Lucius Valerius Flaccus. Marius restores order in Rome with the 'ultimum decretum'. Marcus Aquillius triumphs over the second slave revolt in Sicily. July 13, 100 BC is the traditionally accepted date of the birth of Julius Caesar."

 

 

 

 

Let's see those coins of Romulus and Reemus bro'ing it up, sucking teet or whatever you please. 

[Al Kowsky]

[Spaniard]

@Ryro...Nice coins!

Here's my only wolf with Romulus & Remus suckling..

City Commemorative. 330-354 AD. AE Follis (2.40 gm, 17mm). Antioch mint. Struck 330-335 AD.
Obv.: VRBS ROMA, helmeted head of Roma left, wearing imperial mantle and ornamental necklace.
Rev.: she-wolf standing left, suckling Romulus and Remus, two stars above; SMANZ in exergue. RIC#91.

 

 

[Shea19]

 

Here are my only two coins of the brothers (I’m a little surprised that I don’t have more of them):

Commemorative Series, Follis (19 mm, 3.20 g), Siscia, 330-333. VRBS ROMA Draped bust of Roma to left, wearing crested Attic helmet. Rev. She-wolf standing left, head facing, suckling the twins Romulus and Remus; above, two eight-pointed stars; in exergue, ΓSIS. RIC 222. From the collection of Dipl.-Ing. Adrian Lang.

Maxentius, Follis, (Silvered Bronze, 25 mm, 7.36 g), Ostia, 308- 312. Laureate head of Maxentius to right./ Rev.AETERNITAS AVG N /MOSTA, The Dioscuri standing facing, each with a star above their caps, holding bridle of horse in right hand and scepter in left; between them, she-wolf standing left, suckling the twins Romulus and Remus. RIC 16

[DonnaML]

Surprisingly (to me), I have only three wolf and twins coins. So I'm also posting an interesting RR denarius depicting Quirinus, who may have represented the deified Romulus.

Roman Republic, Anonymous* AR Denarius, 115-114 BCE.  Obv. Head of Roma right wearing winged Corinthian helmet; below, ROMA; behind, X [despite earlier change from 10 to 16 asses in value] / Rev. Roma, wearing Corinthian helmet, seated right on pile of shields, holding spear in left hand; helmet on ground between pile of  shields and her right foot; before her, she-wolf right, suckling twins Romulus and Remus; on either side, birds flying. Crawford 287/1, RSC I 176 (ill.), Sear RCV I 164 (ill.). 20 mm., 3.07 g.  Ex Silbury Coins, UK, Jan. 3, 2019.

*  See Sear RCV I at p. 104: "An issue lacking the moneyer's name is surprising and noteworthy at such a late date. The omission must have been his own decision and not the result of a change in government policy. Remarkably, this distinctive reverse type was revived almost 200 years later on an aureus of Titus (see no. 2417). [Italics in original.]

Philip I AR Antoninianus, 248 AD, Rome Mint, 2nd Officina. Obv. Radiate, draped, & cuirassed bust right, IMP PHILIPPVS AVG/ Rev. She-wolf standing left, suckling twins Romulus and Remus, SAECVLARES AVGG; II in exergue.  RIC IV-3 15, RSC IV 178, Sear RCV III 8957 (ill.). 22.75 mm., 4.72 g.  (Games commemorating 1,000th anniversary of founding of Rome.)  Purchased from Marc Breitsprecher; ex Madroosi Collection (Joe Blazick).

Constantine I, Billon reduced Centenionalis, Trier Mint 330-331 AD. Obv. VRBS ROMA, helmeted bust of Roma left/ Rev. She-wolf stg. left suckling twins (Romulus & Remus), 2 stars above; TRP• [Trier, First officina] in exergue. RIC VII 529, Sear RCV IV 16487. 17 mm., 2.4 g. (Found by metal detecting in Wiltshire, England, 2014). 

Roman Republic, C. Memmius C.f., AR Denarius, 56 BCE [Crawford], 57 BCE [Harlan], Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate head of Quirinus right [deified aspect of Romulus and/or Italian deity worshipped on Quirinal Hill; see footnote], hair long, beard in formal ringlets, C•MEMMI•C•F downwards to right, QVIRINVS downwards to left; banker’s mark or test mark to left of Quirinus’s eye, in shape of bird? inside flower or star/ Rev. Ceres seated right, holding torch in left hand and corn ear in right hand; at her feet, snake rearing with head right; MEMMIVS •AED• CERIALIA•PREIMVS•FECIT [translated as “Memmius as aedile first held the games of Ceres” (Harlan RRM II pp. 99-100)] downwards from upper left; old graffiti resembling an “X” to right of Ceres.  Crawford 427/2, RSC I Memmia 9 (ill.), Sear RCV I 388 (ill.), BMCRR 3940; Sydenham 921; Harlan RRM II, Ch. 12 at pp. 95-103; RBW Collection 1532; Jones, J.M., A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins (1990) [entry for “Quirinus” at p. 264]. 19.5 mm., 3.71 g.*

*[Portions of footnote not relating to Quirinus omitted.] Regarding Quirinus, the deity portrayed on the obverse, see Jones, supra, entry for “Quirinus” at p. 264: Quirinus was an “Italian deity believed by the Romans to be of Sabine origin (although this is doubtful), and worshipped on the Quirinal Hill at Rome. According to Roman mythology, Romulus, forty years after he had founded Rome, disappeared from the earth and became identified with Quirinus. The cult of Quirinus resembled that of Mars and was supervised by a Flamen Quirnalis.”  Jones specifically mentions this coin type, stating that in 56 BCE, “the mint magistrate C. Memmius issued a denarius with a laureate head on the obverse accompanied by the legend QVIRINVS; it is possible that this is to be explained in some way as alluding to the identification of Romulus and Quirinus, but more likely that the family of Memmius was of Sabine descent.” Contra Grueber, BMCRR Vol. I p. 496, stating that the portrayal of Quirinus referred to “the ancient origin of the Memmia gens, which claimed to be descended through Romulus from the Trojan Mnestheus” (a claim later mentioned by Virgil; see Aeneid  5.117), and, therefore, must have been intended to evoke the Romulus-Quirinus assimilation. See also RSC I at p. 66 (adopting Grueber’s viewpoint). 

At p. 451, Crawford rejects the viewpoint of Grueber and RSC, and makes an argument (presumably the basis for Jones’s position) that because the head on the obverse is explicitly identified as Quirinus (rather than Romulus), “it therefore seems self-evident that the type is irrelevant to the assimilation of Quirinus and Romulus.” Instead, as Crawford continues on p. 452: “Quirinus was “regarded by the Romans as a Sabine deity (wrongly of course. . .; the fact that the Sabines were mostly in the tribe Quirina may have helped the error along) and the choice of type perhaps reflected the moneyer’s claim to possess a Sabine origo.”

Harlan’s position is somewhere in the middle. He argues that “neither of the explanations given by Crawford or Grueber has taken adequate consideration of the real place Quirinus held in the national consciousness of the people” because of his status as the deified Romulus, an importance not dependent on particular claims of descent from Romulus given that all Romans looked to Romulus as an ancestor (Harlan, RRM II at p. 102).  He cites as examples Cicero’s Republic (in which the dramatis persona Scipio expresses surprise that men of the time of Romulus, who were no longer primitive, would have believed a tale of a man becoming a god, but notes that there must have been such conspicuous talent and virtue in Romulus that people believed the story) (id.), and the fact that the Roman people “ever after continued to celebrate Romulus’ return to heaven, and acted out the events of his disappearance each year on the fifth of July.” (Id.)  

In other words, my reading of Harlan’s view -- which appears to me to be reasonable -- is that on the one hand, most people who saw an image identified as Quirinus would be very familiar with the Romulus-Quirinus assimilation myth, and would recognize Quirinus as the deified Romulus even without any express reminder. On the other hand, Harlan also apparently believes that Crawford is correct that Quirinus, who was thought of as a Sabine god, was more likely to be associated with the claimed Sabine origin of the gens Memmia, than with any supposed descent of that family from a Trojan ancestor of Romulus -- a meaning two steps removed from the portrayal of Quirinus. So, according to Harlan, the image would have had not one, but two probable meanings (intended and/or perceived) -- with the third, more indirect, suggested meaning less likely.  

Finally, at p. 103, Harlan addresses the juxtaposition of Quirinus/Romulus on the obverse with Ceres on the reverse (as well as the juxtaposition, on the moneyer’s other issue of that year [see Crawford 427/1] of Ceres on the obverse and a military trophy on the reverse):

“Romulus’ legacy to his people had been a love of military pursuits and his people worshipped their founder as a god of war. Why then on Memmius’ coin is Quirinus, a god of war, coupled with the celebration of the first games of Ceres, the goddess of grain who loves peace? Why, on the scond coin, is the military trophy on the reverse and the head of Ceres on the obverse? . . .  The answer lies in the Roman character as Cicero traced its development in his Republic. [Summary follows of Cicero’s discussion of Roman state following death of Romulus (see De Re Publica 2.25-7), including his successor Numa’s division of conquered lands for cultivation, establishment of games and religious celebrations, etc., thereby tempering the warlike spirit instilled by Romulus and allowing abundance to flourish] . . . .  Memmius’ coins reflect the duality of the Roman character: a nature suited to the pursuit of war, but tempered by religion and clememcy; and so, our moneyer has balanced Quirinus with the games of Ceres and on the second coin, Ceres is balanced with a military trophy. The fruits of peace are enjoyed because of the arts of war and Memmius has extolled his family’s role in providing both to the Roman people.”
 

 

 

[Roman Collector]

Fun write up, @Ryro, and nice lookin' coins, everybody! Everyone should have an VRBS ROMANA with the Lupa Romana. Here's one of my favorites:


Constantine I, AD 307-337.
Roman billon reduced centenionalis, 2.44 g, 17.4 mm, 12 h.
Constantina/Arles, AD 331-332.
Obv: VRBS ROMA, helmeted bust of Roma, left, wearing imperial robes.
Rev: Lupa Romana, left, suckling Romulus and Remus; branch between two stars above; SCONST in exergue.
Refs: RIC vii p. 273, 368; RCV 16497; LRBC I 371; Cohen 17.