The Sabines-abduction and a betrayal

[expat]

This first coin was gifted to me at the last Saturnalia by @Dafydd and portrays the abduction of the Sabine women

L Titurius L.f. Sabinus Denarius. 89 BC. Ref Tituria 2
Bare head of King Tatius right. SABIN behind. Palm branch to bottom right.
Two Roman soldiers standing facing, looking at one another, each carrying a Sabine woman in his arms.
L.TITVRI in ex. Cr344/1b, Syd 698a.
The Sabines were the women of the Sabine people. At the foundation of Rome, Romulus tries to negotiate with the Sabine people so that the Romans can marry Sabines in order to found their families. The Sabine men refused and, at a pretext festival, the Romans abducted the Sabines women and repelled the Sabines men. After several confrontations, the two finally decide to ally and allow the Sabines women to marry Romans. It is still debated whether the rape of Sabines women really happened or not; Livy. excluding any references to sexual assault, states Romulus offered them the choice to marry Romans and get some rights.

The gens Tituria was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. Few members of this gens appear in history, of whom the most famous is Quintus Titurius Sabinus, one of Caesar's legates during the Gallic Wars. Other Titurii are known from inscriptions.
Origin
The nomen Titurius is listed by Chase among those gentilicia that either originated at Rome, or cannot be shown to have come from anywhere else. The surname Sabinus, borne by several members of this family, suggests that they considered themselves the descendants of the Sabines, an ancient people of central Italy, many of whom were said to have settled at Rome beginning in the time of Romulus.

I was so impressed with the coin and the story behind its depiction that I subsequently acquired another with a Sabine story depicted on the reverse.

L. TITURIUS L. F. SABINUS. Denarius (89 BC). Rome.
Head of Tatius right, SABIN behind, A.PV before / L TITVRI in exergue, Tarpeia buried to her waist in shields, fending off two soldiers about to throw their shields on her. Tituria 5
sear5 #252,Cr344/2c, Syd 699a.
( 3.69 g. 19.4 mm ).
In Roman legend, Tarpeia, daughter of the Roman commander Spurius Tarpeius, was a Vestal Virgin who betrayed the city of Rome to the Sabines at the time of their women's abduction for what she thought would be a reward of jewelry. She was instead crushed to death by Sabine shields and her body cast from the southern cliff of Rome's Capitoline Hill, thereafter called after her the Tarpeian Rock (Rupes Tarpeia).

Please post other coin examples of the Sabine stories, the Vestal Virgins or related subjects.

 

[Roman Collector]

Informative write-up, @expat! An interesting pair of coins, too. Here's mine.

[shanxi]

My examples:

L. Titurius L.f. Sabinus
AR Denarius, 89 BC, Rome
Obv: Head of Tatius right, SABIN behind, TA monogram before.
Rev: Two Roman soldiers, each carrying a Sabine woman in his arms, L TITVRI in exergue.
Ag, 3.83g, 18mm
Ref.: Crawford 344/1a, Sydenham 698, RSC Tituria 1.

 

L. Titurius L.F. Sabinus
AR Denarius, 89 BC, Rome
Obv.: SABIN A PV, Head of King Tatius right, palm below chin
Rev.: Tarpeia facing between two soldiers, star and crescent
Ag, 17mm, 4g
Ref.: Crawford 344/2C, Sydenham 699a
Clashed dies. See the mirrored BIN from SABIN behind the leg of the right soldier
Ex E.E. Clain-Stefanelli Collection

 

[Ryro]

Score! A very integral coin too the myth and psyche of ancient Rome. Weirdos.