L. Thorius Balbus, 105 BC. Denarius (Silver, 19 mm, 3.95 g, 3 h), Rome. I•S•M•R Head of Juno Sospita to right, wearing goat-skin headdress. Rev. L•THORIVS / BALBVS Bull charging to right; above, C. Babelon (Thoria) 1. Crawford 316/1. RBW 1168 var. (differing control). Sydenham 598. Nicely toned. Minor scratches, otherwise, very fine.



This coin's moneyer, L. Thorius Balbus, chose the goddess Juno Sospita as the obverse type to celebrate his family's origins in Lanuvium, where the goddess was particularly worshipped in her guise as the protectress of newly married and pregnant women. The accompanying legend, 'I•S•M•R', is the abbreviation for Juno Sispes (or Sospites) Mater Regina. The reverse type of a charging bull was the family's badge, representing both strength and ferocity, and was likely also a pun on the family name, Thorius, since it is pronounced somewhat similarly to 'taurus', 'bull'.

L. Thorius Balbus was the only member of his gens to strike coins as a moneyer, and the type is certainly one of the most commonly encountered that was struck during the Republican period. There are two varieties: one with a smaller, higher relief head of Juno, which is quite rare, and coins such as this, with a lower relief obverse, which is typically struck on a broader flan and typically more crudely engraved. Balbus would later go on to command troops in Spain against Sertorius, where he was eventually defeated and killed in battle fighting Sertorius' second-in-command, the legate Hirtuleius.