Coin (reverse), Denarius, of Lucius Titurius Lucii filius Sabinus

This silver coin was minted in Rome by Lucius Titurius Sabinus, son of Lucius, in 89 BC. It is a type called a denarius, the most common Roman silver coin. This picture shows the reverse of the coin.

The reverse depicts two soldiers holding shields, attacking a figure kneeling among shields, interpreted as the Killing of Tarpeia. The significance of the star in a crescent above is uncertain. Below is the legend 'L. TITVRI' referring to the moneyer.

This scene is part of the Sabine legends, alluded to on the obverse and reverse denarii of this moneyer. Tarpeia was the daughter of the Roman commander on the capital during the Sabine Wars. She was crushed to death by the shields of Sabine warriors.

The Roman currency system included the denarius (plural: denarii), a small silver coin, as the most common coin in circulation. Classical historians regularly say that in the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire the daily wage for a laborer was one denarius. The denarius was first struck in 211 BC during the Roman Republic, valued at 10 asses, giving the denarius its name which translates to "containing ten". In 118 BC it was re-tariffed at 16 asses, to reflect the decrease in size of the As. The As was a bronze or copper coin. The denarius continued to be the main coin of the empire until it was replaced by the antoninianus in the middle of the 3rd century AD.

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