The Death of Tarpeia

219, Lot: 399. Estimate $100. Sold for $340. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

L. Titurius L.f. Sabinus. 89 BC. AR Denarius (17mm, 4.02 g, 11h). Rome mint. Bare head of Tatius right; palm below chin / Tarpeia, facing, buried in shields, raising both hands in protest; to left and right, two soldiers about to cast shields at her; star in crescent above. Crawford 344/2b; Sydenham 699; Tituria 4. Good VF, toned.

From the Jörg Müller Collection. Ex Gorny & Mosch 42 (10 October 2005), lot 508.

As a subplot of the myth of the rape of the Sabine women, Tarpeia was a Vestal Virgin who betrayed the city of Rome to the Sabines when they were attempting to rescue their wives and daughters. The price for her betrayal was what the Sabine soldiers wore on their left arms, meaning their gold bracelets. The Sabines were offended by Tarpeia's reprehensible greed and treason, and took her price literally. She met her death under the crushing weight of the soldiers' shields.