The Shepherd Faustulus
272, Lot: 272. Estimate $100. Sold for $140. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee. |
|
Sex. Pompeius Fostlus. 137 BC. AR Denarius (19mm, 3.89 g, 5h). Rome mint. Helmeted head of Roma right; jug behind, X (mark of value) below chin / She-wolf standing right, head left, suckling twins (Romulus and Remus); on left, shepherd (Faustulus) standing right; birds on fig tree behind. Crawford 235/1b; Sydenham -; Pompeia 1b. Near VF, small area of edge corrosion.
The reverse alludes to the families descent from Faustulus, the shepherd who discovered Remus and Romulus being suckled by the she-wolf on the Palatine Hill and afterwards raised the twins with his wife.