The Importance of Numa Pompilius: A Reconsideration of Augustan Coins

During the principate of Augustus Caesar, a series of asses (RIC I2 Augustus 390–396) were minted bearing the image of Augustus on the obverse and Numa Pompilius on the reverse. Discussion of this coin in the context of Augustan ideology has been limited (Evans, 1985; Grant, 1953). Although one aspect of the coin’s message relates to the promotion of the moneyer’s family, a closer analysis of its iconographical and historical context provides important evidence for the early public image of Augustus, particularly in regard to religion. To that end, this article intends to establish the traditional use of kings in Republican coins and the development of religious iconography in early Augustan coinage. Examination of these asses can be divided into two groups of coins which were minted at different times, first in 22 BCE (RIC I2 Augustus 390–393) and then again in 12 BCE (RIC I2 Augustus 394–396).

the iconography he imposed (Evans, 1985: 39;Grant, 1972: 5;Levick, 2010: 208f.), but also by the reforms he introduced in materials and denominations (Bay, 1972: 114-16;Sutherland, 1984: 3). Many of the images he employed in his visual propaganda focus on religious iconography that promote Augustus as a restorer of Roman tradition. According to Zanker (1988: 159), Augustus set himself up ' as the greatest exemplum'. In this regard, a series of asses produced featuring the image of Augustus on the obverse and Numa Pompilius on the reverse, offer important evidence for the early public image of Augustus and the exemplum he intended to follow.
His propaganda was quite fluid, changing to meet the demands of the times, but this coin appears as the culmination of a careful iconographic campaign. In order to fully understand the significance of this particular coin, it must be placed into its iconographical context. This article will briefly review the traditional use of kings in Republican and triumvirate coins, in order to highlight the numismatic traditions that Augustus was drawing on, and the development of religious iconography apparent in early Augustan coinage, that is, during the triumvirate and early principate.
This article limits its focus to coins minted for use in Rome, not the provinces. Using this background, a closer examination of the asses featuring Augustus and Numa will be conducted in order to posit new understanding of the coins.
It is important to pause at this point to review the career of Numa Pompilius.
Numa was the quasi-legendary second king of Rome, following Romulus (Cic. De re pub. 2.25; Livy 1.18.5-10; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 2.58;5.1), who was credited with establishing the major religious practices of the city as well as its first peaceful period. He established the pontifices (Ennius Ann. Hooker (1963) has completed a survey of his life and religious reforms. Overall, this figure was distinctly religious in nature and served as an exemplum worthy of aspiration. With this background in mind, let us examine the use of kings on coins before the second triumvirate.
Coinage of the Republic presented symbols and images to commemorate the families of individual moneyers, which makes coins an excellent source of evidence for the representation of early legends and the kings of Rome. Those of the Imperial period, in contrast, advertised the achievements and political aims of the emperors (Grant, 1958;Foss, 1990). Examination of coins reveals that only four kings were regularly used: Romulus and the three Sabine kings (including Numa). The six coin types identifying the iconography of Romulus have been discovered. Examination of these coins has been published elsewhere, 2 with the following conclusions. The earliest is a series of silver didrachm (RRC 20), dated between 269 BCE and 266 BCE, which clearly refers to the well-known legends surrounding the birth of Romulus (Varro, Ling. 5.54; Livy 1.4.6-7; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 1.77-80; Plut. Vit. Rom. 2.5-6; Cass. Dio 1.5.1). The minting of these coins coincides with the establishment of the Ogulnian statue of the she-wolf suckling twins on the Capitol, and this is likely to have been the inspiration for the image on the coin (Carter, 1909;Wiseman, 1995;Cornell, 1997;Mazzoni, 2010). The same wolf image is used on the coins in 217-215 BCE (RRC 39/3), 169-158 BCE (RRC 183/1; RRC 183/2) and 115-114 BCE (RRC 287/1), all authorised by unidentified moneyers. That the iconography of Romulus had not become fixed in the third century BCE is evident from the addition of details, such as a bird feeding the twins. 3 This suggests that other early myths were most probably also not fixed at this time, including the stories and representations of Numa. The asses, triens and denarii featuring Romulus also use traditional iconographical features on the obverse of their respective coin types, with Janus and Minerva appearing in 169-158 BCE and Roma in 115-114 BCE. The addition of the she-wolf suckling twins, incorporating the foundation of Rome into the numismatic iconography without altering the original markings, represents the beginning of a deviation from the 2 For the full text, see A. Turner (2015). 3 Although it is more commonly identified as a woodpecker, a bird associated with Mars, it is believed that a connection between the eagle and victory influenced its use on these coins and represents a variation of the original myth (Curran, 1973: 26;Jones, 1990: 106.) standard archetypes of the bronze and silver denominations previously employed (Mattingly, 1980: 3, 8-9).
In 137 BCE, the moneyer Sextus Pompeius minted a series of denarii featuring a detailed scene in which a she-wolf suckling twins is situated in front of a tree containing birds, while a man, identified as Faustulus by the inscription FOSTLUS, looks on from the left (RRC 235/1C). This is the only coin featuring the iconography of Romulus with an identifiable moneyer. Mattingly (1980: 6) claims this coin is one of the first instances of a moneyer promoting their family, believing that Sextus Pompeius claimed descent from Faustulus. The obverse depicts the traditional image of Roma. In all six coin types the she-wolf holds the same pose, as do the twins, suggesting that they were based on an image their audience would immediately recognise, such as the previously mentioned Ogulnian statue of 296 BCE. The coins featuring Romulus further demonstrate that the representation of kings did take on stereotypical forms in the iconography of the Republic and this conclusion can be applied to the image of Numa as well.
Numa and the other two kings recorded on coins are of Sabine origin, indicating the esteem in which these kings were held by the Roman families who could claim Sabine ancestry; they represent the rising popularity of claiming Sabine descent, which began in the third century BCE (Cornell, 1997: 75-77). In 89 BCE and 70 BCE, coins featuring Titus Tatius were minted. In all of these coins, Tatius is presented in profile as a bearded man of middle years, facing right, with short, well-kept hair and and theatrical performances, and became an annual event from 208 BCE as a way of fending off disease (Auguet, 1994: 212;Olivova, 1984: 168;Scullard, 2007: 614).
The connection between the descendants of Numa and the ludi Apollinares suggests that they wanted to promote their, or their families', concern for religion by displaying their regal ancestor, and the appearance of Apollo. It is evident that the religious nature of the king remained his most important feature. In 49 BCE, Pompey the Great and Cn. Piso issued denarii featuring the bearded head of Numa, wearing a diadem inscribed with NUMA on the obverse (RRC 446/1). Piso's connection with the obverse is created by the inscription CN PISO, and he claimed descent from Numa (Farney, 2007: 114). The reverse is clearly designed to promote Pompey, as indicated by the inscriptions MAGN and PRO COS, featuring the use of a prow, which promotes his naval dominance, demonstrated by his victories over pirates in 68 BCE and his position as augur.
In all of these images, Numa appears as a mature, bearded man, revealing his stereotypical depiction as a representative of the Sabine race, as his beard, like that of Tatius, represents the traditional rustic and frugal type who embodied the moral ideals of Rome's past. Farney (2007: 97-101) has examined the Sabine stereotype, which represented prisca virtus ' old-fashioned virtue.' He found that these values were portrayed through their disciplined and austere image and their unkempt and hirsute physical appearance, reflecting a rustic upbringing. Although the Sabine background certainly became a feature of Roman literature, the bearded, unkempt image of Numa and Tatius on coins demonstrates that the stereotype had found physical expression by 97 BCE. The repeated use of setting, expression and iconography suggests that the image of Numa appeared in a temple of the city as a source for the stereotype, in the same way that the representation of Romulus appears based on existing imagery.
The increased appearance of identifiable moneyers connected with their regal ancestors coincides with a shift in the Roman political landscape. With the unprecedented consulships of Gaius Marius (107-100 BCE), an example was set for powerful individuals to wield control of both the Senate and, more importantly, Rome herself. In addition, the conclusion of the Social War and passage of the lex Iulia in 90 BCE saw the enfranchisement of many Italian allies, who were slowly enrolled in the voting tribes over the following years (Bispham, 2007;Lintott, 1999). The increased use of Sabine imagery in coins may thus have arisen from a desire to promote the antiquity of a family's connection with Rome, an important element in political elections in the city.
Numa's name and deeds were preserved in the traditions of the great patrician gentes who claimed descent from him or Sabine origin -the Marcii, the Aemilii, the Pomponii, the Calpurnii and the Pinarii -and evidence of these family traditions has survived in the archaeological record, in the form of monuments. An important example of this is the Basilica Aemilia, located in the Forum Romanum, which was erected and maintained or restored by the Aemilian family over a number of generations and which contained friezes depicting Sabine legends. Only a length of twenty-two metres out of the estimated original one hundred and eighty-four of the frieze of the Basilica Aemilia, believed to have encircled the structure, has survived (Albertson, 1990: 801). The extant friezes of the Basilica Aemilia depict the earliest legends of the Sabine-Roman tradition: the abduction of the Sabine women and the treachery and punishment of Tarpeia, which are present on the coin types featuring Tatius. It is plausible, therefore, that incidents from the reign of Numa appeared among the missing scenes of the frieze. Such scenes may well have served as the basis for the Numa coin types.
The later Sabine king Ancus Marcius, who appears on three coins in conjunction with his grandfather Numa, does not follow the Sabine stereotype of Tatius and Numa, instead appearing beardless (RRC 346/1A; RRC 346/3; RRC 346/4A; RRC 346/4B). There is only one series of denarii in which he appears alone, from 56 BCE, produced by the moneyer L. Marcius Philippus, the step-father of the later Augustus. Again, the same beardless face of Ancus is used (RRC 425/1). The lack of beard symbolises the integration of the Sabines into Rome; Ancus is no longer foreign and rustic but now urbanised (Crawford, 2001: 448;Farney, 2007: 98-9). Since Ancus does not represent the same elements of the Sabine stereotype, as Tatius and Numa, it is evident that the stereotype of each king was unique in the coins of the Republic, and relied on the legends surrounding the figure as much as their genealogical background.
To summarise, the archaeological and numismatic evidence, which dates between c. 269 BCE and 49 BCE, reveals that Sabine legends and characters had become popular in the promotion of aristocratic families, suggesting a respect for the stereotypical traits associated with the Sabine ethnicity. This allowed the development of a physical iconography specific to each king, as revealed by the numismatic evidence. The image of Numa is one of a hirsute appearance, which was in keeping with his ancient Sabine origins. In addition, Numa is depicted performing religious rites in the only surviving scene that portrays more than Numa's profile, suggesting that an association between the king and religious Augustus' earliest coins were an exercise in self-promotion and political expression (Küter, 2014: 1). They reveal a fierce competition between the triumvirs that included promotion of priestly offices. 4 As the youngest triumvir, Augustus was competing against men of experience who already held priestly office: Lepidus as pontifex maximus and Antony as augur. Augustus had been made a pontiff by Julius Caesar in 48 BCE and had also become an augur prior to 42 BCE. 5 There was no way 4 For in-depth analysis, see Turner (2015). 5 Beard, et al. (2008: 186 for Augustus to promote his position as pontiff and remain on equal footing with Lepidus, but he clearly tried to put himself on a par with Antony by incorporating the lituus into his numismatic iconography. This promotion of augury continued until the death of Lepidus in 13 BCE, which then made vacant the position of pontifex maximus for Augustus. Augustus did not limit promotion of his religiosity to his portrait on the coinage. The prominence of the augury also appears in the depiction of Julius Caesar, togate and bearing a lituus (Pollini, 2012: 137-8  Following the exile of Lepidus in 35 BCE, denarii issued by Augustus featured his two priesthoods, featuring a simpulum, to symbolise his role as pontiff, and the lituus, to represent his role as augur (RRC 537/1; RRC 538/1). It is also worth noting his dual membership in the two most important priestly colleges recurs on coins of 16,13,9 and 8 BCE (RIC 368;RIC 367;RIC 410;RIC 402;RIC 421;RIC 424).
Coins from the previous year, examined above, had been used to promote Augustus as following in the footsteps of his adoptive father. Caesar, like his nephew and adopted heir, had also been a member of both colleges, a relatively rare honour. Since the end of the third century BCE, the accumulation of priesthoods had been rare, and Caesar had been the first to obtain dual membership since T. Otacilius Crassus in 211 BCE (Szemler, 1974: 76). Both colleges were allegedly established by Numa, a feature emphasised in the accounts of his reign   6 Although the office of tresviri monetales, minor magistrates in their own right, produced thousands of coins over the course of Roman history, little is known about how they functioned. In the Republic, this magistracy was an early position for young men as they began their political careers, undertaken prior to becoming a quaestor (Hamilton, 1969: 182). The three men, presumably elected each year, minted coins at the direction of the consul and senate and their names are preserved on the coins they minted, although frequently only one or two would be named on the coins produced (Lintott, 2009: 140). In 23 BCE, Augustan reforms moved control  of the tresviri monetales, that is, of the magistrates filling these roles, into the hands of praetors rather than the direct instruction of the consul (Küter, 2014: 5-6, 17).
Between 6 BCE and 10 CE, the names of the tresviri disappeared from the coins that they minted.
Küter (2014) has convincingly argued that the Numa asses were minted in 22 BCE, through a thorough examination of the evidence and this is, in part, accurate.
However, there is one point that has been overlooked. It has been assumed that both groups of coins were minted in the same year. Discrepancies in the portraits of Numa, which include the inclusion of a moustache and hair patterns, have been attributed to different working groups involved in the minting process for 22 BCE (Küter, 2014: 44). However, it seems unlikely that two working groups would have been needed to produce the same coin in the same year, particularly as the rarity of the coins suggests a limited release. In addition, the analysis of the coins of Group 2, which feature only the name of Piso, shows their composition is closer to the standard set by Augustus in terms of weight and levels of pollution (Küter, 2014: 10, 38).
With this in mind, I propose that Group 1 was minted, as Küter argues, in 22 BCE, while Group 2 was minted at a later date.  (Evans, 1985: 133;Farney, 2007: 114;Grant, 1953: 102;Küter, 2014: 45 There are, however, additional meanings that arise from this coin. Augustus could claim a Sabine background through Caesar's mother, Aurelia, following his testamentary adoption. The Aurelii had long promoted their Sabine ancestry and Caesar's mother is noted in our sources as providing a strict upbringing for her children in the Sabine tradition (Cass. Dio 44.38.6). These coins created a physical connection between the princeps and the second king of Rome, and this connection 7 There is evidence of special mints being completed by magistrates other than the tresviri monetales (Hamilton, 1969;Wallace-Hadrill, 1986 These are not the only coins to suggest a connection between Augustus and Numa. In 17 BCE, denarii were minted by P. Stolo which featured the head of Augustus on the obverse and two ancilia on the reverse (RIC I 2 Augustus 343-4; see Fig. 3).
The ancilia were shields of an old-fashioned shape, oval and indented, carried by the Salian priests during their rites whose origins were connected with Numa. After one dropped from the sky, the king ordered eleven copies to be created, for a total of twelve, and that they were to be carried through the city (Cic.  This indicates that, at this time at least, Augustus had an interest in promoting himself in connection with the tradition associated with Numa. This was a tradition of peace and of the establishment of many of the religious practices that were the core of the Roman experience, and may have arisen from a desire to distance himself from the turmoil and bloodshed of the triumvirate and civil war period. A second minting of asses featuring Numa and Augustus was undertaken during Piso's praetorship in 12 BCE, to celebrate the decree to build the Ara Pacis Augustae and the third closure of the temple of Janus.