The front (obverse) of A Roman Republic coin called a denarius shows the Latin abbreviation PISO路CAEPIO路Q and the laureate head (laurel-leaf crowned) Saturn, the god of generation, plenty, wealth, agriculture, and the treasury, among other things.
The reverse (back) of the Roman Republic denarius shows two seated quaestors鈥攆lanked by sheaves of wheat鈥攔epresenting L. Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus and Q. Servilius Caepio鈥擱oman officials who had charge of public revenue and expenditure who issued the coin. The abbreviation AD路FRV路EMV EX路S路C stands for Ad frumentum emundun ex senatus consulto, 鈥渇or the purchase of grain by order of the senate.鈥�
Let me paint the scene: I鈥檓 in this little Ottoman house built into the cliffside in Istanbul. I鈥檓 trying to write a book. I鈥檓 on sabbatical and a bit lonely and miserable and deep in the weeds. I come across one particular coin and it says: 鈥淔or the purchase of grain by authorization of the senate,鈥� in Latin abbreviations. Roman coins speak to us more than other coins, but this one in particular is rock solid, clear on what the heck it was made for and why it mattered. I got really excited because I was worried about how we went about quantifying what the Roman state was paying for.
It鈥檚 for grain supply, and it鈥檚 not that we can get down to exact amounts but even just ballpark鈥攊s this a big number, is this a small number? What is the state investment? And how are they doing it? At this point, if I knew how many of this coin鈥攎ade by these very specific people who put their name on the coin for a very specific food crisis鈥攚ere made, I could figure out how much was spent at this historical moment in 100 B.C. What an amazing data point for getting some comparative figures about their expenditures.
The coins were also interesting because the person signing it tried to block anybody selling any food at reduced rates for the poor, and even was against voting rights, and disrupted voting whenever someone was trying to help poor. So he鈥檚 trying to look like he鈥檚 meeting people鈥檚 needs, but we know from the literary record that that wasn鈥檛 his agenda at all. So it鈥檚 also that little added scandal or mystery about the coin.
