the base, above which sprout corn-ears. Two figures stand one on either side and
the column is surmounted by a third who holds a staff. The standing figure on the
right holds a lituus, distinguishing him as M. Minucius Faesus, one of the first
plebeian members of the college of augurs. The other is probably identifiable as
either P. or M. Minucius, consuls in 492 and 491 bcrespectively, from the loaves of
bread which he seems to be holding and the fact that his foot rests upon a modius
(grain-container), recalling grain distributions which took place in those years.
Scattered literary references argue that the figure on the top is probably L. Minucius,
who also distributed grain when consul in 439 bc.
It is worthwhile dwelling on this complex design, which is among the first of its
kind in the Roman coin series. What are its characteristics? It is meticulous and specific
as to the monument and the various attributes of the three figures, combining archi-
tectural observation, historical detail, and appropriate symbolism, in an imaginary
scene suggestive of familial piety, which profiles the great public achievements of
C. Minucius’ ancestors and celebrates the monument dedicated to one of them by
a grateful state.
The design encapsulates many of the ways in which religion and religious sym-
bolism are deployed on later Roman coins. Religious buildings and monuments of
various kinds are important – temples, altars, statues, cult objects, columns – and
they are individuated by the inclusion of telling details, which, however, does not
necessarily mean that they constitute an architecturally accurate elevation of the struc-
ture. The material trappings of Roman religion also make frequent appearances – as
here the lituus– whether as attributes or as motifs in their own right. Scenes of
sacrifice are common – as the left-hand figure on this coin, who appears to be
making an offering of his loaves at the column and looking upward in an attitude
of devotion toward the figure atop the monument. Finally, another kind of symbol
represented on this type completes the range of motifs with religious significance on
coins, exemplified here by the corn-ears either side of the column. Factually, they
refer to the grain distributions made by the moneyer’s ancestors in the past. But
they also stand for the state of divinely sanctioned plenty and material prosperity
which accrues to the Roman people as a benefit of their communal piety, of which
the Minucii are here figured as outstanding traditional exemplars.
What kinds of effects were being sought, what sorts of responses were intended
to be evoked by the expansion of religious material on the Roman coinage? What, for
example, was the significance of the lituusas a motif or as an attribute? What kinds
of associations and resonances did it have for the informed viewer? On one level, it
might simply indicate that the person depicted was a member of the politically
146 Jonathan Williams
Figure 11.6 Roman silver denarius, c. 135 bc, showing the Columna Minucia. 19 mm.