The Jug and Lituus on Roman Republican Coin Types

IN THE COINAGE OF THE Roman Republic, a jug and lituus (the curved staff of the augurs) sometimes appear as a paired group of symbols; the earliest use is by Sulla, the last on issues of Antony in 39. From the ritual context, I argue here that the jug and lituus refer to the pontifical and augural jurisdiction over the ritual preliminaries to political action and particularly to the ceremonies of investiture of Roman magistrates-namely initial auspices, sacrifice, and vows. From the political context of each issue, I suggest that the symbols allude to ritual in order to legitimize military power. The jug and lituus pair are first seen on the issue of Sulla, dated by Crawford to 84-83 B.C. (RRC no. 359 = pl. 1, fig. 1): the jug and lituus are the central emblems on the reverse and are flanked by military trophies; the inscription identifies Sulla as imper(ator) iterum. These symbols have generated a continuing debate. L. R. Taylor referred the symbols to membership in the augurate.' But Sulla was not an augur until 82.2 T. Martin (1989: 19-44, esp. 24-44) has therefore reassigned the coin to late 82 and urged that the legend on the coin (imperator iterum) refers to Sulla's victory at the Colline Gate. A. Keaveney (1982: 150-171, esp. 158-161) has kept to 84/3 and taken the lituus and jug as symbols of Sulla's auspices as a Roman magistrate and so of his iustum imperium. These explanations are insufficient. While Martin legitimately questions Crawford's seriation of Sulla's coins on the basis of hoard analysis and wear patterns and considers the coin-type, particularly the legend, to reassign the coins, the iconography of Sulla's coin does not support his reassignment. Athenian tetradrachms issued by Sulla in Greece commemorate the twin trophies erected by him at Chaeroneia (Plut. Sull. 19.5; Paus. 9.40.7) and suggest that trophies on his coinage refer to his Eastern victories.3 Moreover, Martin (1989: 35-43)

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