L. Livineius Regulus (42 BC). AR denarius (18mm, 3.67 gm, 11h). NGC VF 4/5 - 3/5, bankers mark. Rome. Bare head of the praetor L. Livineius Regulus right / L•REGVLVS, arena beast-fighting scene: man attacking lion with spear in foreground, second man with shield and sword attacking panther in background, wounded boar on left. Crawford 494/30. Sydenham 1112. Livineia 12. From the Rockport Collection. Privately purchased from Heritage Auctions in the 1980s. Sold with original custom holder listing older catalog references. The identity of the obverse portrait is something of a mystery, but the most likely candidate is a Praetor Lucius Livineius Regulus, probably the moneyer's father, who was one of Caesar's backers and partners in the 50s and 40s BC. The scene on the back is one type of popular entertainment that praetors (an office just below that of consul) were supposed to present - a beast-fighting scene in the arena. While gladiators fought other men, bestiarii were a special class of combatant who fought and killed wild animals such as lions, bears and tigers for the public' enjoyment. Some were criminals sentenced to the arena to die damnatio ad bestia (as were many Christians a century or more later), while others were free men (and occasionally women) who fought voluntarily for glory and money.

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