Description
| Roman Republic. C. Vibius Pansa. Denarius, 90 BC, Rome mint. | |
| Obverse: | Head of Apollo wearing a laurelwreath right, behind PANSA, below the chin control mark. |
| Reverse: | Minerva, wearing a helmet, holding a tropaion, a spear and reins, riding a quadriga right, in exergue C VIBIVS C F. |
| Dimensions: | AR, 3.85 g, 19 mm, 3h. |
| References: | Crawford 342/5b; Sydenham 684; BMCRR Rome 2244 var. |
| Condition: | Averse-die partly rusty, revers-die with nice details. A beautiful dark patina. Almost extremely fine. |
| Provenance: | From a private German Collection, acquired at Gorny & Mosch 257 (2018), 649, From a Munic Collection, bought before 1973. |
| Comment: | This coin type was minted with and without a Victory over the quadriga. They were probably issued to reflect the Roman successes in the Social War. Apollo is often associated with the restoration of social order, the important games in honor of Apollo, the ludi Apollinares, were introduced during the hard times of the 2nd Punic War. References to Apollo appear in particular in run-up and after the Social War. Minerva may have a family connection, she also occurs on other coins of this gens.
The moneyer |
