222/1. Aurelia? (143 BC)

AR Denarius (Rome, 143 BC)

O/ Helmeted head of Roma right; X behind.

R/ Diana, with quiver on shoulder, in biga of stags right, holding reins in left hand and torch in right hand; crescent below; ROMA in exergue.

3.94g; 18mm

Crawford 222/1 (29 obverse dies/36 reverse dies)

- Naville Numismatics Live Auction 92 (13/10/2024), lot 413.

Lucius Aurelius L. f. L. n. Cotta?:

The reverse design is unusual and can be linked to the biga of centaurs featuring on the denarii of Marcus Aurelius Cotta in 139 (RRC 229/1). I suggest that the type with the biga of stags was minted by this man's brother Lucius, who became consul in 119 and was the grandfather of Julius Caesar. The father of the two brothers was besides consul in 144, the year before this issue. Another possibility is an ancestor (most possibly the grandfather) of the Gaius Allius Bala who minted denarii with a biga of stags (RRC 336/1) in 92 BC.

It is the first denarius to depart from the traditional Dioscuri or chariot driven by a deity on the reverse.

Reference : RRC 222/1

Collection : Roman Republic