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Roman Republic, Denarius

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Roman Republic, Denarius (obverse) Roman Republic, Denarius (reverse)

This denarius from the year 90 BC shows the laureate head of the Greek god Apollo. Behind the head ist inscription PANSA, alluding to the moneyer of the coin, Gaius Vibius Pansa. Below Apollo's chin is a mint control mark.

The reverse depicts the Roman goddess Minerva with a spear and a trophy in a quadriga, a four-horse racing chariot. Below is the inscription C. VIBIVS. C. F. for the moneyer again.

Gaius Vibius Pansa was a supporter of the Populares, a group of politicians who had taken up the cause of improving the lives of the urban poor. Under the dictatorship of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, the leader of the opposing party of the Optimates, Pansa was proscribed.

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