DR-272 | Crawford: 306/1
Lucius Valerius Flaccus
Lucius Valerius Flaccus

Gens: Valeria
Moneyer: Lucius Valerius Flaccus
Date and mint: 108 BC/107 BC - Rome


Obverse: Bust of Victoria, right, draped. Dotted border.
Legend:
Symbols: Obverse before, x

Reverse: Mars walking to the left holding a spear with the point down in his right hand and a trophy over his left shoulder. Dotted border.
Legend: L VALERI FLACCI

Comment: The Valeria gens was one of the oldest and most illustrious Roman families. The nomen Valerio comes from the Latin praenomen Volusus or Volesus, which in turn derives from valere, which means strength, courage and also health, healing. The ancestor of the gens, Volusus or Volesus arrived in Rome with Titus Tatius, king of the Sabines, who had established an alliance with Romulus.
Grueber indicates that both the motifs on the obverse and the reverse allude to three events related to members of the Valeria gens. Firstly, the successes of L. Valerius Flaccus in northern Italy against the Gauls in 194 BC, represented by Victoria and Mars. The colonization of Placentia and Cremona by the same magistrate, represented by the ear of wheat and thirdly, the appointment of L. Valerius Flaccus, consul in 131 BC as Flamen Martialis, illustrated by the apex or cap of the flamines.

Therefore, the motifs on the obverse and reverse are a clear allusion to different military successes and positions held by former members of the Valeria gens as a way of extolling their lineage.
[Commentary by Scipio]

Provenance: Roma Numismatics (2022)
Price: 1,835 €