DR-291 | Crawford: 314/1b
Lucius Aurelius Cotta
Lucius Aurelius Cotta

Gens: Aurelia
Moneyer: Lucius Aurelius Cotta
Date and mint: 105 BC - Rome


Obverse: Bust of Vulcan, right, draped and wearing a tight cap with a laurel wreath, with clips on the shoulder; around, crown. Dotted border.
Legend:
Symbols: Obverse before, control mark | Obverse behind, x

Reverse: Eagle on lightning bolt, right; around, laurel wreath. Dotted border.
Legend: L COT

Comment: The gens Aurelia was an ancient Roman family of plebeian origin that had its most notable times at the end of the Republic and in the Empire. Julius Caesar's mother, Aurelia Cota, remembered for her reputation as a virtuous and wise woman, also belonged to this Gens. In addition to several republican consuls, Emperor Marcus Aurelius is the most famous member this family has produced.

Of the currency of this denarius, triumviro monetalis in 105 BC, no great cursus honorum is known, but it is evident that it had some influence and contacts to have come to issue currency.

The time in which this coin was minted was not one of the most peaceful in ancient Roma. A major social crisis was going on, there was a struggle for power between Marius and Sulla, the Third Mithridatic War was underway, and the Cimbri and Teutons had invaded Roman territory from the north.

On the obverse of the coin we have the god Vulcan, god of fire, volcanoes, forging and metallurgy. Behind him, some tongs appear, referring to this part related to hard work and creativity, of which it was also a prominent symbol.

On the reverse we have the eagle on a lightning bolt, which usually represents the god Jupiter, and wrapped in a laurel wreath. A message that remembers the greatness and strength of Roma.

So, on the one hand, the god of hard work and creativity. On the other, the greatness of Roma

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With this denarius, Aurelius Cotta reminds us of one of his ancestors, Caius Aurelius, who was Consul in 252 BC and took the Lipara Islands in which Vulcan was highly venerated. The reverse shows us the beam of rays that this god forged.

Provenance: Numismatica Ars Classica (2024)
Price: 1,650 €