DR-309 | Crawford: 325/1b
Lucius Sentius
Lucius Sentius

Gens: Sentia
Moneyer: Lucius Sentius
Date and mint: 101 BC - Rome


Obverse: Bust of Roma with helmet, right. Dotted border.
Legend: ARG PVB
Symbols: Reverse below, control mark

Reverse: Jupiter in quadriga, right, holding Lightning Bolt and reins on the left and Scepter on the right. Dotted border.
Legend: L SENTI C F

Comment: The denarius of Lucius Sentius was minted in Rome in the year 101 BC. by a member of the Sentia gens, a family of plebeian origin that gained relevance in the last centuries of the Republic. We know about this magistrate that he later became governor of Macedonia, which confirms the political projection of his career.

The historical moment was marked by the recent victory of Gaius Marius in the battle of Vercelas (101 BC), which put an end to the threat of the Cimbri. However, within Italy social and political tensions were accumulating that would lead to the social war a few years later. In this context, the Papiria-Plautia law was enacted, which authorized special issues of currency intended to finance extraordinary public expenditures. The ARG PVB inscription on the obverse (argento publico) indicates precisely that this coinage was made with State silver and with a financial objective linked to these measures.

On the obverse appears the bust of Roma with a helmet on the right, accompanied by the legend ARG PVB, remembering that it was a public denarius, beyond the usual family propaganda. The reverse shows Jupiter on a chariot, throwing lightning with one hand and holding a scepter and reins with the other, along with the inscription L SENTI C F. The scene represents the supreme god as guarantor of order and victory in Rome, reinforcing the idea that the State and the gods supported the Republic in a turbulent period.

Provenance: Numismatica Ars Classica (2011)
Price: 535 €