DR-413 | Crawford: 361/1b
Publius Crepusius
Publius Crepusius

Gens: Crepusia
Moneyer: Publius Crepusius
Date and mint: 82 BC - Rome


Obverse: Laureate head (possibly Apollo), right; behind, scepter. dotted border
Legend:
Symbols: Obverse before, control letter | Reverse behind, control-number

Reverse: Rider to the right with lance. Dotted border.
Legend: P CREPVSI

Comment: The Crepusia gens is one of the least known families of Republican Roma. He barely left a mark on political life, and his name is preserved mainly thanks to the coins issued by Publius Crepusius in the years 82-81 BC. The scarcity of information about this gens contrasts with the symbolic force of their coinage, which uses divinities and military scenes to transmit messages of legitimacy in a time of great instability.

The moneyer Publius Crepusius is the only attested member of the family. His name appears in several broadcasts from these years, when Roma was immersed in the civil war between the supporters of Sulla and those of Marius. In this context, coins became an essential propaganda instrument to reinforce the confidence and authority of the magistrates responsible for their minting.

The obverse presents a laureate head on the right, generally identified as Apollo, although the absence of an explicit legend leaves some room for doubt. Behind the head appears a scepter, an attribute that underlines divine dignity.

On the reverse there is a horseman armed with a spear, advancing to the right. The legend P CREPVSI identifies the moneyer magistrate.

The set conveys an image of power and victory: the laureate bust of Apollo, protective god of Roma and guarantor of order and harmony, joins the figure of the armed horseman, an emblem of military strength. At such a critical time as 82 BC, when Sulla returned to Italy to seize power by force, this coin of Crepusius evoked both divine protection and the warrior energy necessary to secure the fate of Roma.

Provenance: Classical Numismatic group (2011)
Price: 275 €