DR-476 | Crawford: 391/3
Caius Egnatius Maxsumus
Caius Egnatius Maxsumus

Gens: Egnatia
Moneyer: Caius Egnatius Maxsumus
Date and mint: 75 BC - Rome


Obverse: Bust of Libertas, right, draped and diademed; behind, pileus. Dotted border.
Legend: MAXSVMVS
Symbols: Reverse left field, control mark

Reverse: Roma and Venus, each with a staff in her right hand (Roma holds the sword in her left hand and places her left foot on the wolf's head; Venus has Cupid about to perch on her shoulder); On each side, rudder placed in the bow. Dotted border.
Legend: C EGNATIVS CN F CN N

Comment: The gens Egnatia was a plebeian family of little historical relevance, and its best-known member is Gaius Egnatius Máxsumus, moneyer in the year 75 BC. Its broadcast is especially interesting because it reflects the political environment after Sulla's dictatorship and anticipates the tensions that would erupt the following year.

In 74 BC, while its denarii were still in circulation, Roma faced two serious threats: the Third Mithridatic War in Asia Minor, entrusted to the consul Lucullus, and the great slave revolt of Spartacus in Italy. Both conflicts tested the stability of a Republic still marked by the abuses and reforms of the Silanian regime, in which the Senate sought to regain authority.

The obverse shows Libertas, goddess of freedom, wearing a diadem and dressed, accompanied behind by a pileus, the cap that manumitted slaves received. It was a reminder of one of the central values of the Republic and a clear allusion to the need to restore freedoms after the period of repression.

On the reverse, the iconography is more complex and rich in symbolism. Roma and Venus appear together: Roma, personification of the city, and Venus, mother of Aeneas and Trojan root of his lineage. The union of both evokes the double mythical heritage of the Republic, which claimed to be the heir of both Troy and Latium.

A singular element completes the scene: the head of a wolf under Roma's foot. Although the complete image with Romulus and Remus is not represented, the simple detail immediately refers to the founding myth. The she-wolf, origin of the lineage of Romulus, is here not a symbol of fragility, but of the sacred strength on which Roma is based.

Altogether, this denarius builds a clear message: a free Roma (Libertas on the obverse), protected by Venus, supported by its mythical roots and projected as a strong community protected by the gods.

Provenance: Roma Numismatics (2012)
Price: 2,276 €