Series: Republican deities – Salus
Reference: Crawford 442/1a

Gens and moneyer: Acilia / Manius Acilius Glabrio
Year and mint: 49 BC - Rome
Obverse: Laureate bust of Salus, right. Border of dots. SALVTIS
Reverse: Valetudo standing left, resting her left arm on a column and holding a serpent in her right hand. Border of dots. MN ACILIVS III VIR VALETV

Grade: EF- 4.10 g - 8h
Provenance: Numismatica Arias 2026

Comment:
The gens Acilia was an ancient Roman plebeian family that attained a degree of political importance during the Republic. Its members included several consuls and magistrates, some of whom belonged to the Acilii Glabriones branch.

Manius Acilius Glabrio served as moneyer in 49 BC and is known chiefly for this issue. He was probably an ancestor of the consul of the same name who fought alongside Julius Caesar during the civil war.

The denarius was minted in 49 BC, at the beginning of the civil war between Caesar and Pompey. That same year, Caesar crossed the Rubicon and advanced on Rome, while Pompey and much of the Senate abandoned Italy. The Republic thus entered another civil war that would end with Caesar’s victory and permanently transform the Roman political system.

The obverse depicts Salus, the Roman personification of health, well-being and preservation, both of individuals and of the State. Her cult was associated with the protection and prosperity of the Roman people.

The reverse shows Valetudo, the personification of physical health and the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Hygieia, holding a serpent, the traditional symbol of medicine. The joint presence of Salus and Valetudo may be connected with the moneyer’s family history, as one of his ancestors is said to have introduced the cult of the Greek god Asclepius to Rome. The denarius thus brings together two conceptions of health: the Roman tradition represented by Salus and the Greek influence embodied by Valetudo.