223. L. Valerius Acisculus AR Denarius. 45 BC. ACISCVLVS, diademed bust of Apollo Soranus right, axe behind, star above / Valeria Luperca riding a heifer right, holding a veil above; L•VALERIVS in ex. Sydenham 998a, Crawford 474/1b. 3.99g, 20mm. EXTREMELY FINE
600
224. L. Valerius Acisculus AR Denarius. 45 BC. ACISCVLVS, diademed bust of Apollo Soranus right, axe behind, star above / Valeria Luperca riding a heifer right, holding a veil above; L•VALERIVS in ex. Sydenham 998a, Crawford 474/1b. 3.89g, 19mm. GOOD VERY FINE
350
Very Rare Valerius Acisculus
225. L. Valerius Asisculus AR Denarius. Circa 45 BC. Diademed bust of Apollo Soranus right, ACISCVLVS and pickaxe behind, star above, all within laurel wreath / Owl with helmeted bust (of Minerva) walking right, carrying two spears and shield, L. VALERIVS in ex, all within laurel wreath. Crawford 474/2b. 4.13g, 19mm. VERY RARE EXTREMELY FINE
1750
A very difficult type to find in decent condition; this example benefits from being well centred and in a good state of preservation making it one of, if not the, finest example offered for at least a decade. The Valeria gens was one of the most ancient and celebrated at Rome, and no other Roman gens was distinguished for so long a period, although a few others, such as the Cornelia gens, produced a greater number of illustrious men. The Valerii are universally admitted to have been of Sabine origin, and their ancestor Volesus or Volusus is said to have settled at Rome with Titus Tatius. The Valeria gens enjoyed extraordinary honours and privileges at Rome. Their house at the bottom of the Velia was the only one in Rome of which the doors were allowed to open back into the street. In the Circus Maximus a conspicuous place was set apart for them, where a small throne was erected, an honour of which there was no other example among the Romans. They were also allowed to bury their dead within the walls, a privilege which was also granted to some other gentes; and when they had exchanged the older custom of interment for that of burning the corpse, although they did not light the funeral pile on their burying-ground, the bier was set down there, as a symbolical way of preserving their right. The pickaxe (acisculus) on the obverse of this coin is a punning allusion to the moneyer’s name.
226. L. Lollius Palikanus AR Denarius. 45 AD. HONORIS, Laureate bust of Honor right / PALIKANVS above curule chair between two ears of corn. Lollia 1; BMC 4014, Crawford 473/2a.3.81g, 19mm. RARE FLEUR DE COIN
1500
This type, like the others issued by Lollius, may relate to the vigorous and successful exertions of the tribune M. Lollius Palikanus (possibly the moneyer’s father), to obtain for the tribunes the restoration of those powers and privileges of which they had been deprived by Sulla.
76