Aureus Arria: Marcus Arrius Secundus, M·ARRIVS SECVNDVS F·P·R

Marcus Arrius Secundus served as a moneyer in 41 BC, the year Octavian and Mark Antony were dividing the Roman world between them in the aftermath of Philippi. The abbreviation F·P·R — almost certainly expanding to flamen populi Romani — marks Secundus as holder of a priesthood tied directly to the Roman people, an unusual distinction to advertise on a coin and one that appears nowhere else in the Republican moneyer series. Almost nothing is known about the man beyond this issue.

RRC 513/1 is genuinely rare in any condition; Crawford recorded very few die pairs for the type.