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Denarius M. Valerius Messalla, MESSA͡L•F / PAT͡RE•COS S C
| Issuer | Roman Republic (509 BC - 27 BC) |
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| Year | 53 BC |
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| Composition | Silver |
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| Obverse description | Helmeted bust of Roma facing right, wearing a crested Attic helmet adorned with an elaborate plume, the hair falling in locks behind the neck. The figure is draped and rendered in the bold, confident style characteristic of late Republican coinage. The legend MESSAL•F (Messallae filius) is inscribed in the right field, identifying the moneyer as the son of Messalla. |
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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Marcus Valerius Messalla issued this denarius in 53 BC during one of the most chaotic years of the late Republic — the same year the First Triumvirate was disintegrating and the electoral assemblies were so disrupted by gang violence that consuls weren't elected until well into the year. The reverse type's senatorial reference, S·C, was a deliberate political signal from a moneyer whose family name carried enormous aristocratic weight; the Valerii Messallae had produced consuls across centuries, and the explicit citation of his father's consulship on the coin was an unusually direct piece of personal propaganda for a moneyer issue.