Denarius Serratus

The serrated edge — produced by notching the blank before striking — was introduced in the late Roman Republic, likely as an anti-counterfeiting measure to prove silver content throughout the flan rather than just at the surface. This particular issue, attributed to the moneyer L. Appuleius Saturninus, was struck during the dictatorship of Sulla, when the Roman mint was operating under extraordinary political pressure following his march on Rome and the subsequent proscriptions that liquidated the wealth of thousands of citizens.

Serratus production was abandoned by roughly 60 BC, making the type short-lived in the broader arc of Republican coinage.