Republica Romană. L. Valerius Acisculus 45 BC. Denarius

L. Valerius Acisculus. Denarius 3.94 g. 17.00 mm, Rome mint, 45 BC.

Obv. Head of Apollo right, hair tied with band; above, star; on the left, acisculus and ACISCVLVS.

Rev. Europa seated on bull walking right, holding veil; in exergue, L·VALERIVS.

Cr. 474/1a; B. 16-17 (Valeria); RRSC D 263.1a.

Well centred and lightly toned. Minor marks. VF.


The denarii of the moneyer, Lucius Valerius Acisculus have been the subject of much scholarly head scratching, with this fascinating and unusual issue being no exception. David Sear in Roman Silver Coins I: Republic to Augustus (1978) interpreted the reverse in the traditional fashion, with Valeria Luperca (the sister of the early Roman consul Publicola) riding a heifer, a supposed allusion to a legend of the moneyer's family, retold by Plutarch. However, in Sear's The History and Coinage of the Roman Imperators 49 - 27 BC (1998), he had completely revised his description of the coin type in reaction to research conducted by Michael Crawford, "who prefers to see Europa riding on the bull." Sear goes on to say, "In mythology, Zeus fell in love with this Phoenician princess and, turning himself into a bull, enticed her to ride on his back whereupon he swam out to sea and took her to Crete where she bore him several children. Is it too fanciful to see in this type a reference to Queen Cleopatra of Egypt who, at Caesar's invitation in 46 BC, had crossed the sea to join him in Rome where she remained until his assassination?" (source: https://www.forumancientcoins.com)