Very nice denarius minted in Rome in 84 BC by one of the monetary triumvirs (Latin triumvir monetalis) that year, Gaius Licinius Macer. The asymmetrically drilled hole is most likely the work of the barbarian tribes of West German, perhaps of a cult significance (many finds from the Gallic borderland and the western barbaricum contain drilled coins).
Roman Republic
C. Licinius L.f. Macer (84 BC), Denarius 84 BC, mint Rome
Obverse: bust of Apollo or Vejovis left, viewed from behind, wearing taenia and drapery on left shoulder, brandishing thunderbolt
Reverse: Minerva in quadriga right, in two lines C LICINIVS L F MACER in exergue
Weight 3,70 g.
The offered denarius was minted during the civil war between the popular Tinna and Carboniferous on the one hand, and Sulla, returning from the east after the victorious campaign against Mithridates VI (the so-called First War with Mithridates ended in 85 BC). Since Rome and Italy were in the hands of the popular in BC 85 and BC 84, the young monetary officer Gaius Licinius Macer had to be a supporter of this party. He was, in fact, what he later proved as a people's tribune in BC 73. He became praetor in BC 68, and Cicero broke his career in BC 66. Accused by him of bribery and electoral fraud, Macer committed suicide the same year. However, he left behind a work describing the history of Rome in the sixteenth books.
