C. Vibius C. f. Pansa. Silver denarius, Rome mint, Social-War issue of 90 BC.

C. Vibius C. f. Pansa. Silver denarius, Rome mint, Social-War issue of 90 BC. Obverse: laureate head of Apollo right; before, legend C·VIBI (the remainder of the moneyer’s name off-flan); border of dots. Reverse: C·F in exergue, Minerva driving a fast quadriga right, brandishing spear in her right hand and holding shield on her left arm; beneath the horses, traces of the control-mark. Diameter c. 19 mm; weight 3.61 g. Crawford 342/1a; Sydenham 680; Vibius 5; RBW 1291. Lightly toned with underlying silver surfaces; some striking flatness on the reverse but both types clear and the moneyer’s name legible.

The denarius belongs to the massive emergency coinage struck at Rome in 90–89 BC to finance the Republic’s war against its former Italian allies (bellum sociale). Apollo, god of prophecy and protection, appears on several contemporary issues, while Minerva charging in a quadriga symbolises the martial resolve of the state. The moneyer, C. Vibius Pansa (later consul in 43 BC), came from a plebeian gens that owed its rise to military service; by placing his father’s initial C·F beneath Minerva he advertised both filial piety and family patriotism during one of Rome’s most perilous internal conflicts.