Roman Republic Silver Denarius 145BC M. Iunius

Roman Republic Silver AR Denarius 145 B.C.

Moneyer: M. Iunius (Marcus Junius Silanus)

Obverse: Helmeted head of Roma, right, X before, donkey's head behind. Border of dots.

Reverse: ROMA M·IVNI, Dioscuri galloping right. Line border.

Date: 145 B.C., RRC (Crawford) 220/1

Size: 18mm diameter, 3.64g weight

Composition: Silver

Roma was the goddess/personification of the city of Rome. The Dioscuri were the twin gods Castor & Pollux (AKA the Gemini), who legendarily rode in battle to save the fledgling Roman Republic from defeat.

Please see below for information on the moneyer from CoinTalk:

The moneyer M. Junius Silanus was the first Juni Sillani (a newer off branch of the Juni family) to reach the post of consul, which he did in 109 BCE. Unfortunately for him, he led the Roman Army against the Cimbri and was badly defeated. He had the misfortune of then being sued by Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus over his terrible defeat of 109 BCE, which according to Cicero, Silanus just barely managed to avoid a guilty verdict. We know nothing else about him, as he probably died shortly after, though some of his later descendants appeared to have been consuls during the time of the early Empire.