Crawford 337/3, Roman Republic, 91 BC., moneyer Decimus Iunius Silanus, Denarius

Roman Republic (Rome mint 91 BC.), moneyer Decimus Iunius Silanus L.f. .
Denarius (18 mm, 3,97 g), silver, axis irregular alignment ?? (ca. 260°),
Obv.: Head of Roma right with winged helmet; control-mark A behind.
Rev.: Victory in biga right, holding reins in both hands; above, control-mark XVIII; in exergue, in two rows, D SILANVS [L F] / ROM[A]. “Decimus [Iunius] Silanus Lucii Filius”, (Decimus Junius Silanus son of Lucius).
Crawford 337/3 ; Sydenham 646 ; Babelon (Iunia) 16 ; BMCRR Rome 1772 .
Mint luster

This moneyer is unkown except from his coins. Silanus may have descended from D. Junius Silanus, praetor in 141 BC.

The control marks on these coins may have several dies. The issue must have been huge, as Crawford estimates 597 obverse dies and 663 reverse dies which gives an estimate of 1-2 million coins originally minted of this type.

91 BC. the tribune, Marcus Livius Drusus, proposes to reform the electoral law in favor of the allies (citizen status). The assassination of Drusus provokes a brutal reaction which leads to the massacre of Romans at Asculum and inflames the Italian allies, it is the beginning of the so called Social War (91-88 BC.). Although the coin itself does not commemorate the event, the date this coin was struck is historically significant: The Social War 91-88 BC. would set the stage for the Civil Wars (88-87 & 82-81 BC.) featuring, notably, Marius & Sulla; two men who would make significant impressions on the mind of a young Julius Caesar. Caesar would cross the Rubicon not thirty years later, ending the era of the Roman Republic.