Lucius Memmius Galeria, silver denarius serratus, 3.87 g.
Title
Lucius Memmius Galeria, silver denarius serratus, 3.87 g.
Creator
Lucius Memmius Galeria
Date
106 BCE
Description
Obverse: Laureate head of Saturn left; behind, ROMA. Border of dots.
Reverse: Venus in biga right, holding scepter and one rein in left hand and other rein in right hand; above, flying Cupid with wreath; in exergue, L MEMMI GAL. Border of dots.
Style/Period: Roman Republic
Lucius Memmius Galeria served as an officer of Pompey in Spain late in his career. He apparently claimed that he was descended from the familiae Troianae through Aeneas. Thus he depicts Venus, the mother of Aeneas, triumphant on the reverse. The title GAL (not legible on this coin) probably refers to his tribal name Galeria rather than Gallus or Galbius. The meaning of Saturn on the obverse is unclear. The serrated edge signifies that this coin was a special issue in the northern provinces (see coin C013).
-- Bradford W. Wendel, LU '96
Bibliography: E. Babelon, Description historique et chronologique des monnaies de la republique romaine (Paris and London 1885-1886) Memmia, 2; H. A. Grueber, Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum (London 1910), I, 204-205, no. 1328; T. R. S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, II (New York 1952) 446; E. A. Sydenham, The Coinage of the Roman Republic (London 1952) 79, no. 574a; M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London 1974) 320-321, no. 313/1a; Plutarch, Pompey, XL.
-- Bradford W. Wendel, LU '96
Bibliography: E. Babelon, Description historique et chronologique des monnaies de la republique romaine (Paris and London 1885-1886) Memmia, 2; H. A. Grueber, Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum (London 1910), I, 204-205, no. 1328; T. R. S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, II (New York 1952) 446; E. A. Sydenham, The Coinage of the Roman Republic (London 1952) 79, no. 574a; M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London 1974) 320-321, no. 313/1a; Plutarch, Pompey, XL.
Source
Classics Department Collection
Identifier
C023
Rights
Wriston Art Center Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI,wriston-gallery@lawrence.edu,920-832-6890
Files
Citation
Lucius Memmius Galeria, “Lucius Memmius Galeria, silver denarius serratus, 3.87 g.,” Lawrence University Classics Department & Ottilia Buerger Coin Collections, accessed November 5, 2026, https://thor.lawrence.edu/omeka/buerger/items/show/384.