Lucius Cornelius Sulla, silver denarius (Type III), 3.60 g.
Title
Lucius Cornelius Sulla, silver denarius (Type III), 3.60 g.
Creator
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Date
c. 84 - 83 BCE
Description
Obverse: Diademed bust of Venus right; on right, Cupid, standing, holding palm branch; below, L SVL[LA]. Border of dots.
Reverse: Capis and lituus between two trophies; above, IMPER; below, ITERV[/M]. Border of dots.
Style/Period: Roman Republic
This coin struck by the dictator Sulla commemorates his victories between 86 and 82 BCE, when he was twice proclaimed imperator. The coin was struck after his successful campaigns against Mithradates VI of Pontus in Greece and Asia Minor from 87 to 84 BCE. The trophies depicted on the reverse were erected after the battles of Chaeronea in 86 and Orchomenos in 85. The augural images on the reverse imply that Sulla was elected to the college of augurs at some point in his career. The image of Venus on the obverse continues her veneration by Sulla's family (see coins C04 and C05).
-- Bradford W. Wendel, LU '96
Bibliography: E. Babelon, Description historique et chronologique des monnaies de la republique romaine (Paris and London 1885-1886) Cornelia, 28; H. A. Grueber, Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum (London 1910), II, 459-460, no. 3; J. P. V. D. Balsdon, "Sulla Felix," Journal of Roman Studies 41 (1951) 7-9; E. A. Sydenham, The Coinage of the Roman Republic (London 1952) 124, no. 761; B. Frier, "Sulla's Priesthood," Arethusa (1969) 187-188; M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London 1974) 373-374, no. 359/2; R. A. G. Carson, Principal Coins of the Romans, I (London 1978) 44, no. 142; C. Foss, Roman Historical Coins (London 1990) 5, no. 16.
-- Bradford W. Wendel, LU '96
Bibliography: E. Babelon, Description historique et chronologique des monnaies de la republique romaine (Paris and London 1885-1886) Cornelia, 28; H. A. Grueber, Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum (London 1910), II, 459-460, no. 3; J. P. V. D. Balsdon, "Sulla Felix," Journal of Roman Studies 41 (1951) 7-9; E. A. Sydenham, The Coinage of the Roman Republic (London 1952) 124, no. 761; B. Frier, "Sulla's Priesthood," Arethusa (1969) 187-188; M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London 1974) 373-374, no. 359/2; R. A. G. Carson, Principal Coins of the Romans, I (London 1978) 44, no. 142; C. Foss, Roman Historical Coins (London 1990) 5, no. 16.
Source
Classics Department Collection
Identifier
C030
Rights
Wriston Art Center Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI,wriston-gallery@lawrence.edu,920-832-6890
Files
Citation
Lucius Cornelius Sulla, “Lucius Cornelius Sulla, silver denarius (Type III), 3.60 g.,” Lawrence University Classics Department & Ottilia Buerger Coin Collections, accessed November 5, 2026, https://thor.lawrence.edu/omeka/buerger/items/show/391.