Paullus Aemilius Lepidus, silver denarius, 3.93 g.
Title
Paullus Aemilius Lepidus, silver denarius, 3.93 g.
Creator
Paullus Aemilius Lepidus
Date
62 BCE
Description
Obverse: Diademed and veiled head of Concordia right; to left, PAVLLVS LEPIDVS upwards; to right, CONCORDIA downwards. Border of dots.
Reverse: Trophy; to right, Lucius Aemilius Paullus, togate, standing left; to left, King Perseus with long beard and bound hands, accompanied by his two sons, all wearing Greek dress, standing left; above, TER; in exergue, PAVLLV[S]. Border of dots.
Style/Period: Roman Republic
Paullus Aemilius Lepidus would become consul in 50 BCE. With this coin he commemorates his ancestor L. Aemilius Paullus Macedonius who captured the Macedonian king Perseus and his sons at the battle of Pydna in 168. The scene on the reverse depicts his ancestor in a triumphant stance with his prisoners. The standing trophy is a common image of victory demonstrating how the Romans would stand the armor of the vanquished on tall poles (see coin C045). The inscription TER (tertius) commemorates the three times his ancestor was hailed as imperator: the first in 190 with the defeat of Spain, the second in 181 with the defeat of Liguria, and the third in 168 with the defeat of Macedon. The image of Concordia on the obverse may refer to the concordia ordinum sponsored by Cicero and supported by Aemilius.
-- Bradford W. Wendel, LU '96
Bibliography: E. Babelon, Description historique et chronologique des monnaies de la republique romaine (Paris and London 1885-1886) Aemilia, 10; H. A. Grueber, Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum (London 1910), I, 418, no. 3373; T. R. S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, II (New York 1952) 431; E. A. Sydenham, The Coinage of the Roman Republic (London 1952) 154, no. 926; M. G. Morgan, "Villa Publica and Magna Mater," Klio (1973) 228-229; M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London 1974) 441, no. 415/1; R. A. G. Carson, Principal Coins of the Romans, I (London 1978) 56, no. 196.
-- Bradford W. Wendel, LU '96
Bibliography: E. Babelon, Description historique et chronologique des monnaies de la republique romaine (Paris and London 1885-1886) Aemilia, 10; H. A. Grueber, Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum (London 1910), I, 418, no. 3373; T. R. S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, II (New York 1952) 431; E. A. Sydenham, The Coinage of the Roman Republic (London 1952) 154, no. 926; M. G. Morgan, "Villa Publica and Magna Mater," Klio (1973) 228-229; M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London 1974) 441, no. 415/1; R. A. G. Carson, Principal Coins of the Romans, I (London 1978) 56, no. 196.
Source
Classics Department Collection
Identifier
C035
Rights
Wriston Art Center Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI,wriston-gallery@lawrence.edu,920-832-6890
Files
Citation
Paullus Aemilius Lepidus, “Paullus Aemilius Lepidus, silver denarius, 3.93 g.,” Lawrence University Classics Department & Ottilia Buerger Coin Collections, accessed November 5, 2026, https://thor.lawrence.edu/omeka/buerger/items/show/397.