Denarius

This denarius (07GR405/3B), issued by Marcus Plaetorius Cestianus, was minted in Rome in 69 BCE. The obverse depicts the bust of Proserpina, with hair draped in the traditional Roman style, decorated with poppy-heads. Proserpina was the Roman queen of the Underworld, goddess of springtime, renewal, and fertility, and was principally worshiped on Aventine Hill in Rome alongside her mother, Ceres, and Liber, the wine god. Imported from Magna Graecia, Proserpina was merged with the Ancient Roman goddess, Libera, as a patron of plebeian rights and member of the aforementioned Aventine Triad. Behind: control mark (vase). The reverse depicts the winged caduceus of Mercury, a symbol for wealth, trade, and financial prosperity. Notably, it is Mercury who escorts Proserpina to and from the underworld in Roman Mythology. The inscription on the reverse names the issuer as Marcus Plaetorius Cestianus, a triumvir monetalis and political partisan of Pompey during the quaestorship of Julius Caesar in 69 BCE: ‘M.PLAETORI // CEST EX.S.C.’. The Plaetoria gens hailed from Praeneste, which was famed amongst plebeians for its temples and oracle worship dedicated to the goddess Fortuna, explaining the moneyer’s desire for financial stability and mercantile prowess. M. Plaetorius would later in 67 BCE take up an aedileship, funding public events such as the ludi circenses (circus games) and ludi scaenici (theatrical performance) during the festival of Cerealia, dedicated to Ceres and the Aventine Triad.