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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;red_spork, post: 2850955, member: 74282&quot;]The denarius I&#039;m sharing today was minted under the moneyer Lucius Opeimius(whom I&#039;ll refer to as Lucius from now on) circa 131 B.C.. Lucius first appears in the historical record in 125 B.C., after his election to the Praetorship. As Praetor, Lucius crushed a rebellion in the town of Fregellae, razing the town in the process and preventing(or at least delaying) a massive revolt by Rome&#039;s Italian allies, who were no doubt paralyzed by fear after witnessing the fate of the Fregellans. Lucius went on to run for consul in 122 B.C. but was defeated by Gaius Fannius whom the Popularis tribune Gaius Gracchus had thrown his support behind.</p><p><br /></p><p>Defeated but not having given up, Lucius ran again in 121 B.C., winning the consulship and quickly beginning the process of repealing various reforms passed and championed by Gaius Gracchus. On the day of the repeal, one of Lucius&#039;s attendants, Quintus Antyllius, was killed by a mob of Gracchan supporters. The next day, Lucius called to arms a force of senators and equestrians and called on Gaius Gracchus and his colleague Fulvius Flaccus to turn themselves in and face trial for the killing of Antyllius. When the two would not turn themselves in, Lucius placed a price on both their heads. Fulvius was found hiding in a bathhouse and summarily executed. Gaius fled, later committing suicide in a sacred grove. Further, 3,000 of Gaius&#039;s supporters were executed without any trial for having been part of this small uprising, marking the end of a short-lived democratic movement in the Republic under which the people had, if only for some short time, taken back some control from the Senate.</p><p><br /></p><p>In 120 B.C. Lucius faced trial for his actions during the uprising but, unsurprisingly, was ultimately acquitted. In 116 B.C., he was placed at the head of a commission to divide Numidia between Jugurtha and his brother Adherbal. Lucius was later found to have accepted bribes from Jugurtha and exiled from Rome, living out the rest of his life in disgrace in Dyrrachium. In only 15 years, Lucius had gone from moneyer to Consul to exile, his career ending just as quickly as it had peaked. As an interesting aside, I will tell you that this consul is remembered for at least one positive thing even today and if you&#039;d like to read about that, I direct you to &quot;<a href="https://community.vcoins.com/themencode-pdf-viewer-sc/?file=https://community.vcoins.com/thecelator/The-Celator-Vol.09-No.05-May-1995.pdf#page=28" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://community.vcoins.com/themencode-pdf-viewer-sc/?file=https://community.vcoins.com/thecelator/The-Celator-Vol.09-No.05-May-1995.pdf#page=28" rel="nofollow">Lucius Opimius: A Consul for the Wine Lover</a>&quot; by George M Burden published in the May 1995 edition of the Celator.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]676590[/ATTACH]</p><p>Roman Republic AR Denarius(3.98g, 17mm, 12h), Lucius Opeimius, moneyer, 131 B.C., Rome mint. Helmeted head of Roma right; behind, wreath; before, mark of value. Border of dots. / Victory in quadriga right, holding reins in left hand and wreath in right hand; below, L OPEIMI; in exergue, ROMA. Line border. Crawford 253/1; BMCRR Rome 1133; Opeimia 12</p><p>Ex CNG e-auction 405, 9/6/2017, lot 364, ex Bruce R Brace collection, CNG e-auction 279, 5/16/2012, lot 275</p><p><br /></p><p>As always, feel free to share anything relevant![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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