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Roman Republic, L. Plaetorius M.f. Cestianus, Denarius, 67 BC, bust right, with attributes of Isis, Minerva, Apollo, Diana and Victory, cestianvs downwards behind, s c before, rev. eagle on thunderbolt, m plaetorivs m f aed cvr around, 3.93g (Craw. 409/1; Sear 349). Good very fine (£80-100)

A special issue authorised by the Senate and struck by Cestianus as curule ædile. Crawford regards the traditional interpretation of the bust as Vacuna ‘impossible’ and suggests Alföldi’s identification of the deity as Isis is ‘perhaps correct’ – in which case the reverse type represents the Ptolemaic eagle