PPlautiusHypsaeusDenarius2

AR P. Plautius Hypsaeus Denarius 60 B.C.(3.76g,18mm) Rome mint. Minted the year before Julius Caesar’s first Consulship. L. Afranius and Q. Caecilius Metellus Celer were Consuls in 60 B.C. Caesar had just returned from his governorship of Hispania Ulterior (Baetica) and was awarded a Triumph. Because he wished to stand for election to the Consulship of 59 B.C. he could not enter Rome prior to the election. He asked the Senate to allow him to stand for election in absentia. Marcus Porcius Cato led the opposition which forced Caesar to forego his Triumph, tho he was elected the senior Consul for 59 B.C. The Senate had now offended Pompey, Crassus, & Caesar over different issues leading to the formation of the First Triumvirate. Caesar invited Cicero who had been senior Consul in 63 B.C. to join, but he declined. This pivotal year witnessed the events which ended the Republic. According to David Sear, hoard evidence now suggests this coin was minted after the joint issue of Hypsaeus and Scaurus in 58 B.C. Harlan dates this issue to 57 B.C. The reverse type records the capture of Privernum by C. Plautius Decianus, Consul in 329 B.C. Leuconoe was the daughter of Neptune by Themisto and was claimed by the Plautia as a divine ancestor. O: P.YPSAE SC. Draped and jeweled bust of Leuconoê right, dolphin behind. Craw. 420/2b(no scorpion); Plautia 12; BMCRR Rome 3850; Sear ME 376. R: C. VPSAE.COS PRIV. Semi-draped Jupiter in slow quadriga left, wielding fulmen; CEPIT behind. G: “Fully and sharply struck. The reverse perfectly centered. Beautiful mirror luster, and the portrait in fine style. Truly a gorgeous coin! Mint state.” S: Pars Coins 7/5/07 ex Ira & Larry Goldberg, Auction 41, lot 2900, 5/27/07