Crawford 387/1, Roman Republic, 77 BC., moneyer Lucius Rutilius Flaccus, Denarius

Roman Republic, Rome mint, moneyer Lucius Rutilius Flaccus, 77 BC.
AR Denarius (18-18,5 mm, 3,86 g), axis coin alignment ?? (ca. 170°), .
Obv.: FLAC , behind head of Roma with winged helmet right.
Rev.: Victory in biga right, holding reins and wreath, L. RVTILI in exergue.
Crawford 387/1 ; Sydenham 780 ; Bab. Rutilia 1 .

The gens Rutilia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens appear in history beginning in the second century BC. The first to obtain the consulship was Publius Rutilius Rufus in 105 BC.
The nomen Rutilius is derived from the Latin cognomen Rutilus, red or reddish, which was probably borne by an ancestor of the family who had red hair. The nomen belongs to a large class of gentilicia derived from other names using the suffix -ilius. Flaccus indicated someone flabby, or with floppy ears.
Lucius Rutilius Flaccus was triumvir monetalis around 75 BC, and a senator in 72.