Crawford 388/1b, Roman Republic, 77 BC., moneyer Publius Satrienus, Denarius

Roman Republic, Rome mint, moneyer Publius Satrienus, 77 BC. (or 73 BC.?), obverse die no. 64,
AR Denarius (17-18 mm, 3,87 g), silver, axis irregular alignment ?? (ca. 100°),
Obv.: head of young Mars right, wearing crested helmet; control mark LXIV behind (obverse die number 64 in Roman numerals).
Rev.: the mythical Roman she-wolf (`Lupa Romana´) standing left with right paw raised; ROMA above; P • SATRIE / NVS in two lines in exergue,
Crawford 388/1b ; Sydenham 781a ; Bab. Satriena 1.

This coin was struck on the Capitoline Hill soon after Sulla had renounced his dictatorship and left a power vacuum in his wake, as a young Julius Caesar was being kidnapped and held to ransom by Cilician pirates, and as the dreaded Mithridates the Great of Pontus was preparing to go to war with his Roman nemesis.
The numerals on the obverse behind the helmeted head of Roma represent the obverse die count. About 105 obverse dies were created for this issue. As with a number of other Republican issues, the coin type is notable for its employment of control marks, numbers or symbols designating the precise dies used to strike obverse and reverse, possibly as a means of quality control adding a level of accountability to the die engraving process or as just a systematic method in which to keep track of large coin issues. When that particular die wore down to an unacceptable degree or indeed broke completely, the next number die awaited. Experimental archaeology has come up with varying estimates of how many coins a single Roman die might realistically strike with most in the number of multiple thousands.

The gens Satriena was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. Per Crawford, the moneyer is a P. Satrienus, otherwise unknown, known only from the coins struck in his name.

The wolf on the reverse was perhaps adopted as a symbol for Rome after the defeat of the rebel Italians to equated Rome to a predatory wolf. If this is correct, this issue may be perhaps anti-Italian in nature. While some have viewed this animal as an obvious depiction of the mythical she-wolf ready to suckle the infants Romulus and Remus, others have interpreted the predatory wolf as a symbol of Rome itself, emerging victorious from the recent Social War having overpowered the rebellious Italic peoples.