Pre-Long Beach Auction #80

M. Aemilius Lepidus. Silver Denarius (3.73 g), 58 BC. Rome. ALEXANDREA below, diademed head of Alexandria right, wearing mural crown. Reverse M LEPIDVS in exergue, TVTOR REG on left, PO(NT) MAX in right, S C above, M. Lepidus, togate, standing facing, head left, crowning the young figure of Ptolemy V, standing facing, holding scepter. Crawford 419/2; Sydenham 831; Aemilia 23. Very rare. Boldly struck from well executed dies, fine style and delicately toned. Extremely Fine.

This interesting coin records an alleged guardianship that the moneyer's ancestor, Marcus Lepidus, held over the young Ptolemaic king, Ptolemy V. It may simply be that no record of the event has come down to us or - more plausibly - that the story is an invention of the later Lepidi, but neither Polybius nor Livy make any mention of it. What is known is that after the Second Punic War ended, the moneyer's ancestor served as a member of an embassy of the senators, two of whom were ex-consuls, sent in 201 BC to Antiochos III and Ptolemy V to gain their support should war develop between Rome and Macedon. At one point during their journey, Lepidus was sent to deliver an ultimatum to Philip ordering him to cease and desist from attacking his Greek neighbors,and above all else return the possessions of Ptolemy. The embassy occurred twenty years before Lepidus ever became Pontifex Maximus, and in fact he was not even praetor at the time, so it seems quite unlikely that such a junior member of an embassy which included two ex-consuls should find himself as guardian of the Ptolemaic king.
Estimated Value $4,000 - 5,000.