Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio AR Denarius. Military mint travelling with Scipio in Africa, 47-46 BC. Laureate head of Jupiter to right, in archaic style with beard and hair in ringlets; Q•METEL PIVS around / Elephant standing to right; SCIPIO above, IMP below. Crawford 459/1; CRI 45; BMCRR Africa 1-3; RSC Caecilia 47. 3.84g, 20mm, 12h.

Near Mint State.

From the Vogelberg Collection (Switzerland), formed c. 1960-1985.

Metellus Scipio born in 98 BC, could trace his illustrious ancestry back to Scipio Africanus. He was one of Rome's more prominent politicians by the time of the Civil War (49-45), having previously served as curule aedile in 57, praetor in 55, and consul in 52 (alongside Pompey the Great). Ostensibly a staunch defender of Republican values, Scipio emerged as one of Caesar's most vociferous detractors and, in early 49, managed to persuade the senate into issuing him with the ultimatum that made war inevitable. He swiftly aligned himself with the Pompey-led Optimates (senatorial faction) as war broke out, and commanded the centre of their army at the Battle of Pharsalus (48), in which they were decisively beaten.

This specimen was struck in North Africa between 47-46, after Scipio had fled to the continent in a futile attempt to regenerate optimate support. The laureate head of Jupiter dominates the obverse, with Q METEL PIVS in the legend, whilst the reverse features a large African elephant and the words SCIPIO and IMP. It was minted, like so many others during the late Republican period, in order to pay surviving troops and entice new ones. Ultimately, however, Scipio was unable to garner enough popular support in either Africa or in Rome, and his army was crushed in routine fashion by Caesar's tactically superior legions at the Battle of Thapsus (46). Staring down the barrel, and having seen an escape attempt to the Iberian Peninsula fail spectacularly, Scipio elected to commit suicide rather than fall at the hands of his enemies.