ROMAN REPUBLIC - GENS CORNELIA. 151BC.

Pub. Sulla. Circa 151 BC. AR Denarius (3.76 gm). Head of Roma right / Victory in biga right.

A fine example of a aristocratic gens not yet on my collection.

Joannus dixit.

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Cornelius (fem. Cornelia, plural Cornelii) was the nomen of the patrician gens Cornelia, one of the most important families of Ancient Rome. The origins of the family are unknown, but it may have been Etruscan in origin and as such, late-comers to the Roman patriciate.

The Sulla (pl. Sullae) branch is descended from Publius Cornelius Rufinus, dictator in 333, the first dictator year; they are next prominent under a different cognomen ''Rufinus (for their characteristic red hair) in 290 BC and 277 BC, and briefly during the Second Punic War. After a long hiatus, they only climb again to the top rank under the dictator Sulla, whose descendants remain prominent, if not consuls, for several generations. (Source - Wikipedia)