L. Aemilius Lepidus Paullus AR Denarius. 62 BC. Veiled and diademed bust of Concordia right, PAVLLVS LEPIDVS CONCORDIA around / L Aemilius Paullus standing to right of trophy, Perseus and his two sons captive on the left, TER above, PAVLLVS in ex. Crawford 415/1, Sydenham 926. 3,56 g, 20 mm.
This coin was struck by L. Aemilius Lepidus Paullus, brother to the triumvir Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and commemorates a celebrated member of the Aemilia gens, L. Aemilius Paullus, and his victory over the Macedonians in 168 BC at the Battle of Pydna, after which he captured and brought the Macedonian king Perseus and his sons to Rome to adorn his triumph. Paullus was acknowledged by the senate with the surname Macedonicus. The word TER on this coin points to the fact that Paullus had three times enjoyed the honour of a triumph. During his consulship in 50 BC, Julius Caesar bribed L. Aemilius Lepidus Paullus for his support. He reconstructed the Basilica Aemilia in Rome with part of his bribery money. According to Valerius Maximus: "When the senate decreed that the temples of Isis and Serapis be demolished and none of the workmen dared touch them, Consul L. Aemilius Paullus took off his official gown, seized an axe, and dashed it against the doors of that temple."(I, 3.3; quoting Julius Paris (translation from Loeb edition). Paullus opposed the second triumvirate. His brother ordered his murder. On the day of his execution, the soldiers allowed him to escape. Paullus joined the political rebel Marcus Junius Brutus and after Brutus' suicide in 42 BC, Paullus was pardoned and lived his remaining years at Miletus.
