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Sale 114
The New York Sale
| Roman Imperatorial Coinage |
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Bidding |
Lot 173 |
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Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio. Silver Denarius (3.94 g), 47-46 BC. Utica. P. Licinius Crassus Junianus, legatus pro praetore. Q METEL PIVS SCIPIO IMP, The lion-headed Genius of Africa (Sekhmet) standing facing, holding ankh; above, G T-A (Genius Tutelaris Africae). Reverse: P CRASSVS IVN LEG PRO P R, Victory standing left, holding winged caduceus and small round shield. Crawford 460/4; HCRI 43; Sydenham 1050; RSC 51. Rare. Lightly toned. NGC grade Ch VF*; Strike: 4/5, Surface: 4/5. Value $7,000 - UP
After Pompey's defeat by Caesar at Pharsalus (Greece) in 48 and then his subsequent murder, his followers gathered in Africa and several of them struck coinage on their own account. One of them was Metellus Scipio who produced five issues; one alone, three others with the legate Junianus as here and the fifth with M. Eppius. It is uncertain whether his use of IMP on all of them indicated that he had actually been hailed as imperator by his troops or was meant to justify his coinage. It was Metellus Scipio who disclosed to Cicero the Cataline conspiracy, was consul with Pompey in 52, and governor of Seleucia in 49. He commanded the center line of Pompey's army at Pharsalus, after which he fled to Africa and formed an alliance with Juba, King of Numidia. Metellus Scipio was a Cornelius Scipio who was adopted into the Caecilius clan and was therefore related to Scipio Africanus who defeated Hannibal at Zama in 202 and won the Second Punic War. He appeared to believe that the cognomen Scipio (scepter) held some power. All of his coinage, filled with symbols of hoped-for victory, is pathetically true to its author's belief in the 'felix et invictum Scipionum nomen' (per Seutonius: 'the good luck and invincibility of the name Scipio'). This belief was overcome by the greater felicitas of Caesar, who defeated him at Thapsus (Tunisia) in BC 46.
Ex W. F. Stoecklin Collection, acquired from MMAG prior to 1975.
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Lot 174 |
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Julius Caesar. Silver Denarius (3.83 g), 44 BC. Rome. C. Cossutius Maridianus, moneyer. CAESAR before, PARENS PATRIAE behind, wreathed and veiled head of Julius Caesar right; behind, apex; below chin, lituus. Reverse: C COSSVTIVS MARID-IANVS arranged in the form of a cross with A-A-A-F F in the four angles. Crawford 480/19; HCRI 112; Sydenham 1069; RSC 8. Untoned. NGC grade AU; Strike: 4/5, Surface: 4/5. Value $5,000 - UP
The abbreviation A A A F F (quattuorvir aere argento auro flando feriundo) that appears on the reverse of this coin is the first occurrence of the complete title of the moneyer on a coin.
Ex NFA XII (23 March 1983), 130.
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Lot 175 |
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Julius Caesar. Silver Denarius (3.65 g), 43 BC. Rome. L. Flaminius Chilo, moneyer. Laureate head of Julius Caesar right. Reverse: Pax standing facing, head left, holding caduceus and scepter. Crawford 485/1; HCRI 113; Sydenham 1089; RSC 26. NGC grade Ch XF; Strike: 5/5, Surface: 3/5. Fine style. Value $7,500 - UP
Ex SKA Bern 17 (September 1975), 147; Bourgey (5 December 1907), 117.
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Lot 176 |
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Julius Caesar. Silver Denarius (3.65 g), 43 BC. Sicily (Lylibaion?). A. Allienus, proconsul. C CAESAR IMP COS ITER, diademed and draped bust of Venus right. Reverse: A ALLIENVS [P]RO COS, Trinacrus standing left, resting foot on prow, holding triskeles and cloak. Crawford 457/1; HCRI 54; Sydenham 1022; RSC 1.Rare. NGC grade Ch XF*; Strike: 4/5, Surface: 5/5. Value $12,500 - UP
This very rare type was minted when Caesar stopped over in Sicily in late 47 BC while preparing for his assault on Pompeian forces in North Africa. Aulus Allienus, Caesar's proconsul of Sicily, is named as the issuer. The reverse shows Trinacrus, a son of Neptune, whose name probably derives from an alternate name of Sicily, Trinacria ("three cornered land"). Though minted in relatively small quantities, these coins saw heavy circulation, as most surviving examples display considerable wear. This specimen, displaying almost no wear, is surely among the finest surviving examples.
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Lot 177 |
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Mark Antony & Octavian. Silver Denarius (3.78 g), 41 BC. Ephesus. M. Barbatius Pollio, quaestor pro praetore. M ANT I(MP) (AV)G III VIR R P C M BARBAT Q P, bare head of Mark Antony right. Reverse: CAESAR IMP PONT III VIR R P C, bare head of Octavian right. Crawford 517/2; HCRI 243; Sydenham 1181; RSC 8a. Perfectly centered and well struck. Lovely old cabinet tone. Superb Extremely Fine. Value $3,500 - UP
Mark Antony is reported to have lived extravagantly while in the East, and he exacted large sums from the cities of Asia Minor to finance this lifestyle. It is certainly from these funds where he obtained the bullion to produce this extensive and handsome coinage, struck with the name of his lieutenant M. Barbatius Pollio. Pollio's colleagues, M. Cocceius Nerva (a distant ancestor of the future emperor Nerva) and L. Gellius Poplicola, also struck similar types honoring both Antony's fellow triumvir, Octavian and his brother, Lucius Antony, but the majority are of a different style and are believed to have been struck after Antony's departure from Ephesus.
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Lot 178 |
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Mark Antony & Octavia. Silver Cistophorus (11.88 g), 39 BC. Ephesus. M ANTONIVS IMP COS DESIG ITER ET TERT, head of Antony right, wearing ivy wreath, lituus below; all within wreath of ivy and flowers. Reverse: III VIR R P C, draped bust of Octavia right above cista, flanked by coiled snakes. RPC 2201; HCRI 262; Sydenham 1197; RSC 2. Beautiful old cabinet toning. NGC grade XF*; Strike: 5/5, Surface: 4/5. Value $2,500 - UP
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