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Sale 80
June Pre Long Beach Sale
| Denarii Collection - The Civil Wars A.D. 68 |
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| Lot |
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Description |
Realized |
Lot 3124 |
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Clodius Macer. Silver Denarius (3.62 g), Governor of Africa, AD 68. Carthage. L CLODI-VS MACER, S C below bust, bare head of Clodius Macer right. Reverse : PRO/PRAE in two lines above, AFRICAE below, war galley with aplustre and five oarsmen sailing right. RIC 37; K. V. Hewitt, NC 1983, 55 (dies 31/37) = L. Mildenberg, Vestigia Leonis p. 362, pl. LI, 1 (this coin); A. Gara, RIN 1970, p. 67, 7, and pl. 1, 11/12; BMC 1; RSC 13. An excellent portrait unusually well-centered, complete and of excellent metal. Attractive old cabinet toning further adds to its appeal. Exceedingly rare and probably the finest specimen known. Superb Extremely Fine.
L. Clodius Macer was the propraetorian legate of the Legio III Augusta based in Numidia during the latter part of Nero's reign. Historically, he was thought to have rebelled against Nero in the name of the Senate of Rome, but recent study into the language employed by Tacitus in his history of the period throws a shadow over this interpretation. It seems instead that perhaps Macer was first a loyal partisan of Nero, and only when overtaken by the events of Nero's suicide did he find himself in opposition to Galba. In this view, Nero sent his influential mistress, Calvia Crispinilla, to Africa to assure Macer's loyalty to the throne after Galba had publicly declared his support for Vindex's uprising, and that it was only after Galba came to power that Macer began to act in a more arbitrary manner, using his naval forces in an attempted investment of Sicily to blockade Rome and cut off her grain supply (see G. Morgan, "Clodius Macer and Calvia Crispinilla," Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte 49, 4 [4th Quarter, 2000]: pp. 467-87).
Supporting this interpretation of events is the evidence from Macer's coinage. While it has often been suggested that Macer was attempting to either reestablish the Roman Republic, or alternately that he aspired to the throne himself, these arguments do not hold up upon closer scrutiny. The first argument is based on the fact that Macer was even striking precious metal coinage, a purely imperial prerogative for the past century, and that for designs he chose types prevalent during the imperatorial period. Countering this is that both Galba and perhaps also Vindex preempted him, striking anonymous issues themselves, and Macer's choice of types merely provided the consumer the comfort of the conventional since earlier denarii of course still circulated widely in Africa in the AD 60s. The second argument is based in part on the fact that Macer put his name on his coins, and that on one issue - probably his last - he even included his own portrait. Although it is true that Macer's denarii are not anonymous, with notable modesty they all clearly give his title as mere procurator of a legion in Africa. There is also ample precedent for using his own portrait, which notably is not laureate. Additionally, although it seems highly improbable that the Senate ever empowered Macer to strike coinage, all of his coins without exception claim to be operating S C. This and his modest title are compelling enough reasons to see that Macer had no delusional grandeur of aspiring to the purple, and should instead be seen as putting the best face on his own actions while at the same time reassuring the people that his money was sound.
After Macer's capture and execution by order of Galba, it would seem that his coins were immediately recalled and melted, the bullion of which was used for a short time at the Carthaginian mint to strike coins all with a comparably provincial style for Galba. Hewitt records 77 known dies for Macer's coinage and extrapolates that there may have been more than 180 in total, so it was apparently substantial. However, very specimens survive today - fewer than 85 coins of all types, with at most just twenty being portrait denarii - making this coin one of the rarest in the entire history of Roman Imperial coinage.
Estimated Value $50,000-UP.
Ex Barry Feirstein Collection (NAC 39, 16 May 2007), 107; James Fox Collection (CNG/NAC 40, 4 December 1996), 1402; Highly Important Greek and Roman Coins. The Nelson Bunker Hunt Collection, pt. I (Sotheby's, 19 June 1990), 126; Sternberg III (29-30 November 1974), 47; Tunis Hoard.
View details and enlarged photos
| Realized
$205,625 |
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