Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 95

THE NEW YORK SALE

Roman Imperatorial Period

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 1174		Cn. Pompeius Magnus. Silver Denarius (3.03 g), 49 BC. Uncertain mint in Greece. Cn. Calpurnius Piso, proquaestor. [CN] PISO PRO Q, head of Numa Pompilius right, wearing diadem inscribed NVMA. Rev. MAGN above, PRO COS below, prow of galley right. (Crawford 446/1; HCRI 7; Sydenham 1032; RSC 4). Attractive iridescent cabinet tone, a choice example. Extremely fine. Estimate $2,250UP The legendary king of Rome, Numa Pompilius appears on the obverse of this coin as an allusion to the nomen (family name) of the issuing proquaestor. According to tradition Pompilius had a son name Calpus, from whom the gens Calpurnia derived its name. The prow on the reverse refers to Pompey's famous victories over the Cilician pirates in 67/6 BC. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $2,596
Lot 1175		Julius Caesar. Silver Denarius (3.89 g), 49-48 BC. Military mint traveling with Caesar. CAESAR in exergue, elephant advancing right, trampling horned serpent. Rev. Pontifical implements: simpulum, sprinkler, axe and priest's hat. (Crawford 443/1; HCRI 9; Sydenham 1006; RSC 49). Cabinet toned. Well centered.EF. Estimate $1,500UP Perhaps the most ubiquitous of Caesar's denarii, this famous issue was struck at the time of his crossing of the Rubicon and the beginning of the long period of civil wars which resulted in the downfall of the Roman Republic. A few theories have been presented explaining the obverse type, the most established being that the elephant represents good, the serpent evil, thus a message of the righteousness of Caesar's cause. The reverse shows the symbols of Rome's high priest, the Pontifex Maximus, Caesar having been elected to the office in 63 BC. There are two very different styles of Caesar's elephant denarii of 49-48 BC. Although neither are rare, this is by far the less common of the two. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $2,183
Lot 1176		Julius Caesar. Silver Denarius (3.82 g), 46 BC. Utica(?). COS TERT behind, DICT ITER before, head of Ceres right, wreathed with grain ears. Rev. AVGVR above, PONT MAX in exergue, emplems of the augurate and pontificate: simpulum, sprinkler, capis and lituus; in right field, D (Donativum). (Crawford 467/1a; HCRI 57; Sydenham 1023; RSC 4a). Attractive old cabinet tone. Extremely fine. Estimate $1,400UP The legends and reverse type of this denarius advertise the Roman Republican offices held by Julius Caesar in the year of his victory over the Pompeian forces. His titles on the obverse are extraordinary: Consul for the fourth time and Dictator for the second time, while those on the reverse are strictly religious and refer to his previous status as one of the augurs and as pontifex maximus. The depiction of Ceres on the obverse may perhaps refer to the greater security for the Roman grain supply that must have come with the defeat of the Pompeians at the Battle of Thapsus (April 6, 46 BC) in North Africa. View details and enlarged photos	Unsold
Lot 1177		Julius Caesar. Silver Denarius (4.19 g), 44 BC. Rome. M. Mettius, moneyer. IMPER CAESAR, wreathed head of Julius Caesar right. Rev. M METTIVS, Venus standing facing, head left, holding Victory and scepter, elbow arm on shield set on globe behind her; in left field, B. (Crawford 480/17; HCRI 101; Sydenham 1055; RSC 35). Well struck and well centered. Uniform light grey toning. Extremely fine. Estimate $12,500UP Ex 51 Gallery. This stunningly attractive Julius Caesar portrait denarius was struck to celebrate and advertise his preeminent position of power over the dying Roman Republic. Although the obverse legend naming him as Imperator has been treated as an additional cognomen or an indicator of a permanent right to command the army, Crawford argued that it reflected Caesar's status as a permanent triumphator. On the other hand, one wonders whether it could be connected to the incident of the Senate's extraordinary offer of the imperatorial title to Caesar as a praenomen, although it is clearly not used as a praenomen here. The reverse type depicting Venus Victrix resting her shield on the globe fairly reflects Julius Caesar's ambitions as dictator - to place the entirety of the Roman world under his rule as a member of the gens Julia and supposed descendant of Venus. View details and enlarged photos	Unsold
Lot 1178		Julius Caesar. Silver Denarius (3.51 g), 44 BC. L. Aemilius Buca, moneyer. CAESAR IM before, P M behind, wreathed head of Julius Caesar right; behind, crescent. Rev. [L AEMI]LIVS BVCA, Venus standing facing, head left, holding Victory and leaning on scepter. (Crawford 480/4; HCRI 102; Sydenham 1060; RSC 22). Lightly toned with banker's mark on neck. Very fine. Estimate $2,500UP View details and enlarged photos	Realized $2,478
Lot 1179		Julius Caesar. Silver Denarius (3.53 g), 40 BC. Rome. Q. Voconius Vitulus, moneyer. Laureate head of Julius Caesar right. Rev. Q VOCONIVS above, VITVLVS Q/DESIGN in two lines in exergue, S C across field, bull-calf walking left. (Crawford 526/4; HCRI 331; Sydenham 1133; RSC 45). Excellent portrait and a broad flan. Choice very fine. Estimate $5,000UP The coins of Q. Voconius Vitulus and his colleague, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, in 40 BC present us with the last moneyer issues of the Capitoline mint at Rome with the exception of a small group produced more than two decades later during Augustus' principate. View details and enlarged photos	Unsold
Lot 1180		Brutus. Silver Denarius (3.64 g), 42 BC. Military mint, probably at Smyrna. P. Lentulus Spinther, legate. BRVTVS below, simpulus between sacrificial axe and knife. Rev. LENTVLVS/SPINT in two lines below, jug and lituus. (Crawford 500/7; HCRI 198; Sydenham 1310; RSC 6). Extremely fine. Estimate $1,500UP The types chosen for this issue indicate both Brutus' membership in the college of pontifices and the legate's, P. Lentulus Spinther, membership in the augurate. The pontificate and augurate were Rome's foremost priestly colleges, the former supervising all of the other priestly colleges, and the later being responsible for reading the signs of the gods to determine whether or not an anticipated undertaking would be divinely supported or opposed. The priestly symbols on this issue, which was struck to pay the military expenses of the tyrannicides while preparing for the expected showdown with the Triumvirs, suggests divine support and the just nature of their cause. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,947
Lot 1181		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. Rev. CAESAR IMP PONT III VIR R P C, bare head of Octavian right, with slight beard. (Crawford 517/2; HCRI 243; Sydenham 1181; RSC 8). Dark toning. Extremely fine. Estimate $2,250UP Mark Antony is reported to have lived extravagantly while in the East, exacting large sums from the cities of Asia Minor to finance this lavishness. 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, as well as 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. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $2,596
Lot 1182		Octavian. Silver Denarius (3.88 g), 42 BC. Military mint traveling with Octavian in Greece. CAESAR III VIR R P C, helmeted and draped bust of young Mars right, spear at shoulder. Rev. S C, legionary eagle between two standards; above, trophy with oval shields. (Crawford 497/3; HCRI 138; Sydenham 1320; RSC 248). Well struck and centered on a broad flan with a beautiful old cabinet tone. In an exceptional state of preservation for this issue. Extremely fine. Estimate $5,000UP Ex UBS 78 (9 September 2008), lot 1144. This coin was struck on the eve of one of the most famous battles of the dying Roman Republic: the Battle of Philippi, which saw the triumviral heirs of Julius Caesar (Octavian and Mark Antony) exact justice upon Caesar's assassins, M. Junius Brutus and C. Cassius Longinus. The depiction of Mars on the obverse is almost certainly intended to represent Mars Ultor ("the Avenger") invoked here as a sign of the desired revenge on Caesar's killer and who was honored by Octavian in the aftermath of Philippi. The legends and reverse type also clearly identify the coin as belonging to the Caesarean faction. Octavian, the adopted son of Caesar, is identified only by the cognomen of his adoptive father while the distinctive Gallic trophy above the legionary eagle on the reverse is connected to the victories in the Gallic Wars that had made Julius Caesar so famous and powerful in life. These associations and the ability of the triumvirs to wield them made them powerful after his death. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $4,720