489
L. Scipio Asiagenus (106 BC), Silver Denarius, 3.89g. Mint of Rome. Laureate head of Jupiter left,
O
and
pellet in right field. Rev.
L SCIP ASIAG
in exergue, Jupiter, holding sceptre and reins, and hurling thunderbolt,
driving galloping quadriga right (Crawford 311/1a; Sydenham 576; Cornelia 24b). Fine serrated edges, well
struck and perfectly centred, all delicately toned, superb extremely fine.
$ 1,300
ex Tkalec Auction, 27 February 2008, lot 45
ex Triton Auction XV, 3-4 January 2012, lot 1467
The reverse records the decisive victory over Antiochos III, the Great, of Syria in 190 BC by the moneyer’s ancestor, L. Cornelius
Scipio, and his ancestor’s brother, Scipio Africanus, at the Battle of Magnesia. The victory resulted in Roman control over the internal
affairs of much of Asia Minor, greatly adding to the domains administered directly by Rome and bringing her one step closer to total
dominance of the entire Mediterranean region.
In his later career, this moneyer become co-consul with C. Norbanus in 83 BC, and raised two armies to oppose Sulla during the
Second Civil War. He was no match for the wily dictator and his hardened legions, however, both of his armies deserted him,
defecting to Sulla, without ever committing to battle.
490
L. Cornelius Sulla and L. Manlius Torquatus (82 BC), Silver Denarius, 3.86g, 8h. Mint of Rome.
L MANLI
T PRO Q
, head of Roma facing right, helmeted. Rev. Triumphator, crowned by Victory, in quadriga right,
holding the reins and a caduceus,
L SVLLA IM
in exergue (Crawford 367/3; Sydenham 759; RBW 1384; RCV 287).
Struck on a broad flan, well-centred, lightly toned, extremely fine and a very good example.
$ 700
This military issue bears the name of one of Sulla’s officers, who later served as a consul in 65 BC.
491
Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius (81 BC), Silver Denarius, 3.68g. Mobile military mint with Sulla’s army in northern
Italy. Diademed head of Pietas right; to right, stork standing right. Rev.
IMPER
in exergue, jug and lituus
within laurel wreath (Crawford 374/2; Sydenham 750; Caecilia 44). Well struck, well centred and lustrous,
nearly mint state.
$ 1,750
ex Nomos Auction 5, 25 October 2011, lot 219
Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius came from one of the most important and wealthiest families of Rome. Beginning in the 3
rd
Century BC,
his family held numerous consulships, tribunates, censorships and military commands. His father, Q. Caecilius Metellus Numidicus,
was the chief commander in the Jugurthine War in Numidia until Marius displaced him, and was later censor until driven into exile
by Marius. The obverse of this coin portrays the goddess Pietas and alludes to the moneyer’s cognomen, Pius. The moneyer acquired
the honorable title from the people of Rome, whom he had beseeched in order to secure the restoration of his father from exile.
The reverse probably refers to an unattested augurate of the moneyer’s father, but may also allude to Sulla’s holding of the augurate
in c.82 BC (cf Crawford p.374).
