Watch List notes:

THE ROMAN REPUBLIC

L. Cornelius Sulla Imperator with L. Manlius Torquatus Proquaestor. Aureus, mint moving with Sulla 82, AV 10.45 g. [L·]MANLI – PRO Q. Helmeted head of Roma r. Rev. Triumphator, crowned by flying Victory, in quadriga r., holding reins and caduceus; in exergue, L·SVLLA·IM. Bahrfeldt 13. Babelon Manlia 3, Cornelia 38. Sydenham 756. Calicó 16. RBW Crawford 367/4.
Very rare. Struck on a very broad flan and unusually complete.
Two minor nicks, otherwise extremely fine


Ex Santamaria 1938, Venturi-Ginori and Gariazzo, 201. Ex Leu 10, 1974, 5 and NAC 73, 2013, Student and his Mentor part II, 110 sales. From the collection of Sheikh Saoud Al Thani.
In the Roman Republic gold coinage was struck only on rare occasions. It was introduced during the Second Punic War, when Rome and her Italian allies struggled to defeat the Carthaginian invader Hannibal, and it was not struck again for nearly 125 years. This next occasion was a crisis that equally tested the Romans, for they suffered an uprising of their Italian allies in 91 B.C., and for the first time Roman armies invaded the capital. The circumstances behind these terrible events had long been forming. For centuries Rome had relentlessly subdued its neighbours, and in the process it had constructed a system of alliances which allowed her to collect taxes and levy troops every year. It was a double-edged sword for the allies – while it was better to join Rome than to oppose her, Rome could only remain powerful because it used their young men for its conquests. There were several levels of alliance membership, and neighbouring cities within the same regions often had a very different status. The ultimate prize for Rome's Italian federates was obtaining Roman citizenship, and in 91 B.C. that cause was taken up by the tribune Livius Drusus. But his swift and brutal murder dashed all hope and a rebellion erupted throughout Italy. Leading the way were the Samnites, a fierce people living in the hills and mountains near Rome. After suffering initial defeats, Rome was able in 90 and 89 to satisfy most of its former allies with promises of Roman citizenship (which, remarkably, remained unfulfilled until the census of 70). Though Rome pacified most of its opponents, the Samnites continued to resist, and in 88 even appealed to king Mithradates VI of Pontus for help. Mithradates sent financial aid and, in the meantime, he caused the murder of 80,000 Romans and Italians living in Asia before ravaging Roman territories in Asia Minor and Greece. These two crises – the resistance of the Samnites and the aggressions of Mithradates – set the stage for a conflict between the Roman warlords Sulla and Marius. Through many tribulations, Sulla overcame all of his opponents, in part by unleashing Rome's own armies against the capital, something which had never before occurred. Sulla was able to impose what later Roman historians called the Regnum Sullanum, a dictatorial era during which he executed his enemies with appalling cruelty. However, he eventually restored the senate's power, and in 79 retired to Campania shortly before he died. This rare aureus celebrates the triumphs Sulla was awarded for his defeat of Mithradates, and of the Samnites at the Battle of the Colline Gate in 82. On the reverse a triumphal quadriga bears the figure of Sulla, who is crowned by a Victory flying above. The inscription L SVLLA IM makes it clear that Sulla is the figure in the quadriga. This aspect should not be overlooked, for it is an early example of a Roman coin depicting a living person – something that would eventually become a defining feature of coins of the Imperatorial period. In this aureus we have a precursor to the royal portraiture initiated by Julius Caesar nearly four decades later. Also, since this coin was issued either contemporarily or soon after Sulla's triumphal procession through the streets of Rome, it serves as a document of that great event.