51 Gallery
June 2017 Auction 9 Jun 2017
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REPUBLIC, GOLD AUREUS OF SEXTUS POMPEIUS, uncertain Sicilian mint, ca. 42 BC, 7.949g, 6h. Calicó 71. Very rare. Lightly toned with underlying luster. Perfectly centered and struck on a full flan. Possibly the finest known of this important and fascinating issue with three superb portraits of masterly style. Good extremely fine. Former Pepe Fernandez Molina collection, Aureo & Calicó 2012 (241) lot 1; former Guermantes collection, Leu Numismatik 2003 (86) lot 726
This remarkable aureus, struck from the most accomplished dies, provides us with the most life-like portraits of Pompeius' two sons and records many of the events of 43-42 BC. First Roman to use dynastic imagery on coinage, Sextus Pompeius is depicted on the obverse, while the reverse shows us his famous father and deceased brother (Gnaeus). This crucial step was taken in an age when the Senate and traditions were losing ground to the cult of personality. The oak wreath (corona civica) and the title IMP ITER on the obverse commemorate Sextus' defeat of Salvidienus. On the reverse, the lituus behind Pompeius' head signifies his membership in the college of augurs, while the tripod behind Gnaeus' head represents his affiliation with the 'quindecimviri sacris faciundis'.
This remarkable aureus, struck from the most accomplished dies, provides us with the most life-like portraits of Pompeius' two sons and records many of the events of 43-42 BC. First Roman to use dynastic imagery on coinage, Sextus Pompeius is depicted on the obverse, while the reverse shows us his famous father and deceased brother (Gnaeus). This crucial step was taken in an age when the Senate and traditions were losing ground to the cult of personality. The oak wreath (corona civica) and the title IMP ITER on the obverse commemorate Sextus' defeat of Salvidienus. On the reverse, the lituus behind Pompeius' head signifies his membership in the college of augurs, while the tripod behind Gnaeus' head represents his affiliation with the 'quindecimviri sacris faciundis'.