Watch List notes:

IONIA. Ephesos (?). L. Sempronius Atratinus (?), quaestor, circa 42-39 BC. Cistophorus (Silver, 24 mm, 12.74 g, 1 h). Cista mystica from which snake coils; around, ivy wreath with fruits. Rev. Two snakes coiled around a bow case; between the snake heads, monogram of ATPA; to right, torch. SNG Paris -. SNG von Aulock 1867. Nicely toned. Minor areas of flatness, otherwise, very fine.


The attribution of this issue to the quaestor L. Sempronius Atratinus and the mint of Ephesos is uncertain. For a longer discussion of the issue, see E. Metcalf: A Note on the Later Republican Cistophori, in: SNR 88 (2009), pp. 205-8.