Roma Numismatics Ltd
E-Sale 78 17 Dec 2020
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L. Hostilius Saserna AR Denarius. Rome, 48 BC. Female head right, wearing oak wreath and diadem / Victory walking right, holding trophy over left shoulder and caduceus in right hand; L•HOSTILIVS downwards before, SASERN upwards behind. Crawford 448/1b; BMCRR Rome 3993; RSC Hostilia 5. 3.67g, 18mm, 9h.
Good Very Fine. Very rare type with truncated obverse legend.
From a private European collection.
It has been often suggested, perhaps quixotically so, that this distinctive coin depicts Vercingetorix, the chieftain of the Arverni tribe, who had successfully united the Gallic peoples and posed a significant menace to Rome before succumbing to the superior tactics of Julius Caesar at the Battle/Siege of Alesia (52 BC), which essentially marked the end of the Gallic Wars. Taken to Rome in chains after the defeat and paraded through the streets in humiliating fashion as a trophy POW, Vercingetorix was then left to languish in the city's Tullianum prison for six years before being dragged out for display once more at a Caesarian triumph of 46 and strangled shortly after. The extent to which the Romans regarded him as a worthy opponent (and cherished their subjugation of his people), is demonstrated vividly by the minting of this coin, which occurred in 48.
Regardless of whether it is Vercingetorix's likeness that is portrayed on the obverse, or instead that of a generic Celt that the typical Roman would have been able to identify, this coin is a stark material demonstration of the delight that Rome took in finally conquering one of its greatest foes and, in so doing, gaining a new province to the north.
Good Very Fine. Very rare type with truncated obverse legend.
From a private European collection.
It has been often suggested, perhaps quixotically so, that this distinctive coin depicts Vercingetorix, the chieftain of the Arverni tribe, who had successfully united the Gallic peoples and posed a significant menace to Rome before succumbing to the superior tactics of Julius Caesar at the Battle/Siege of Alesia (52 BC), which essentially marked the end of the Gallic Wars. Taken to Rome in chains after the defeat and paraded through the streets in humiliating fashion as a trophy POW, Vercingetorix was then left to languish in the city's Tullianum prison for six years before being dragged out for display once more at a Caesarian triumph of 46 and strangled shortly after. The extent to which the Romans regarded him as a worthy opponent (and cherished their subjugation of his people), is demonstrated vividly by the minting of this coin, which occurred in 48.
Regardless of whether it is Vercingetorix's likeness that is portrayed on the obverse, or instead that of a generic Celt that the typical Roman would have been able to identify, this coin is a stark material demonstration of the delight that Rome took in finally conquering one of its greatest foes and, in so doing, gaining a new province to the north.