Roma Numismatics Ltd
E-Sale 78 17 Dec 2020
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L. Hostilius Saserna AR Denarius. Rome, 48 BC. Female head right, with long hair; carnyx behind / Artemis standing facing, holding spear in left hand and placing right on head of stag; [L•]HOSTILIVS downwards to right, SASERNA upwards to left. Crawford 448/3; BMCRR Rome 3996-8; RSC Hostilia 4. 3.73g, 18mm, 6h.
Near Very Fine; light cabinet tone.
From a private European collection;
Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., May 2013 Auction, 21 May 2013, lot 1265.
This coin dates to the early days of the Civil War between the Caesarians and Pompeians, and shows the Caesarian party's flair for numismatic propaganda. The obverse, with its realistically emotive depiction of a captive Gallic woman combined with the 'carnyx' or Gallic war horn, showcases Caesar's history of conquest in Gaul over the 50s BC, which was an important source of the prestige and fame on which his popular support lay. The reverse of the coin speaks of a more recent Gallic conquest, that of Massilia, a city loyal to Pompey, which Caesar had stormed on his way to Spain to face Pompey's army. It is to this city that the archaic statue of Artemis on the reverse refers: the worship of Artemis of Ephesus had been a major part of the city's religious fabric since its establishment as a colony by Greek settlers, and she appears here in her capacity as chief goddess of the city, and thus as a sign to all of Caesar's early victory against Pompey.
Near Very Fine; light cabinet tone.
From a private European collection;
Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., May 2013 Auction, 21 May 2013, lot 1265.
This coin dates to the early days of the Civil War between the Caesarians and Pompeians, and shows the Caesarian party's flair for numismatic propaganda. The obverse, with its realistically emotive depiction of a captive Gallic woman combined with the 'carnyx' or Gallic war horn, showcases Caesar's history of conquest in Gaul over the 50s BC, which was an important source of the prestige and fame on which his popular support lay. The reverse of the coin speaks of a more recent Gallic conquest, that of Massilia, a city loyal to Pompey, which Caesar had stormed on his way to Spain to face Pompey's army. It is to this city that the archaic statue of Artemis on the reverse refers: the worship of Artemis of Ephesus had been a major part of the city's religious fabric since its establishment as a colony by Greek settlers, and she appears here in her capacity as chief goddess of the city, and thus as a sign to all of Caesar's early victory against Pompey.