Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XXIII 24-25 Mar 2022
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L. Cestius and C. Norbanus AV Aureus. Rome, January-April 43 BC. Draped bust of Sibyl to right; C•NORBANVS above, L•CESTIVS below, PR before / Cybele enthroned in biga of lions to left, holding patera and resting on tympanum; S•C in upper left field. Crawford 491/2; CRI 196; Calicó 5; Bahrfeldt 26. 8.12g, 20mm, 12h.
NGC graded Ch AU 5/5 - 3/5 (#6158066-004). Rare; struck on a very broad planchet and in exceptional condition for the issue.
From the GK Collection;
Ex George W. La Borde Collection of Roman Aurei, Numismatica Ars Classica AG, Auction 91, 23 May 2016, lot 1;
Ex Calgary Coin Gallery inventory, privately purchased on January 2003.
Like most gold issues of the Roman Republic, this aureus was an exceptional emergency issue authorised by the Senate in order to provide funds to counter Marc Antony's siege of Mutina in Northern Italy in 43 BC. (CRI, p.118).
In the immediate chaotic aftermath of the assassination of Julius Caesar, an inevitable power struggle emerged between the various prominent parties, including the Bruti and Cassius - the so-called liberators - the consuls Hirtius and Pansa, Caesar's trusted lieutenant Marc Antony, and Caesar's young heir Octavian. Alliances were formed and broken swiftly, and this aureus was likely minted to pay the troops of Octavian who marched to support Decimus Brutus, one of the assassins of Caesar, on campaign against Marc Antony, who had been declared a public enemy by the senate. This short-lived and unlikely partnership between Octavian, who claimed Caesar's legacy, and a man who had a hand in his adopted father's downfall highlights the cynical and turbulent nature of the balance of power in the twilight years of the Republic.
Little is known of Lucius Cestius and Gaius Norbanus, the moneyers, beyond their election to the praetorship in 32 BC. The obverse bust on this type is occasionally described as Venus, the divine ancestress of the gens Julia, which would perhaps demonstrate support for Octavian, but is generally identified as Sibyl, the legendary priestess whose prophecies, fiercely guarded in the Temple of Capitoline Jupiter were consulted in times of crisis. This latter identification elucidates the presence of Cybele enthroned in a biga of lions on the reverse: during the Second Punic War, consultation of the Sybilline books found a recommendation that a cult be established at Rome for the Phrygian goddess, who would come to be known in Roman religion as 'Magna Mater'. Perhaps during a time of great chaos and uncertainty, it was reassuring to hark back to another pivotal moment in Roman history from which the Republic ultimately emerged victorious.
NGC graded Ch AU 5/5 - 3/5 (#6158066-004). Rare; struck on a very broad planchet and in exceptional condition for the issue.
From the GK Collection;
Ex George W. La Borde Collection of Roman Aurei, Numismatica Ars Classica AG, Auction 91, 23 May 2016, lot 1;
Ex Calgary Coin Gallery inventory, privately purchased on January 2003.
Like most gold issues of the Roman Republic, this aureus was an exceptional emergency issue authorised by the Senate in order to provide funds to counter Marc Antony's siege of Mutina in Northern Italy in 43 BC. (CRI, p.118).
In the immediate chaotic aftermath of the assassination of Julius Caesar, an inevitable power struggle emerged between the various prominent parties, including the Bruti and Cassius - the so-called liberators - the consuls Hirtius and Pansa, Caesar's trusted lieutenant Marc Antony, and Caesar's young heir Octavian. Alliances were formed and broken swiftly, and this aureus was likely minted to pay the troops of Octavian who marched to support Decimus Brutus, one of the assassins of Caesar, on campaign against Marc Antony, who had been declared a public enemy by the senate. This short-lived and unlikely partnership between Octavian, who claimed Caesar's legacy, and a man who had a hand in his adopted father's downfall highlights the cynical and turbulent nature of the balance of power in the twilight years of the Republic.
Little is known of Lucius Cestius and Gaius Norbanus, the moneyers, beyond their election to the praetorship in 32 BC. The obverse bust on this type is occasionally described as Venus, the divine ancestress of the gens Julia, which would perhaps demonstrate support for Octavian, but is generally identified as Sibyl, the legendary priestess whose prophecies, fiercely guarded in the Temple of Capitoline Jupiter were consulted in times of crisis. This latter identification elucidates the presence of Cybele enthroned in a biga of lions on the reverse: during the Second Punic War, consultation of the Sybilline books found a recommendation that a cult be established at Rome for the Phrygian goddess, who would come to be known in Roman religion as 'Magna Mater'. Perhaps during a time of great chaos and uncertainty, it was reassuring to hark back to another pivotal moment in Roman history from which the Republic ultimately emerged victorious.