Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XXV 22-23 Sep 2022
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
L. Hostilius Saserna AR Denarius. Rome, 48 BC. Head of Gallic captive to right; [Gallic shield] behind / Two warriors in biga to right: one driving, holding whip and reins, [and the other, facing backward, holding shield] and brandishing spear; [L•H]OSTILIVS above, SASERN below. Crawford 448/2a; CRI 18; BMCRR Rome 3994-5; RSC Hostilia 2. 3.87g, 20mm, 6h.
Good Extremely Fine; slight area of weak strike, lustrous metal.
From the Paulo Leitão Collection;
Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd, Auction XVI, 26 September 2018, lot 585;
Ex Randy Haviland Collection, Gemini X, 13 January 2013, lot 183;
Ex Hess-Divo 317, 27 October 2010, lot 755;
Ex Philip Davis Collection, Harlan J. Berk 94, 16 January 1997, lot 326;
Ex Numismatic Fine Arts Fall Mail Bid Sale, 18 October 1990, lot 1335.
With the help of his political allies, Caesar had succeeded in making himself the governor of Cisalpine Gaul and Illyricum, with Transalpine Gaul later added, giving him command of four legions. The term of this governorship, and therefore his immunity from prosecution, was set at an extraordinary five years, instead of the usual one. Deeply in debt, Caesar wasted little time in taking advantage of the unstable situation in Gaul to expand his territory through conquest, and thicken his holdings with plunder.
What eventually became known as Caesar's Gallic campaign was initially a piecemeal affair, but within six years he had expanded Roman rule over the whole of Gaul. Following years of relative success, mainly thanks to the disconnected nature of the tribes allowing him to take them on separately, he was faced with the chief of the Arverni tribe, Vercingetorix, who too late had built a confederation to stand against Caesar. In 52 BC, despite formidable resistance, Caesar finally defeated Vercingetorix at the Battle (or Siege) of Alesia. This illegal war which by Caesar's own account had left a million dead, was instrumental in elevating him to a position of supreme power among the statesmen of the late Republic, making him incredibly wealthy through war booty, and also making him dangerously popular with the plebs.
Struck in the course of Caesar's war against the Senatorial faction led by Pompey and later Metellus Scipio, Caesar's triumphant coinage trumpets his military achievements and conquest in Gaul. The portrait of the Gallic warrior is believed to be Vercingetorix, leader of the great Gallic rebellion against Caesar: the carefully rendered details of the image, from the prominent brow to the sunken eyes and hollow cheeks, are highly suggestive of an individualised portrait.
In 48/7 BC the defeated Gallic chieftain still languished in the Tullianum, the underground prison beneath the Comitium. He would be hauled out for Caesar's triumph in 46, then returned to his cell and strangled.
Good Extremely Fine; slight area of weak strike, lustrous metal.
From the Paulo Leitão Collection;
Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd, Auction XVI, 26 September 2018, lot 585;
Ex Randy Haviland Collection, Gemini X, 13 January 2013, lot 183;
Ex Hess-Divo 317, 27 October 2010, lot 755;
Ex Philip Davis Collection, Harlan J. Berk 94, 16 January 1997, lot 326;
Ex Numismatic Fine Arts Fall Mail Bid Sale, 18 October 1990, lot 1335.
With the help of his political allies, Caesar had succeeded in making himself the governor of Cisalpine Gaul and Illyricum, with Transalpine Gaul later added, giving him command of four legions. The term of this governorship, and therefore his immunity from prosecution, was set at an extraordinary five years, instead of the usual one. Deeply in debt, Caesar wasted little time in taking advantage of the unstable situation in Gaul to expand his territory through conquest, and thicken his holdings with plunder.
What eventually became known as Caesar's Gallic campaign was initially a piecemeal affair, but within six years he had expanded Roman rule over the whole of Gaul. Following years of relative success, mainly thanks to the disconnected nature of the tribes allowing him to take them on separately, he was faced with the chief of the Arverni tribe, Vercingetorix, who too late had built a confederation to stand against Caesar. In 52 BC, despite formidable resistance, Caesar finally defeated Vercingetorix at the Battle (or Siege) of Alesia. This illegal war which by Caesar's own account had left a million dead, was instrumental in elevating him to a position of supreme power among the statesmen of the late Republic, making him incredibly wealthy through war booty, and also making him dangerously popular with the plebs.
Struck in the course of Caesar's war against the Senatorial faction led by Pompey and later Metellus Scipio, Caesar's triumphant coinage trumpets his military achievements and conquest in Gaul. The portrait of the Gallic warrior is believed to be Vercingetorix, leader of the great Gallic rebellion against Caesar: the carefully rendered details of the image, from the prominent brow to the sunken eyes and hollow cheeks, are highly suggestive of an individualised portrait.
In 48/7 BC the defeated Gallic chieftain still languished in the Tullianum, the underground prison beneath the Comitium. He would be hauled out for Caesar's triumph in 46, then returned to his cell and strangled.