Gemini, LLC
Auction 11 12 January 2014
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(M. Valerius) Messalla. Denarius, 3.69g (7h). Rome, 53 BC. Obv: Helmeted bust of Roma right, spear over shoulder, MESSAL F before. Rx: Curule chair; PATRE COS above, scepter and diadem below, S - C on either side. Crawford 435/1. Sydenham 934. Valeria 13. Of considerable rarity: R7 in Sydenham and 80 francs in Cohen and Babelon, fewer than 10 obverse and 11 reverse dies according to Crawford. Flatly struck at 4h on obverse and corresponding 12h on reverse. VF
Ex Nancy Walsh Collection. Ex HJB 126, 23 April 2002, lot 185
A fascinating document of the struggles between Republicanism and monarchy during the final years of the Roman Republic. "The reverse type portrays the subjection of the attributes of royalty to that of Republican legality; it reflects the temporary exclusion of Pompey from the possibility of achieving sole rule as a result of the election of Consuls for 53, one of them the father of the moneyer" (Crawford, p. 457). The reverse legend PATRE COS, meaning "in the consulship of my father," also affords an unusually vivid glimpse at the nepotism typical of the late Republic.
Ex Nancy Walsh Collection. Ex HJB 126, 23 April 2002, lot 185
A fascinating document of the struggles between Republicanism and monarchy during the final years of the Roman Republic. "The reverse type portrays the subjection of the attributes of royalty to that of Republican legality; it reflects the temporary exclusion of Pompey from the possibility of achieving sole rule as a result of the election of Consuls for 53, one of them the father of the moneyer" (Crawford, p. 457). The reverse legend PATRE COS, meaning "in the consulship of my father," also affords an unusually vivid glimpse at the nepotism typical of the late Republic.