Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Auction 123 23-24 May 2023
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
The Republicans. Cn. Domitius L.f. Ahenobarbus. 41-40 BC. AR Denarius (21mm, 3.62 g, 11h). Uncertain mint in the region of the Adriatic or Ionian Sea. Bare head of Ahenobarbus right, wearing short beard / Prow right surmounted by a military trophy. Crawford 519/2; CRI 339; Sydenham 1177; Domitia 21; RBW 1803. Residual luster, small test cut, obverse struck from a worn die, small die flaw on reverse. Good VF.
Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus commanded a fleet against the Triumvirs, achieving a minor victory in September of 42 BC. But that very day, the Triumvirs won the battle of Philippi, and Ahenobarbus found himself fighting for a lost cause. He became a piratical rogue, terrorizing the ports of the Adriatic like his western counterpart, Sextus Pompey, until he signed the Pact of Brundisium in 40 BC, which reconciled him to Mark Antony. His great-grandson would become the Emperor Nero (AD 54-68). The rare coinage of Ahenobarbus belongs to his stint as a "pirate king" 42-40 BC. This silver denarius bears an appropriately nautical reverse celebrating his victories at sea. The balding, bearded portrait on the obverse remains enigmatic; it may represent Gnaeus himself, or one of his ancestors.
Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus commanded a fleet against the Triumvirs, achieving a minor victory in September of 42 BC. But that very day, the Triumvirs won the battle of Philippi, and Ahenobarbus found himself fighting for a lost cause. He became a piratical rogue, terrorizing the ports of the Adriatic like his western counterpart, Sextus Pompey, until he signed the Pact of Brundisium in 40 BC, which reconciled him to Mark Antony. His great-grandson would become the Emperor Nero (AD 54-68). The rare coinage of Ahenobarbus belongs to his stint as a "pirate king" 42-40 BC. This silver denarius bears an appropriately nautical reverse celebrating his victories at sea. The balding, bearded portrait on the obverse remains enigmatic; it may represent Gnaeus himself, or one of his ancestors.