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CICF Signature Sale 3032 10-12 April 2014
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Julian II 'The Philosopher' (AD 360-363). AV solidus (22mm, 4.41 gm, 6h). Rome, AD 361-363. FL CL IVLIA-NVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Julian right, with long beard, head in profile, bust seen from front / VIRTVS EXERCI-TVS ROMANORVM, Roman soldier, helmeted and in full armor, advancing right, head left, cradling trophy in left arm and with right hand grasping the hair of a small captive crouching right, hands bound behind back, RP flanked by two ivy leaves in exergue. RIC --, cf. 324 (no ivy leaves in mintmark). Cohen 78 variant (same). Depeyrot 17/1. An extremely rare, possibly unique variety! With a portrait of tremendous artistry and power. NGC (photo-certificate) Choice AU 5/5 - 2/5, mount removed.From The Andre Constantine Dimitriadis Collection. Ex Dreesmann Collection (Spink London, 13 April 2000), lot 212; F Sternberg XVIII (20-21 November 1986), lot 683. Late in AD 359, Constantius ordered Julian to send a third of his army to the Eastern front to help fight the Persians. Instead, Julian's legions revolted and proclaimed him Augustus. A full-scale civil war was avoided by Constantius' timely death in AD 361. Now sole emperor, Julian brought his reform-minded administration to Constantinople and tried to strip the Christian church of its privileged position while restoring Paganism to official favor. He ran into stiff resistance and even ridicule at all levels, to which his touchy personality responded poorly. Perhaps seeking to get away from his domestic troubles, he embarked on a massive invasion of Persia in AD 363. At first victorious, his army soon suffered Persian scorched earth tactics and found itself surrounded, without resupply, deep in the Iranian desert. Julian rode out with his vanguard to repel an attack and fell mortally wounded by a spear thrown either by a Persian, or a disgruntled Christian in his own army. Like his hero Alexander the Great, he died without naming a successor. The army chose Jovian, a Christian, as his replacement, abruptly ending the brief Pagan restoration. Despite his unfulfilled legacy, Julian's restless intelligence and manifold abilities make him one of the most dynamic characters of Late Antiquity, one whose like would not be seen again until the Renaissance.
Estimate: 8000-10000 USD
Julian II 'The Philosopher' (AD 360-363). AV solidus (22mm, 4.41 gm, 6h). Rome, AD 361-363. FL CL IVLIA-NVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Julian right, with long beard, head in profile, bust seen from front / VIRTVS EXERCI-TVS ROMANORVM, Roman soldier, helmeted and in full armor, advancing right, head left, cradling trophy in left arm and with right hand grasping the hair of a small captive crouching right, hands bound behind back, RP flanked by two ivy leaves in exergue. RIC --, cf. 324 (no ivy leaves in mintmark). Cohen 78 variant (same). Depeyrot 17/1. An extremely rare, possibly unique variety! With a portrait of tremendous artistry and power. NGC (photo-certificate) Choice AU 5/5 - 2/5, mount removed.From The Andre Constantine Dimitriadis Collection. Ex Dreesmann Collection (Spink London, 13 April 2000), lot 212; F Sternberg XVIII (20-21 November 1986), lot 683. Late in AD 359, Constantius ordered Julian to send a third of his army to the Eastern front to help fight the Persians. Instead, Julian's legions revolted and proclaimed him Augustus. A full-scale civil war was avoided by Constantius' timely death in AD 361. Now sole emperor, Julian brought his reform-minded administration to Constantinople and tried to strip the Christian church of its privileged position while restoring Paganism to official favor. He ran into stiff resistance and even ridicule at all levels, to which his touchy personality responded poorly. Perhaps seeking to get away from his domestic troubles, he embarked on a massive invasion of Persia in AD 363. At first victorious, his army soon suffered Persian scorched earth tactics and found itself surrounded, without resupply, deep in the Iranian desert. Julian rode out with his vanguard to repel an attack and fell mortally wounded by a spear thrown either by a Persian, or a disgruntled Christian in his own army. Like his hero Alexander the Great, he died without naming a successor. The army chose Jovian, a Christian, as his replacement, abruptly ending the brief Pagan restoration. Despite his unfulfilled legacy, Julian's restless intelligence and manifold abilities make him one of the most dynamic characters of Late Antiquity, one whose like would not be seen again until the Renaissance.
Estimate: 8000-10000 USD