Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Electronic Auction 561 1 May 2024
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Moneyer issues of Imperatorial Rome. L. Plautius Plancus. 47 BC. AR Denarius (18.5mm, 3.94 g, 1h). Rome mint. Facing mask of Medusa with disheveled hair; coiled serpents flanking / Aurora flying right, holding palm frond and conducting four horses of the sun. Crawford 453/1a; CRI 29; Sydenham 959; Plautia 15; RBW 1583. Toned, bankers' marks, small edge cut. VF.
Ex MDC Monaco E-Auction 1 (4 December 2021), lot 29; Auctiones AG 3 (4 December 1973), lot 310.
Certainly this type is one of the most attractive of all Roman Republican issues, although it is notoriously difficult to obtain an example that is well struck on both sides, as is this superb specimen. The reverse type, remarkably, can be tied to a specific ancient work of art, a painting by the 4th century BC artist Nikomachos of Thebes, apparently in the possession of the Munatii and possibly the personal property of the moneyer, L. Plautius Plancus. Plautius was the brother of Lucius Munatius Plancus, who famously survived the precarious times by constantly switching sides. When the Second Triumvirate was formed in 43 BC, he reputedly demonstrated his loyalty by offering up his brother Plautius for proscription and execution. Munatius apparently inherited the painting as it is recorded that he dedicated it to the Capitol at his Gallic Triumph of the same year, raising the question of his motivation in surrendering his brother's life.
Ex MDC Monaco E-Auction 1 (4 December 2021), lot 29; Auctiones AG 3 (4 December 1973), lot 310.
Certainly this type is one of the most attractive of all Roman Republican issues, although it is notoriously difficult to obtain an example that is well struck on both sides, as is this superb specimen. The reverse type, remarkably, can be tied to a specific ancient work of art, a painting by the 4th century BC artist Nikomachos of Thebes, apparently in the possession of the Munatii and possibly the personal property of the moneyer, L. Plautius Plancus. Plautius was the brother of Lucius Munatius Plancus, who famously survived the precarious times by constantly switching sides. When the Second Triumvirate was formed in 43 BC, he reputedly demonstrated his loyalty by offering up his brother Plautius for proscription and execution. Munatius apparently inherited the painting as it is recorded that he dedicated it to the Capitol at his Gallic Triumph of the same year, raising the question of his motivation in surrendering his brother's life.