Pre-Long Beach Auction #80

Pompey the Great. Silver Denarius (3.9 g), 48 BC. Military mint traveling with Pompey in Greece. Terentius Varro, proquaestor. VARRO PRO Q, diademed bust of Jupiter right. Reverse MAGN PRO / COS in two lines in exergue, scepter between dolphin swimming right and eagle standing left. Crawford 447/1a; HCRI 8; Sydenham 1033; RSC 3. Very rare. Well struck and well centered, lightly toned. Superb Extremely Fine.

Struck prior to the Battle of Pharsalus in which Pompey was defeated by Caesar, this coin advertises Pompey's most considerable past achievements. Jupiter Terminus (or Terminalis), the divine guardian of boundaries, refers to the grant of proconsular powers awarded to Pompey by the Senate so that he carry the fight to Caesar and save the Republic. The images of the dolphin and eagle represent Pompey's most famous achievements by sea and by land: his decisive defeat of the Cilician pirates in 66 BC, and his conquest over Mithradates VI of Pontus in 65 BC. Additionally, the design of the reverse is divided by a scepter, which here serves not only as an artistic device separating the motifs of the dolphin and eagle, but symbolizes his delegated authority as it was only carried by victorious generals who had been acclaimed imperator by their troops.
Estimated Value $7,000 - 8,000.
Ex Dr. Busso Peuss 401/402 (3 November 2010), 447.