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Clodius Macer. Silver Denarius (3.62 g), Governor of Africa, AD 68. Carthage. L CLODI-VS MACER, S C below bust, bare head of Clodius Macer right. Reverse PRO/PRAE in two lines above, AFRICAE below, war galley with aplustre and five oarsmen sailing right. RIC 37; K. V. Hewitt, NC 1983, 55 (dies 31/37) = L. Mildenberg, Vestigia Leonis p. 362, pl. LI, 1 (this coin); A. Gara, RIN 1970, p. 67, 7, and pl. 1, 11/12; BMC 1; RSC 13. An excellent portrait unusually well-centered, complete and of excellent metal. Attractive old cabinet toning further adds to its appeal. Exceedingly rare and probably the finest specimen known. Superb Extremely Fine.
L. Clodius Macer was the propraetorian legate of the Legio III Augusta based in Numidia during the latter part of Nero's reign. Historically, he was thought to have rebelled against Nero in the name of the Senate of Rome, but recent study into the language employed by Tacitus in his history of the period throws a shadow over this interpretation. It seems instead that perhaps Macer was first a loyal partisan of Nero, and only when overtaken by the events of Nero's suicide did he find himself in opposition to Galba. In this view, Nero sent his influential mistress, Calvia Crispinilla, to Africa to assure Macer's loyalty to the throne after Galba had publicly declared his support for Vindex's uprising, and that it was only after Galba came to power that Macer began to act in a more arbitrary manner, using his naval forces in an attempted investment of Sicily to blockade Rome and cut off her grain supply (see G. Morgan, "Clodius Macer and Calvia Crispinilla," Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte 49, 4 [4th Quarter, 2000]: pp. 467-87).
Supporting this interpretation of events is the evidence from Macer's coinage. While it has often been suggested that Macer was attempting to either reestablish the Roman Republic, or alternately that he aspired to the throne himself, these arguments do not hold up upon closer scrutiny. The first argument is based on the fact that Macer was even striking precious metal coinage, a purely imperial prerogative for the past century, and that for designs he chose types prevalent during the imperatorial period. Countering this is that both Galba and perhaps also Vindex preempted him, striking anonymous issues themselves, and Macer's choice of types merely provided the consumer the comfort of the conventional since earlier denarii of course still circulated widely in Africa in the AD 60s. The second argument is based in part on the fact that Macer put his name on his coins, and that on one issue - probably his last - he even included his own portrait. Although it is true that Macer's denarii are not anonymous, with notable modesty they all clearly give his title as mere procurator of a legion in Africa. There is also ample precedent for using his own portrait, which notably is not laureate. Additionally, although it seems highly improbable that the Senate ever empowered Macer to strike coinage, all of his coins without exception claim to be operating S C. This and his modest title are compelling enough reasons to see that Macer had no delusional grandeur of aspiring to the purple, and should instead be seen as putting the best face on his own actions while at the same time reassuring the people that his money was sound.
After Macer's capture and execution by order of Galba, it would seem that his coins were immediately recalled and melted, the bullion of which was used for a short time at the Carthaginian mint to strike coins all with a comparably provincial style for Galba. Hewitt records 77 known dies for Macer's coinage and extrapolates that there may have been more than 180 in total, so it was apparently substantial. However, very specimens survive today - fewer than 85 coins of all types, with at most just twenty being portrait denarii - making this coin one of the rarest in the entire history of Roman Imperial coinage.
Estimated Value $50,000-UP.
Ex Barry Feirstein Collection (NAC 39, 16 May 2007), 107; James Fox Collection (CNG/NAC 40, 4 December 1996), 1402; Highly Important Greek and Roman Coins. The Nelson Bunker Hunt Collection, pt. I (Sotheby's, 19 June 1990), 126; Sternberg III (29-30 November 1974), 47; Tunis Hoard.
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Pescennius Niger. Silver Denarius (3.23 g), AD 193-194. Antioch. IMP CAES C PESCEN NIGER IVST AVG, laureate head of Pescennius Niger right. Reverse BONA-E SPEI, Spes advancing left, holding flower and raising hem of skirt. Cf. RIC 3c (obv. legend ends AV); cf. BMC 298 (same); cf. RSC 8 (same). Boldly struck with an incredible portrait of Pescennius, all with lovely old cabinet toning. Very rare and a candidate for finest known!. Superb Extremely Fine.
From the scarcity of it today it would seem that Pescennius Niger's coinage was originally very limited. However, the enormous number of minor varieties - such as the remarkably well struck example offered here - shows that this is in fact not the case, and that output must have been monumental. No catalogue of his coinage is without numerous lacunae. The mints involved were, of course, in the East, Niger's primary imperial mint based at Antioch where he held court, and probably a subsidiary mint based at Caesarea in Cappadocia. After three successive defeats at the hands of his rival, Septimius Severus, Niger was finally captured and executed along with his entire family in AD 194. It appears that Severus then ordered the recall of Niger's coinage, and his instructions were meticulously followed.
Estimated Value $10,000 - 12,000.
Ex Imagines Imperatorvm Sale (Aureo & Calicó, 8 February 2012), 138.
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Carausius. Silver Denarius (3.98 g), Romano-British Emperor, AD 287-293. London, ca. AD 287. IMP I CARAVSIVS P F AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Carausius right. Reverse RENOVAT ROMANO, she-wolf standing right, suckling the twins Romulus and Remus; RSR (Rs retrograde). Cf. RIC 571; cf. Shiel 68; cf. RSC 82. Very Rare. Toned. Extremely Fine.
Carausius was the commander of the Roman fleet stationed in the English Channel who usurped power, gaining control over Britain and of part of Gaul. While the vast majority of his coin types were debased antoniniani as circulated in the official Empire, he also struck aurei and silver denarii of very high purity, the likes of which had not been seen for many years. The legends and types of his denarii, as is the case with the the coin offered here showing the she-wolf and twins motif combined with the legend RENOVAT ROMANO, evoked traditional Roman virtues. This of course is highly interesting coming from a province at the edge of the Roman world, but it clearly espouses Carausius' ideology that he was in fact restoring Rome and not simply another military opportunist as had beset the Roman Empire for the past half century.
Of more novel interest is the abbreviation RSR in the exergue. This had always been assumed to be a mintmark, the precise meaning never satisfactorily resolved. However, it turns out that it is not actually a mintmark at all! Guy de la Bédoyère, "Carausius, RSR and I.N.P.C.D.A," NC 1998, pp. 79-88, shows a Virgilian connection, the RSR being an abbreviation for Redeunt Saturnia regna, and INPCDA found on other Carausian coins the abbreviation for Iam nova progenies, cælo Demittitur alto. These phrases come from the sixth and seventh lines of Virgil's Fourth Eclogue on the Golden Age, and translate "now Virgin Justice returns, and Saturn's reign: now a new race descends from the heavens above." Any educated person in the Roman world would have recognized the abbreviation; thus it played perfectly into Carausius's clearly-defined ideology of restoring the virtues of Rome.
Estimated Value $4,000 - 5,000.
Ex Helios 4 (14 October 2009), 694; A. Lynn Collection; CNG 54 (14 June 2000), 1792.
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Marciana. Silver Denarius (3.28 g), Augusta, ca. AD 105-112/4. Rome, under Trajan, AD 114. DIVA AVGVSTA MARCIANA, diademed and draped bust of Marciana right, hair in elaborately coifed row curls above brow and bound into tight bun high at back of head. Reverse CONSECRATIO, eagle, with wings displayed, standing left, head right. RIC 743; Woytek 719; BMC 650; RSC 4. Boldly struck and well centered with incredibly sharp detail. Delicate old cabinet toning adds to its appeal. An absolutely marvelous example of this important rarity! Easily one of the finest known. Superb Extremely Fine.
Marciana was Trajan's elder sister, and from all accounts they were very close. After her husband died in AD 78, she and her daughter, Matidia, lived with Trajan and his wife, Plotina. She never remarried and continued to live with Trajan and Plotina until she died, probably in AD 112 or 114.
Estimated Value $25,000 - 30,000.
Ex NFA VI (27-28 February 1979), 709.
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Gordian I Africanus. Silver Denarius (3.19 g), AD 238. Rome. IMP M ANT GORDIANVS AFR AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Gordian I right. Reverse P M T-R P COS P P, emperor, togate, standing facing, head left, holding branch and short scepter. RIC 1; BMC 1-3; RSC 2. An exceptional example, needle sharp with an amazing portrait of the emperor. Luster present and delicately toned. Very rare and one of the finest specimens known. Nearly Mint State.
Discontent with the rule of Maximinus I, who was viewed as a barbarian by Rome's elite and was generally hated otherwise due to heavy taxation to finance his military operations against the Germans and Sarmatians, led to three serious revolts. The first two were ruthlessly suppressed. The third started in Africa, where wealthy landowners revolted against the heavy financial burdens imposed by a corrupt local treasury official who was using false judgments for extortion. The landowners equipped their clients and farmhands with whatever weapons and farm tools were handy, slew the offending treasury official and his bodyguard, then proclaimed the aging governor, Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus, and his son as co-emperors. The Senate in Rome quickly backed the cause of the African landowners, affirming the elevation of Gordian I and Gordian II as co-emperors. Upon hearing the news of the revolt, Maximinus, who was wintering in Sirmium, prepared his armies and marched on Rome.
The reign of the Gordiani was short-lived, lasting at most a mere 36 days. Capellianus, the governor of Numidia, controlled the only legion in the area and nursed a long-standing grudge against the Gordiani. He assembled his troops, the veteran legio III Augusta, and marched on Carthage where he easily overwhelmed the ragtag forces of the Gordiani. Gordian II was killed in the fighting, and on hearing the news his son's death and the annihilation of the local levies, the elder Gordian hanged himself.
Estimated Value $8,000 - 9,000.
Ex A Gentleman's Collection (Triton XII, 5 January 2009), 719; Tkalec (18 February 2002), 218.
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Domitia. Silver Denarius (3.57 g), Augusta, AD 82-96. Rome, under Domitian, AD 82/3. DOMITIA AVGVSTA IMP DOMIT, draped bust of Domitia right, hair bunched high on forehead and braided in long plait down back of neck. Reverse CONCOR-DIA AVGVST, peacock walking right. RIC 151; BMC 61; RSC 2. A magnificent example, boldly struck with the head of Domitia in high relief and beautifully preserved. Very rare, one of the finest known. Superb Extremely Fine.
Domitia Longina was the youngest daughter of the Roman general Corbulo and a remote descendant of the emperor Augustus through Junia Lepida, a great-great granddaughter of Augustus. Despite her father's disgrace and forced suicide under Nero in AD 67, the family survived, perhaps due to this Julio-Claudian lineage. Early in Vespasian's reign, Domitia divorced her first husband and married the future emperor Domitian. After his assassination in AD 96 she went into retirement, living for many years afterward well into the reign of Hadrian.
Estimated Value $15,000 - 17,000.
Ex Nomos 2 (18 May 2010), 182.
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Annia Faustina. Silver Denarius (3.22 g), Augusta, AD 221. Rome, under Elagabalus. ANNIA FAVSTINA AVG, draped bust of Annia Faustina right. Reverse CONCORDIA, Elagabalus, togate, and Annia Faustina, draped, standing facing one another, clasping hands; between, star. RIC 232; BMC p. 570, †; RSC 1. A superb example, boldly struck with the head of Annia in high relief. Lovely bluish and rose iridescent tone. A fantastic coin and certainly a highlight of this important collection. Of the highest rarity, only the fifth specimen known and possibly the finest. One of the greatest rarities of the entire Imperial series. Extremely Fine.
Although of uncertain parentage, Annia Faustina was descended from the emperor Marcus Aurelius on both sides of her family. She shared a close personal friendship with the Severan matriarch and emperor Elagabalus' grandmother, Julia Maesa, who encouraged her to marry her grandson in an effort to help salvage his reputation, which at this point was considerably tarnished for having married a Vestal Virgin on top of numerous other offenses to Roman sensibilities. Although we do not know her motivations for doing so, Annia Faustina agreed to the marriage, this in spite of an age difference of a generation (she was at least twice as old as the prospective groom), and the fact that she was already married. She divorced her husband, who was promptly executed on trumped-up charges of treason, and consummated her marriage to Elagabalus in either June or July AD 221. The emperor soon grew tired of her, however, and they divorced before the year was over, her retiring to private life, and Elagabalus remarrying his second wife, Aquilia Severa.
A great rarity in the Roman series, there are but five denarii of Annia Faustina known, two of which reside in museum collections (Paris and Madrid). The other two examples that are available to collectors, Leu 22, 316 = Jameson Collection, 214 and Gorny & Mosch 155, 342, share the same dies as our specimen.
Estimated Value $100,000-UP.
Ex NAC 64 (17-18 May 2012), 1226; Triton XII (5 January 2009), 704.
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Galba. Silver Denarius (3.47 g), AD 68-69. Rome, AD 68. IMP SER GALBA AVG, bare head of Galba right. Reverse S P Q R / OB / C S in three lines within oak-wreath. RIC 167; BMC 34 corr.; RSC 287. Boldly struck with the portrait of Galba in high relief. Luster present and all, delicately toned. Superb Extremely Fine.
Before becoming emperor, the elderly Galba, governor of Hispania Terraconensis, served many years as a capable administrator and military leader, having previously governed in Gaul, Germany, Africa and Spain, where he had earned a reputation for strictness and impartiality. Hearing that he was in disfavor with Nero and that he would soon be executed, he considered joining the revolt of the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, Gaius Julius Vindex, who had promised him his support in a bid for the throne. He hesitated, however, which was probably fateful as Vindex's revolt was quickly suppressed, the usurper committing suicide.
The turmoil in Rome continued, and in June AD 68 the Praetorian Prefect, Nymphidius Sabinus, transferred his allegiance to Galba. Nero, deserted by the Praetorians, was declared a public enemy by the Senate and committed suicide. Galba promptly took the title of Caesar, raised a legion, and along with the governor of Lusitania, Marcus Salvius Otho, quickly marched on Rome where he was welcomed into the city.
Galba's short reign was unpopular. Fearing conspiracy, he executed many senators and equites without trial, and he never paid the Praetorians the bonus promised in his name by prefect Nymphidius, scorning the idea that a soldier's loyalty could be bought. Additionally, the Rhine legions were hostile to him - they had expected to be rewarded for their loyalty to the throne by their actions in suppressing the revolt of Vindex, but instead were accused of impeding Galba's path to the throne. On January 1 AD 69, they refused to swear allegiance to the emperor and instead proclaimed their commander, Aulus Vitellius, emperor.
With the Rhine legions in revolt, Galba made the fatal mistake of formerly adopting Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus as his successor, which had the effect of inciting the hatred of his former supporter, Otho, who had hoped for the honor for himself. Otho plotted his revenge, and five days after Piso's adoption, Praetorian guardsmen in his pay brutally murdered both Galba and Piso.
Estimated Value $9,000 - 10,000.
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Septimius Severus. Silver Denarius (3.20 g), AD 193-211. Emesa, AD 194/5. IMP CAE L SEP SE-V PERT AVG COS II, laureate head of Septimius Severus right. Reverse FELICITAS TEMPOR, gain ear between crossed cornuacopiae. RIC 374a; BMC 347, note; RSC 141b. Area of weakness on the borders from 6 to 9 o'clock and on the corresponding reverse not effecting the legends. Extremely Fine.
Estimated Value $300 - 350.
Ex A. Lynn Collection.
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Hadrian. Silver Denarius (3.4 g), AD 117-138. Rome, ca. AD 134-138. HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P, laureate head of Hadrian right. Reverse RESTITV-TORI GALLIAE, emperor, togate, standing right, holding roll and extending hand to raise up Gallia kneeling left. RIC 324; Strack 320; BMC 877; RSC 1247c. Boldly struck with the portrait in high relief and perfectly centered. Needle sharp with old cabinet toning. We note an old 'museum' number "97" faintly painted in the right obverse field. Superb Extremely Fine.
Estimated Value $500 - 600.
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