Pre-Long Beach Auction #80

C. Memmius C.f. Silver Denarius (3.88 g), 56 BC. Rome. C MEMMI C F, head of Ceres right, wreathed with grain ears. Reverse C MEMMIVS IMPERATOR, bound captive kneeling right beneath trophy. Crawford 427/1; Sydenham 920; Memmia 10. An exquisiste example and virtually as struck. Intricate detail with lustrous surfaces delicately toned. Nearly Mint State.

The moneyer of this coin, Gaius Memmius, was the nephew of Pompey the Great, the son of Pompey's sister, Pompeia Strabonia, and C. Memmius. The reverse commemorates a military victory of an ancestor with the same name who had been acclaimed imperator by his troops, but there is debate over which C. Memmius this was. It is possible that it refers to the moneyer's grandfather, who was tribune in 111 BC and then proconsul of Macedonia, or perhaps more likely his father, who according to Plutarch was Pompey's most capable general in the fight against Sertorius in Spain.
Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,400.
Ex Tkalec (29 February 2008), 203.