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Banner Artemide LVII
Sulla's Dream
Lot # 435 - L. Aemilius Buca. AR Denarius, Rome mint, 44 BC (before 15 March, Caesar death). Obv. Diademed head of Venus right; on the left, L·BVCA. Rev. Sulla reclining right on rock; Selene descending left from mountain; Victory standing facing between, holding palm and branch. Cr. 480/1; B. 12 (Aemilia). AR. 3.62 g. 19.50 mm. RRR. An attractive example of this very rare and fascinating issue. Sound metal and broad flan. Minor areas of weakness and tiny scratch on obverse, otherwise. good VF. Plutarch relates that while Sulla was marching on Rome in 82 BC, “It is said, also, that there appeared to Sulla himself, in a dream, a certain goddess, whom the Romans learnt to worship from the Cappadocians, whether it be the Moon, or Pallas, or Bellona. This same goddess, to his thinking, stood by him, and put into his hand thunder and lightning, then naming his enemies one by one, bade him strike them.” The lack of any warlike thunderbolts and the improbability that Luna was the goddess involved, would seem to indicate that the reverse scene of this coin is not a representation of such an insignificant event as the vaguely reported dream of Sulla. It is also much more likely that the protagonist goddess of the reputed dream was the early Roma war goddess Bellona, identified with Ma the Mother Goddess of Cappadocia. The earlier suggestion by Babelon and Oman that the reverse scene represents the myth of Selene, who fell in love with the handsome shepherd Endymion and caused her father Zeus to cast him into eternal sleep in a cave on Mount Latmos, does not explain the presence of Victory in the background. An alternative interpretation for this scene is that it is a very early Caesarian posthumous issue portraying the apotheosis of Julius Caesar. A victorious and heroic figure reclining on a bier greeted by Luna, patroness of Caesar’s great public spectacles, with the upright torch of immortality, may be seen as indicating the Divus Julius. (Italo Vecchi, CNG 66, 2004, 1321).
Lot # 438 - Sextus Pompeius and Q. Nasidius, commander of the fleet, 42-38 BC. AR Denarius, mint moving with Sextus Pompeius (Massilia ?). Obv. Bare head of Pompey the Great right; trident to right; below, dolphin right; NEPTVNI to left. Rev. Galley with bank of rowers right, under full sail, helmsman steering rudder, hortator standing on prow; six-rayed star to upper left; Q • NASIDIVS below. Cr. 483/2; B. 1 (Nasidia), 28 (Pompeia). AR. 3.74 g. 19.00 mm. RR. Great metal and broad flan. A superb example of this very rare, historically important and fascinating issue, with a wonderful portrait of Pompey the Great. Brilliant, with underlying luster and lightly toned, with golden hues. A bit off centre, otherwise. EF. With his father and brother having been executed after battles with Julius Caesar, Sextus Pompey found himself at the helm of the Pompeian cause. In addition to his own military talents and some support in the senate, Sextus called upon another resource for survival – his family legacy. Perhaps the best evidence for his use of family ties to legitimize his own position can be found on coinage, for he was the first Roman to use dynastic imagery in that manner. This issue of denarii is one example. Sextus Pompey’s coinage bearing the name of his naval commander Q. Nasidius is among the most attractive of the Imperatorial era. It consists of two major types: the first shows the right-facing head of the deceased Pompey Magnus and a galley; the second shows a left-facing head of Pompey and a scene of four galleys about to meet in battle. The first type is relatively plentiful, the second is a great rarity, and we may add to them an extremely rare hybrid issue, which pairs the obverse of the second with the reverse of the first. The portrait of Pompey Magnus is engraved with a near-perfect balance of realism and idealism, resulting in a powerful image that must have rallied support among the remaining Pompeian sympathizers. The inscription NEPTVNI, which seemingly abbreviates Neptuni filius (”the son of Neptune”), likely refers to the deceased Pompey, for Sextus apparently did not claim to be the son of the sea-god until after his second major naval victory over Octavian, in 38 B.C. (at which Appian says Nasidius served as one of Sextus’ admirals). The occasion for these coinages is not clear. Grueber and Sydenham both suggested they were struck in Sicily, whereas Crawford considers them to have been struck at a mint moving with Sextus Pompey while en route to Sicily. Sear proposes they were struck at Massalia during Sextus’ visitation. Sydenham and Grueber assigned them to 38-36 B.C., Crawford and Sear place them in 44-43 B.C., and they often are assigned elsewhere to 42-38 B.C. Thus, there are three distinct ideas on dating which, collectively, cover the length of his independent career. One aspect to note is that the coinage does not bear the title ‘Commander-in-chief of the Fleet and of the Sea Coasts’ that he received from the senate in April of 43 B.C. The naval commander Nasidius had long been loyal to the Pompeians. In 49 B.C. he attempted to break the siege of Massalia by Julius Caesar’s legate Decimus Brutus and afterward he held a command in the Pompeian fleet in North Africa. He then joined the forces that Pompey Junior had assembled in Spain after the Battle of Thapsus. As these coins clearly show, Nasidius sailed with Sextus Pompey afterward, though he eventually joined Marc Antony as an admiral in his eastern fleet. Nasidius took part in the disaster at Actium, after which nothing further is heard of his life or career. (NAC 92, 2016, 401 note).
A charming portrait of Augustus
Lot # 474 - Poppaea, second wife of Nero (died 65 AD). AE 27 mm. Perinthus mint, Thrace. Reign of Nero, 59-63 AD. Obv. ΠOΠΠAIA ΣEBAΣTH. Diademed and draped bust right. Rev. Π-E. Headdress of Isis between two corn-ears within laurel wreath. RPC I 1756; Varbanov III 27. AE. 8.47 g. 27.00 mm. R. Rare. A very attractive example, in excellent condition for issue. Nice even brown patina. VF/About EF. The second wife of Nero, Poppaea Sabina, is described by the historian Tacitus as having possessed “every asset except goodness”. She was a beautiful young woman with hair the colour of amber, who was rumored to have bathed in the milk of asses. Tacitus continues: “ From her mother, the loveliest woman of her day, she inherited distinction and beauty. Her wealth, too, was equal to her birth. She was clever and pleasant to talk to. She seemed respectable. But her life was depraved (…). To her, married or bachelor bedfellow were alike. She was indifferent to her reputation- yet insensible to men's love, and herself unloving. Advantage dictated the bestowal of her favours.” Poppaea (…) originally was married to the praetorian prefect Rufrius Crispinus, by whom she bore a child. But she was seduced away from Crispinus by the futur emperor Otho, an extravagant young man who was one of Nero's closest friends. This seduction was quickly transformed into marriage (…). In 58 Nero seduced Poppaea and sent Otho to govern Lusitania so as to distance him from Rome. For the next four years Nero continued to tolerate his politically important but personally unfulfilling marriage to Claudia Octavia (…). Both Nero and Poppaea dissolved their existing marriages in 62, and 12 days later they were married (…). In short order the royal couple produced a daughter, Claudia Neronis, who was born at Antium, probably early in 63. Nero's joy was so great that the infant was hailed Augusta along with her mother (…) but Claudia died four months later. By 65 Poppaea had become pregnant again, and Nero could anticipate having a child to replace Claudia and possibly an heir to the throne. However, in the summer of that year, after having been chastised for returning so late from the races, Nero delivered a swift to Poppaea's stomach that proved fatal for both mother and fetus. By all accounts, Nero loved Poppaea deeply and was anxiously awaiting the birth of their second child, which have led some to believe the kick was “disguided”. After this grave national disaster, Nero promptly deified Poppaea as well as her unborned child. Although Poppaea possessed certain enviable attributes, few mourned her death. The death of Poppaea marked the beginning of Nero's period of great cruelty, which would last three years before he was finally murdered.