A Superb Portrait of Pompey the Great

Sextus Pompey AR Denarius. Uncertain mint in Sicily (Catania?), 42-40 BC. MAG•PIVS•IM[P•ITER], bare head of Pompey Magnus to right; capis behind, lituus before / Neptune standing to left, holding aplustre and with foot on prow, between the Catanaean brothers Anapias and Amphinomus advancing in opposite directions and carrying their parents on their shoulders; PRÆF (partially ligate) above, [C]LAS•ET•OR[Æ•MARI]T•EX•S•[C] (partially ligate) in two lines in exergue. Crawford 511/3a; CRI 334; BMCRR Sicily 7-10; RSC 17 (Pompey the Great); RBW 1785. 3.87g, 19mm, 2h.

Good Extremely Fine; beautiful iridescent tone, a superb portrait of Pompey the Great and with an unusually complete reverse for the issue.

Ex Thomas A. Palmer Collection, Classical Numismatic Group, Triton XXV, 11 January 2022, lot 747; Privately purchased from Jonathan Kern, May 1997.

This coin of Sextus Pompey is rich with symbolism. The reverse alludes not only to Sextus’ command of the seas and the probable location of the mint through the legend of Amphinomus and Anapias, but is also a reference to the piety of Sextus Pompey in upholding the Republican ideals of his late father, who is depicted on the obverse.

In the ancient version of the legend there was but one pious hero, though by later times this had evolved into the tale that would have been familiar to the Pompeians, and which provided the inspiration for the final verses of the pseudo-Virgilian poem ‘Aetna’. Though the reverse of this coin clearly references the later retelling of the story, Sextus may well have identified more closely with the original form as related by Lycurgus: “A stream of fire burst forth from Etna. This stream, so the story goes, flowing over the countryside, drew near a certain city of the Sicilians. Most men, thinking of their own safety, took to flight; but one of the youths, seeing that his father, now advanced in years, could not escape and was being overtaken by the fire, lifted him up and carried him. Hindered no doubt by the additional weight of his burden, he too was overtaken. And now let us observe the mercy shown by the Gods towards good men. For we are told that the fire spread round that spot in a ring and only those two men were saved, so that the place is still called the Place of the Pious, while those who had fled in haste, leaving their parents to their fate, were all consumed.”

From a private European collection.

627.

Cleopatra and Marc Antony AR Denarius. Uncertain Eastern mint, autumn 34 BC. CLEOPATRAE•REGINAE•REGVM•FILIORVM•REGVM•, diademed and draped bust of Cleopatra to right; prow to right at point of bust / ANTONI•ARMENIA•DEVICTA, bare head of Marc Antony to right; Armenian tiara to left. Crawford 543/1; CRI 345; BMCRR East 179-82; RSC 1. 3.70g, 20mm, 12h. Good Very Fine; attractive iridescent highlights to rev. Rare.

From a private European collection.

This type proudly commemorates the victory against Armenia in 34 BC with the legend ‘Armenia Devicta’ (Armenia vanquished). During the war on Parthia in early 36 BC, Antony followed the advice of the Armenian king Artavasdes to invade Parthia not from the West (the shortest route) but from the North, subduing the Parthian allied kingdom of Media Atropatene along the way, whose king was (conveniently) an enemy of Artavasdes. At the fortified town of Phraaspa however, the attack foundered and Artavasdes abandoned Antony, allowing his logistics train and two legions to be massacred. Following a failed siege of Phraaspa, Antony was forced to call off the campaign and effect a fighting retreat in the course of which no fewer than eighteen battles were fought. Antony arrived back in Syria by late 36 BC, having lost about 40% (some 80,000 men) of his original force.

In early 34 BC, after attempting to lure Artavasdes to discuss marriage proposals and renewed war on Parthia, pleasant inducements and entreaties through the king’s companions, a forced march to the capital Artaxata and what Cassius Dio describes as ‘aggressive use of his soldiers’, eventually Antony convinced Artavasdes to come to his camp, where the king was promptly arrested. Antony proceeded to plunder the country, returning to Alexandria with his captives: King Artavasdes, his wife, and his family. There he celebrated a mock Roman triumph - an eastern pastiche of Rome’s most important military ceremony - parading through the streets in a chariot with his captives walking behind. Cleopatra watched with Caesarion at her side. Finally, the whole city was summoned to the gymnasium to watch ‘The Donations of Alexandria’. Antony and Cleopatra, dressed as DionysusOsiris and Isis-Aphrodite, sat on golden thrones while Antony distributed kingdoms among his children by Cleopatra: Alexander Helios was named king of Armenia, Media and Parthia, his twin Selene was awarded Cyrenaica and Libya, and the young Ptolemy Philadelphus was given Syria and Cilicia. Cleopatra was proclaimed Queen of Kings, a title shown on this coin’s obverse which also names ‘her Children, who are kings’. Most damaging to relations with Octavian was his naming Caesarion as a legitimate son and heir of Julius Caesar, which caused a fatal rupture of Antony’s relations with Rome. When the triumvirate officially expired on the last day of 33 BC it was not renewed, and the Roman world again found itself at war.

Cleopatra and Marc Antony AR Denarius. Uncertain Eastern mint, autumn 34 BC. CLE[OPATRAE•REGINAE•RE]GVM•FILIORVM•REGVM•, diademed and draped bust of Cleopatra to right; [prow to right at point of bust] / ANTONI•ARMENIA•DEVI[CTA], bare head of Marc Antony to right; Armenian tiara to left. Crawford 543/1; CRI 345; BMCRR East 179-82; RSC 1. 3.80g, 18mm, 1h. Very Fine; banker’s marks, attractive golden iridescence around devices. Rare.

From a private European collection.

2,400

Marc Antony AR Denarius. Uncertain mint (Actium?), 31 BC. D. Turillius, moneyer. M•ANTONIVS•AVG•IMP•IIII•COS•TERT•III•VIR•R•P•C, bare head to right / Victory standing to left, holding wreath and palm; D TVR (partially retrograde) in lower right field; all within wreath. Crawford 545/1; CRI 387; RBW 1850; BMCRR East 227; RSC 11. 3.48g, 18mm, 1h.

Good Very Fine. Rare.

Acquired from Leu Numismatik AG.

Octavian AR Denarius. Italian mint (possibly Rome) autumn 32- summer 31 BC. Diademed bust of Venus to right / Imperator advancing to left, extending hand and holding spear; CAESAR- DIVI F across fields. RIC I 251; CRI 397; BMCRR Rome 4328 = BMCRE 609; RSC 70. 3.75g, 20mm, 6h.

Very Fine; attractive iridescence.

From a private European collection.