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Search Advanced Search Search By Coin ID     Home ANCIENT/BYZANTINE Ancient Spain (872) Byzantine (753) MEDIEVAL/EARLY WORLD Germany (30) MODERN WORLD COUNTERFEITS AND IMITATIONS   Submit New Coin(s)   Sponsors page Terms of Service Contact Us About Us FAQ Page Coin Detail Click here to see enlarged image. ID:     74000547 Type:     Roman Republican Issuer:     Sex. Pompeius Magnus Pius and Cn. Pompeius Magnus Date Ruled:     42-40 BC Metal:     Gold Denomination:     Aureus Struck / Cast:     struck Date Struck:     BC 42 Weight:     8.17 g Die Axis:     8 h Obverse Legend:     MAG. PIVS. IMP. ITER. Obverse Description:     Bare head of Sextus Pompey right; all within oak wreath Reverse Legend:     PRAEF CLAS. ET. ORAE MARIT. EX. S.C Reverse Description:     Bare heads of Pompey the Great right vis-à-vis Cnaeus Pompey Junior left; lituus to left, tripod to right Mint:     Sicily Primary Reference:     Crawford 511/1 Reference2:     Bahrfeldt 87.1 (same dies, but reverse legend misread) Reference3:     Syd 1346A (same dies, but reverse legend Reference4:     CRI 332; Calicó 71; Kent & Hirmer 102; Vagi 28 (same dies as illustrated); BMCRR P. 561, 14 (same dies) Photograph Credit:     Classical Numismatic Group Source:     http://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=96960 Notes:     Evans, “The Sicilian Coinage of Sextus Pompeius (Crawford 511),” MN 32 (1987), pl#@#@ 9, 2 (same obv#@#@ die) This coin is struck from the same dies as LHS 97 (10 May 2006), lot 1; Leu 93 (10 May 2005), lot 2; and Leu 86 (5 May 2003), lot 726. Sextus Pompey, the younger son of Pompey the Great, inherited his father's vast influence and personal following. He first established himself in Spain in 44 BC as the successful leader of the anti-Caesarian forces and following the death of Caesar, the Senate, believing itself freed from the domination of the Caesarians, bestowed on Sextus the title of praefectus classis et orae maritimae (Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet and of the Sea Coasts). However, four months later the Senate was forced by Octavian and the second triumvirate to rescind this title, and Sextus was proscribed. Upon receiving word of the Senate's abrogation of his commission and seeing the hostilities the Caesarians were exacting on the leading figures in Rome, Sextus set sail from Massilia in Gaul and headed for Sicily. Here he established a powerful base from which he could blockade Italy and provide a safe haven for those fleeing the proscriptions. Alarmed at the developments, Octavian sent a naval squadron under the command of Salvidienus Rufus to handle the situation, but Salvidienus was defeated off the coast of Rhegium. Following this battle, Sextus took the title of imperator iterum. Sextus would continue the republican struggle against the second triumvirate until his death in 36 BC. This remarkable dynastic aureus provides us with the most life-like portraits of Pompey's two sons and records many of the events of 43-42 BC. The oak wreath (corona civica.) and the title IMP ITER on the obverse commemorate Sextus' defeat of Salvidienus, while the reverse legend records the title bestowed on him by the Senate in 43 BC. The lituus behind Pompey's head signifies Pompey's membership in the college of augurs, while the tripod behind Cnaeus' head represents his affiliation with the quindecimviri sacris faciundis.

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