| Dmitry Markov Coins & Medals | M&M Numismatics Ltd > Auction 60 | Auction date: 9 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 242 Price realized: 250 USD (Approx. 229 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: C. Marcius Censorinus. Æ As (6.92 g), 88 BC Rome. NV[MA · POMPILI ·] ANCVS [· MARCI], jugate heads of Numa Pompilius and Ancus Marcius, to right. Reverse: [C ·] CENSO above, [ROMA] to left, two ships crossing; behind, spiral column bearing statue of Victory. Crawford 346/4a; BMCRR 2415; RBW 1321; Sydenham 715. Green patina. Very Fine. The moneyer responsible for this interesting As depicting the heads of the early Roman kings Numa Pompilius and Ancus Marcius on the obverse was a Marian legate who died in 82 BC while fighting in the final battle with Sulla. The head of King Ancus Marcus alludes to the descent of the moneyer's gens, Marcia, from him, and thus also to his grandfather the earlier king, Numa Pompilius, a reference Crawford calls "geneological fiction" (p. 361).The reverse is also quite interesting as being the first numismatic depiction of Rome's port, Ostia, which was reputedly founded by Ancus Marcius, and shows a ship as well as a victory column, perhaps that commemorating the victory of C. Marcius Rutilus, an ancestor of the moneyer who was Dictator in 356 as well as having been elected Consul four times. Estimate: 300 USD |  |
