Lot description:
L. Papius, 79 BC. Denarius (Silver, 20 mm, 3.78 g, 6 h), Rome. Head of Juno Sospita to right, wearing goat-skin headdress; behind, mace. Rev. L•PAPI Griffin leaping to right; below, club with strap. Babelon (Papia) 1. Crawford 384/1. RBW 1412 var. (differing control marks). Sydenham 773. Lightly toned, perfectly centered and sharply struck, with a splendid reverse. Minor porosity, otherwise, extremely fine.
There are at least 232 control varieties on the denarii of L. Papius. E. A. Sydenham (Symbols on Denarii of L. Papius and L. Roscius, in: NC 1931, pp. 1-13) argued that the symbols represented trade guilds, but Crawford felt that they were simply a 'random selection of pairs of everyday objects'.
Starting price: 100 CHF | |