| Classical Numismatic Group > Auction 130 | Auction date: 23 September 2025 |
| Lot number: 436 Price realized: 9,000 USD (Approx. 7,630 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: The Caesarians. Julius Caesar. Early 46 BC. AV Aureus (19mm, 8.04 g, 5h). Rome mint; A. Hirtius, praetor. Veiled head of female (Vesta or Pietas?) right; C • CAESAR COS TER around / Emblems of the augurate and pontificate: lituus, capis, and securis; A • HIRTIVS • PR around from lower left. Crawford 466/1; Molinari – (D23/R220 [unrecorded die pair]); CRI 56; Sydenham 1018; Calicó 37; Biaggi –; RBW 1636. Minor marks and scratches. Near VF. Aulus Hirtius, friend and confidant of Julius Caesar, was praetor in 46 BC and consequently tasked with the distribution of the first truly large issue of Roman gold coins to date. The aurei were for distribution to the general's successful troops after their final victory over the Pompeians in Africa at Thapsus. Each legionary received 5000 denarii (200 aurei), centurions twice that. Since Caesar had at least 40,000 legionnaires at Thapsus, the amount of coin needed was immense. But the amount of booty collected from Caesar's many campaigns was also colossal, and Hirtius seems to have been able to supply the need. Hirtius later finished the dictator's memoirs after his assassination and was himself killed at the Battle of Mutina in 43 BC. Estimate: 4000 USD |  |
Match 1:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Electronic Auction 596 | Auction date: 1 October 2025 |
| Lot number: 658 Price realized: 8,000 USD (Approx. 6,809 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: The Caesarians. Julius Caesar. Early 46 BC. AV Aureus (21mm, 7.91 g, 9h). Rome mint; A. Hirtius, praetor. Veiled head of female (Vesta or Pietas?) right; C • CAESAR COS TER around / Emblems of the augurate and pontificate: lituus, capis, and securis; A • HIRTIVS • PR around from lower left. Crawford 466/1; Molinari 447-51 (D82/R291); CRI 56; Sydenham 1018; Bahrfeldt 19; Calicó 37; RBW 1634. Traces of earthen deposits. VF. From the CLV collection formed in the 1970's and 80's. Estimate: 5000 USD |  |
Match 2:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Electronic Auction 588 | Auction date: 4 June 2025 |
| Lot number: 458 Price realized: 120 USD (Approx. 105 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius. 81 BC. AR Denarius (19mm, 3.75 g, 6h). Uncertain mint in northern Italy. Diademed head of Pietas right; to right, stork standing right / Capis and lituus within laurel wreath. Crawford 374/2; Sydenham 751; Caecilia 44; RBW 1397. Lightly toned, minor scratches, traces of die rust, reverse flatness. VF. Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius had a long career as a politician and general during the early first century BC. He earned the title "Pius" for his unwavering support for his father, Metellus Numidicus, after the elder was exiled due to the political maneuverings of Gaius Marius, a bitter enemy of the Metelli. During the Social War, Pius was a solid if unspectacular commander and a more successful magistrate administering the newly reconquered lands of Italy. During the Civil War of 84-80 BC, he reluctantly backed Sulla against the Marian regime of Cinna and Carbo, ultimately becoming Sulla's second in command. It was during this period he struck silver denarii of this distinctive design at an unknown mint in Northern Italy, using the newly minted cash to raise armies in support of Sulla. The types refer to his title as Pontifex Maximus, or chief priest. After serving as co-consul with Sulla in 80 BC, his "reward" was a command in Spain against the rebel Quintus Sertorius, who badly outclassed Pius as a general and ran rings around him for several years. Help finally arrived in the form of the young Gnaeus Pompey Magnus in 77 BC; together, they eventually ran Sertorius to ground and procured his assassination, ending the rebellion. After being voted a Triumph that few thought he deserved, Pius retired to private life. His death in 63 BC opened up the office of Pontifex Maximus, which the young Julius Caesar sought and won. Estimate: 100 USD |  |
Match 3:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Auction 130 | Auction date: 23 September 2025 |
| Lot number: 440 Price realized: 20,000 USD (Approx. 16,956 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: The Republicans. C. Cassius Longinus. Spring 42 BC. AV Aureus (19mm, 8.05 g, 12h). Military mint (Smyrna?); M. Aquinus, legatus. Diademed head of Libertas right; M • AQVINVS • LEG • LIBER (TA)S around / Tripod surmounted by the cortina and two laurel-branches; fillet on each side, C • CASSI upward to left, PR • COS upward to right. Crawford 498/1; CRI 217; Sydenham 1302; Calicó 63; Biaggi –; RBW 1759. In NGC encapsulation 6831189-002, graded AU, Strike: 4/5, Surface: 2/5, Brushed, edge bend. Very rare variety. Ex Oslo Myntgalleri 38 (4 May 2024), lot 813; Gorny & Mosch 159 (8 October 2007), lot 345. Born into a senatorial family but lacking any talent for politics, Gaius Cassius Longinus found soldiering more to his liking and joined the triumvir Crassus on his doomed expedition against the Parthians in 53 BC. Cassius managed to rescue himself and a handful of others from the massacre and escaped to Roman Syria, where he remained for another two years ably defending the province from Parthian attack. He returned to Rome as a war hero in 51 BC and fell in with the Pompeian faction, serving as commander of Pompey's fleet during the civil war of 49-48 BC. After Pompey's defeat and death, Cassius accepted a pardon from Caesar and loyally served him for the next four years. Cassius perhaps hoped to attain supreme power once Caesar retired, but it soon became apparent the dictator had no intention of stepping down. Thus, Cassius suborned his close friend Marcus Junius Brutus and several other senators into a conspiracy, and he was one of the first to plunge his dagger into Caesar on the Ides of March, 44 BC. After fleeing Rome with the other conspirators, Cassius returned to Syria and commandeered several legions and a fleet, which he used to attack and pillage the wealthy island of Rhodes in order to procure gold for the approaching civil war. He joined forces with Brutus in 42 BC and the two marched into Thrace to meet the pro-Caesarian legions led by Mark Antony and Octavian. Though their army outnumbered the Caesarians, Cassius and Brutus seemed oddly fatalistic and made a suicide pact should either meet defeat or capture. At the first clash at Philippi in early October, Cassius suffered a loss and rashly fell on his sword before he could be told that Brutus had counterattacked and saved the day. Demoralized by his friend's death, Brutus was easily defeated three weeks later and took his own life. Estimate: 15000 USD |  |
Match 4:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Auction 130 | Auction date: 23 September 2025 |
| Lot number: 437 Price realized: 1,450 USD (Approx. 1,229 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: The Caesarians. Julius Caesar. January-April 46 BC. AR Denarius (18.5mm, 3.85 g, 12h). Uncertain mint, possibly Utica. Head of Ceres right, wearing wreath of grain / Emblems of the augurate and pontificate: simpulum, aspergillum, guttus, and lituus; D (dontaivum = gift) to right. Crawford 467/1; CRI 57; Sydenham 1023; RSC 1a; RBW 1637. Deeply toned, with hints of iridescence, light hairlines under tone. Near EF. From the DWBG Collection, purchased from William Warden, 1988. A parallel issue contains an "M" (mvnvs = largess) in place of the "D." Both types were struck to pay Caesar's successful legions after the battle of Thapsus, 6 April 4 BC. Ceres is emblematic of Africa and its grain producing wealth. Estimate: 500 USD |  |
Match 5:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Auction 130 | Auction date: 23 September 2025 |
| Lot number: 462 Price realized: 25,000 USD (Approx. 21,195 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Vespasian. AD 69-79. AV Aureus (19mm, 7.33 g, 7h). "Judaea Capta" commemorative. Rome mint. Struck circa 21 December AD 69-early 70. IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG, laureate head right / IVDAEA in exergue, trophy; to right, Judaea, veiled and draped, seated right on ground in attitude of mourning, knees drawn up, head resting on left hand, which is propped on knees, right arm on lap. RIC II.1 1; Hendin 6492; Calicó 643; BMCRE 31–4; BN 20–2; Biaggi 324. In NGC encapsulation 5770518-001, graded XF, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 2/5, graffiti, marks. The main Judaea Capta coinage was a series of imperial issues struck in gold, silver, and bronze, and provincial issues struck in silver and bronze, to celebrate the Roman defeat of Judaea, the capture of Jerusalem, and the destruction of the Jewish Second Temple during the First Jewish War (66-73 CE). Generally, the reverse of this coinage shows a Jewish female seated in an attitude of mourning beneath a palm tree. Sometimes a bound male captive, or the figure of the victorious emperor or Victory, is found standing on the other side amid weapons, shields, and helmets. While some gold and silver coins bear no legend on the reverse, most issues are inscribed IVDAEA CAPTA, IVDAEA DEVICTA, or simply IVDAEA. The imperial coins were struck for only Vespasian and Titus. Provincial drachms were minted in Asia Minor for Titus (who oversaw the capture of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple). The provincial bronze coinage for Titus and Domitian (who did not participate in any of the actions, but was included by familial association) was struck in Judaea by the Roman administration at Caesarea Maritima and even by the Romanized Jewish ruler, Agrippa II, who was a friend of Titus and his supporter during the war. Estimate: 20000 USD |  |
