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Lot 601
L. Torquatus. 58 BC. AR Denarius (18.5mm, 3.99 g, 6h). Rome mint. EF.
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Starting Bid: $900
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Est.
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Starting Bid: $900
Live Auction
Triton XXVIII
Live bidding began Jan 14, 2025 at 9:00 AM EST
Category
Description
L. Torquatus. 58 BC. AR Denarius (18.5mm, 3.99 g, 6h). Rome mint. Head of Sibylla right, wearing ivy wreath; [SIBYLLA below] / Tripod surmounted by amphora between two stars; L • TORQAT downward to left, III • VIR upward to right; all within ornamented torque. Crawford 411/1a-b var. (border on obv.); Sydenham 836; Manlia 12a; BMCRR Rome 3514 corr. (no border on obv.); Kestner –; RBW –. Toned and lustrous with hints of iridescence, light scratches, a few spots of find patina. EF. From dies of fine style.
Ex Bertolami Fine Arts 67 (11 July 2019), lot 288.
The moneyer Lucius Manlius Torquatus, later famous as a champion of Cicero and enemy of Caesar, was a member of the Quindecimviri Sacris Faciundis, a religious collegium responsible for consulting the Sibylline Books in times of crisis. The three books were allegedly the work of a prophetess, the Sibyl of Cumae, whose cryptic pronouncements predicted the future of Rome for those able to properly interpret them. The Sibyl (here named Sibylla) is depicted on the obverse of this attractive silver denarius. According to Ovid, the Sibyl was a beautiful young woman who captivated the god Apollo (represented by the tripod on the reverse). The god offered to grant her any wish in return for her virginity. She scooped up a handful of sand and asked to live as many years as the number of grains within it. However, she had neglected to ask for eternal youth, and so, over 1,000 years, her body withered away until only her voice remained.
The final winners of all Triton XXVIII lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 14-15 January 2025.
Triton XXVIII – Session Three – Lot 558–829 will be held Wednesday morning, 15 January 2025 beginning at 9:00 AM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
We recognize that our users may have various Internet Browsers and Operating Systems. We like our visitors to have the best possible experience when using our bidding platform. However, we do recognize that it is impossible to develop applications that work identically, efficiently and effectively on all web browsers. The CNG bidding platform supports the latest stable major version and stable previous version of Chrome and Firefox.
Ex Bertolami Fine Arts 67 (11 July 2019), lot 288.
The moneyer Lucius Manlius Torquatus, later famous as a champion of Cicero and enemy of Caesar, was a member of the Quindecimviri Sacris Faciundis, a religious collegium responsible for consulting the Sibylline Books in times of crisis. The three books were allegedly the work of a prophetess, the Sibyl of Cumae, whose cryptic pronouncements predicted the future of Rome for those able to properly interpret them. The Sibyl (here named Sibylla) is depicted on the obverse of this attractive silver denarius. According to Ovid, the Sibyl was a beautiful young woman who captivated the god Apollo (represented by the tripod on the reverse). The god offered to grant her any wish in return for her virginity. She scooped up a handful of sand and asked to live as many years as the number of grains within it. However, she had neglected to ask for eternal youth, and so, over 1,000 years, her body withered away until only her voice remained.
The final winners of all Triton XXVIII lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 14-15 January 2025.
Triton XXVIII – Session Three – Lot 558–829 will be held Wednesday morning, 15 January 2025 beginning at 9:00 AM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
We recognize that our users may have various Internet Browsers and Operating Systems. We like our visitors to have the best possible experience when using our bidding platform. However, we do recognize that it is impossible to develop applications that work identically, efficiently and effectively on all web browsers. The CNG bidding platform supports the latest stable major version and stable previous version of Chrome and Firefox.
