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Lot 606
Moneyer issues of Imperatorial Rome. L. Hostilius Saserna. 48 BC. AR Denarius (19.5mm, 3.77 g, 4h). Rome mint. VF.
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Starting Bid: $600
Live Auction
Triton XXVIII
Live bidding began Jan 14, 2025 at 9:00 AM EST
Category
Description
Moneyer issues of Imperatorial Rome. L. Hostilius Saserna. 48 BC. AR Denarius (19.5mm, 3.77 g, 4h). Rome mint. Head of Gallic captive (Vercingetorix?) right, wearing hair flowing back and long, pointed beard, and a chain around his neck; Gallic shield to left / Two warriors in biga right: one driving, holding whip in right hand and reins in left, and the other, facing backward, holding shield in left hand and brandishing spear in right; L • HOSTILIVS above, SASERN below. Crawford 448/2a; CRI 18; Sydenham 952; Hostilia 2; BMCRR Rome 3994-5; Kestner 3538-40; RBW 1569. Lightly toned, bankers’ marks. VF. Well centered.
The portrait on the obverse has sometimes been identified as the famous chief of the Arverni, Vercingetorix, whom Julius Caesar captured in 52 BC in Alesia. It is difficult to imagine anyone placing such a dramatic portrait of a defeated foe on their coinage, but it is clear from surviving sources of the period that the Romans had a good deal of respect for the Gauls as honorable warriors. Crawford and Sear believe this identification is unlikely, but the large, distinctive, and carefully engraved head suggests the die cutter worked with an eye toward creating an individualized portrait, rather than a stylized personification of a Gaul. The reverse is also of particular historical interest, in that it depicts the manner in which chariots were used in Celtic Gaul, and perhaps in Britain as well.
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.
The portrait on the obverse has sometimes been identified as the famous chief of the Arverni, Vercingetorix, whom Julius Caesar captured in 52 BC in Alesia. It is difficult to imagine anyone placing such a dramatic portrait of a defeated foe on their coinage, but it is clear from surviving sources of the period that the Romans had a good deal of respect for the Gauls as honorable warriors. Crawford and Sear believe this identification is unlikely, but the large, distinctive, and carefully engraved head suggests the die cutter worked with an eye toward creating an individualized portrait, rather than a stylized personification of a Gaul. The reverse is also of particular historical interest, in that it depicts the manner in which chariots were used in Celtic Gaul, and perhaps in Britain as well.
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.
